Why's the DS Lite so succesful?

S

superspiffy

CAGiversary!
It's the biggest thing to hit the world of handhelds since the first gameboy, maybe even bigger. Any ideas on what made this iPod-esque success possible? Here are mines:
- dual screen with touchpad capabilities makes for innovating gameplay
- completely redesigned shell. less "gamey," more simple , and very elegant.
- wi-fi
- good games that take advantage of wi-fi
- good first party games
 
To me it just seems that the DS is winning off of the PSP's blunders in terms of good games rather than the technology. The DS just has FUN games, that, as you stated, take good advantage of the DS's capabilities, and is a FUN console.
 
As someone who has watched the Gameboy line grow throughout the years its basically the system everyone has wanted ever since the original was released.

Slick, Compact, and Protective design
Bigger Screen(s)
Really great backlight
Affordable
Games Games Games and more Games
 
It is relatively cheap to develop for and the games are perfectly suited for handheld gaming. Plus, the graphics kind of kick ass at least in 2D games.
 
[quote name='DeathDealer']Because Nintendo does everything right, Sony fucks everything up.[/quote]

Well, maybe for handhelds but the last two Sony consoles did pretty well... ;)
 
I may be the only one that doesn't like the DS's library of games. This year has been pretty bad for the DS. I wish Zelda and PW came out this year instead of next. I am still waiting for a 2D Metroid game as well.
 
Also there are games for everyone... games you can sit and play for hours, and then stuff like Nintendogs and Brain Age that non-gamers like. That, and Nintendo has the brandage... I think Mario, Kirby, etc and handhelds go together like peanut butter and jelly... Sony doesn't have any characters that bring about that sort of feeling, really.

And, while I'm not a parent, I would think that buying your kid a DS would seem a lot more appealing than buying them a PSP... it's cheaper, Nintendo's stuff is better made, plus it folds, thus protecting the screen... the PSP is a big honkin' Game Gear-esque thing that looks rather delicate, IMO....
 
The DS Lite is both playful and sleek. And you can't go wrong with a clamshell. I think it's impressive it keeps selling so well considering it's a (very nice) remodelling of a system that had been out for sometime previous(and was a good seller in its own right)
 
Games of course. And the dual screens, mic and touchscreen help bring in some unique experiences.

Plus it looks great. Small size. Long battery life. Little or no loading times. Ease of use and cheaper price of hardware/games.
 
The DS is just flatout a great system. Between it and the 360 gaming is now a part of my life again whereas I would only buy one or two RPGs a year for the PS2.
 
The PSP's has a lackluster library, while the DS's is pretty damn good, though it could be better. As a handheld though nothing tops it.
 
Backwards compatibility (partially, at least), nice screen(s), good battery life, wifi, but most importantly FUN GAMES.
 
[quote name='Rozz']The PSP's has a lackluster library, while the DS's is pretty damn good, though it could be better. As a handheld though nothing tops it.[/quote]

Anything could be better.
 
Once again the games are amazing. The games are easier to make, and cheaper to make. That makes the games prices lower and they sell better. Better selling games lead to more third party support and more third party support leads to more people buying the games. More games lead to more amazing games made by more third party developers and so on. :)
 
The DS Lite is successful because the DS was successful, but looked pretty ugly compared to the PSP.
 
Pokemon for the kiddies :) then they buy DS for the hell of it.

The first people to get me hooked on the DS were my little cousins.

There are 6 ds lite's between my 9 cousins and brother, damn you nintendo :)

Family parties are just that much more fun. Teaching them how to use Wi-Fi is also a story of its own....
 
[quote name='Sexbomb']Pokemon for the kiddies :)[/QUOTE]

There's only been one Pokemon game out until recently, and it was a lame racing game.
 
The DS Lite is supremely overrated in my opinion, the buttons are flimsy, the screens are smaller, it's more fragile and not easier to hold

I actually prefer regular DS Phat and I'm sticking to it

In terms of DS in general though, it's successful because it's better marketed, has better games, and appeals (marketing-wise) directly to children
 
I greatly prefer the buttons on the DS Lite, though I agree they do feel a little less durable than the regular DS buttons. But they're much more comfortable to use. The screens are the same size as the regular DS. I would agree that it is more fragile than the regular DS. I'm sure it varies from person to person, but I find the Lite much more comfortable to hold, not because it's smaller but because it's so much lighter. Long sessions of Mario Kart on the DS used to make my wrists quite sore, not a problem with the Lite. And the Lite has brighter screens, better battery life, better microphone placement, and though I really liked my original DS, let's be honest, the thing is pretty fugly. But to each their own.
 
Great games with wide appeal.

For example:

My 10 year old nephew has one, loves to play all the "kid" games
I have one...love to play the RPGs, Castlevania, Advance Wars DS etc
My 60 year old mom has one, loves to play Brain Age, Cooking Mama, and is looking forward to the Ultimate Brain games collection.
 
A big part of why the DS LIte has been so successful is because of Nintendo's focus on netting all kinds of gamers. For example, my girlfriend, a TOTAL non-gamer, actually bought a DS Lite because we can play tetris and mario wirelessly together. Gamers love it because it's a damn fine system with deep games and non-gamers love it because it is easily accessible.
 
[quote name='Kawnhr']There's only been one Pokemon game out until recently, and it was a lame racing game.[/QUOTE]

That's the Sary part.

The DS has been a hit even with out the Pokemon. Also nintendogs didn't do as well as I thought.

I think people are intimidated by consoles these days. Regular people don't like al the buttons and TV hook ups needed. But the DS is just plain simple and fun. People still want to play video games, but they don't have 10 hrs a week to devote to them.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Anything could be better.[/quote]

Ok, thanks for chiming in with this useful, life-changing quote.:dunce:
 
[quote name='KingDox']
I think people are intimidated by consoles these days. Regular people don't like al the buttons and TV hook ups needed. But the DS is just plain simple and fun. People still want to play video games, but they don't have 10 hrs a week to devote to them.
[/quote]
QFT

I don't know if people are really intimidated by consoles or not, but you're definitely on to something with the time required to play a console game. I like the DS because I can pick it up, play for 15 or 20 minutes and put it down. I don't think I was ever able to do that with a console game (or PC game, for that matter).
 
Pokemon DS (whatever the two new versions are called) in Japan alone sold 5 million copies in 3 months.

However the Pokemon Stadium for the Wii sold rather badly, so far.
 
The DS Lite's success can be attributed to everything coming together in Nintendo's favor

-the design is hip/trendy/suave, not the typical handheld gaming system, almost a never level of sophistication (Apple's direction for consumer electronics)
-the price is appealing at 129.99 compared to its competitor
-the DS "inherited" a dominant position in the market
-word of mouth was extremely positive, more so than any other system I've owned
-of course, games are strong, unique and geared towards every demographic

owning both the PSP and DS though... I don't like people's ignorance in the argument "the psp's library is weak" - its actually far from it, depending on tastes of course (ie. my favorite genre is racing, and without a doubt, Wipeout Pure is the best handheld racing available...sorry MK) Plenty of genres have a gem title worth owning on both systems, so enough with that comment, its ludicrous and repugnant.
 
For me the small size and bright screen of the lite is key to it's success. First time you see one it is very impressive especially if you've played some of the past Nintendo handhelds. Side by side it makes the DS phat look like garbage.

[quote name='Rozz']Ok, thanks for chiming in with this useful, life-changing quote.:dunce:[/QUOTE]

Is the irony here lost on you? And he was making a minor point with his post. Lighten up.
 
[quote name='wubb']For me the small size and bright screen of the lite is key to it's success. First time you see one it is very impressive especially if you've played some of the past Nintendo handhelds. Side by side it makes the DS phat look like garbage.



Is the irony here lost on you? And he was making a minor point with his post. Lighten up.[/quote]

No thanks.
 
Because the design is cuter than that of the PSP. It looks mainstream so hence it is mainstream. The PSP is very tech-y.
 
Why is the DS so successful, because there is games for everybody age 8-128.

Lots of kid friendly games.
Great adult themed games like castlevania, brain age.
Great games for the older people too like clubhouse and brain age.

Also these games mix and match with age groups too where a 8 year old might go bananas over yoshi's island and some 30 year old might to. Or some 18 and 70 year old might be playing a clubhouse game together.
 
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