Rumours of a new DS redesign is spreading. Who knows if it is true, but personally I would rather wait for a proper DS successor than yet another DS redesign. Even then I can't help but create a wish list of sort for possible improvements that Nintendo can implement over its wonderful but flawed DS Lite.
1. No more glossy case please. Seriously, the DS Lite's glossy case is the worst thing about the DS Lite. It looks flashy in photographs, but the moment you touch one you can never clean it. Not only is it a fingerprint magnet, it also scratches easily. I will take matte or brushed metal over glossy plastic, even if I have to pay more.
2. Stronger hinge. The multiple reports on the web indicates that the DS Lite's hinge design is flawed. I've never dropped my first DS Lite ever, and the hinge still came one year later.
3. Proper OS. Nintendo can mutter how much they want the DS Lite to be a pure gaming breed, but their software and peripheral line up says otherwise. So please create a proper and flexible OS that gives people the choice to listen to music, surf the web and do pretty much anything a £20 throw away phone can do.
4. Built-in storage and/or memory card support. If Nintendo wishes to allow DS owners to download games and demos via the Wii, this is a must.
5. Mini USB port. If only so we have an industrial standard port that we can charge with. The PSP supports it and even Nokia dropped their ubiquitous pop-port to support it, so I expect nothing less from Nintendo.
6. TV-out. PSP Slim style, not Game Boy Player style.
7. Better integration between Wii and DS. Where are the DS demos as promised? Just take a look of the expanding PSP-PS3 connectivity features that SCE are implementing.
8. Support for WPA2. This should have been standard when Mario Kart DS came out.
9. Proper volume control. Nothing fancy like the PSP's soft buttons, but an old style jog dial is still a hundred times better than the 3mm dial on the DS Lite.
10. Brightness control. The DS Lite has an awesomely bright screen that made playing over the summer months tolerable. But to change the brightness you are required to exit the game (restart the DS)! And people complained that we are forced to restart Windows to install security patches...
I am sure there are other improvements that can be made, though I am not in the mood to think of anything else. Maybe I should write another one regarding the PSP Slim's inevitable successor, PSP-3000 or rant about why the Wii should come with more than a paltry 512MB. If you guys have anything to add, feel free to abuse the comment system away.
2 comments:
I agree about the glossy case, I ended up importing a Final Fantasy IV DS branded accessory pack because I couldn't go any longer without getting some sort of case.
To be honest I don't see how TV-out would work for most games since you'd have to look at the touchscreen to see what you're doing, which obviously prevents you from looking at the TV.
I also agree about WPA2 but is the wifi stuff dealt with by the software or entirely by the console?
TV-out may not work in all games, but I can see it working in certain titles. Something similar to the GameCube's Crystal Chronicles for example. Or even classic none-stylus mandatory games like Ace Attorney or Final Fantasy III.
From what I know, the WiFi software is done entirely through the DS. I am sure the DS is capable, just like the Wii is capable of playing DVD films. BTW the Wii supports WPA2, so hopefully DS Liter will support it.
But Nintendo has always been stubborn in paying other royalties and this may the reason why we never got WPA2 for the DS and DS Lite. Their (NOA_GREG) excuse that WEP is more prevalent to WPA2 is silly.
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