DS decision

[Ruby]

Get the Lite. The DSi is too pricey, the DS original is only for bohemians like goldenquagsire, and evidently you all hate the XL.

 

[Adriane]

XL is fucking awesome. I can see.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

That's true, I had forgotten about the XL (it's too large for my tastes). Give it a try and see if it fits you.

 

[spaekle]

...There are people who like the design of the phat? D:

I didn't even want to play my phat after a while. I hate it when things that are supposed to be portable are that clunky. And the stylus was tiny and flimsy and sucked! And crumbs and shit would get stuck between the casing and the touch screen and mess the touch screen up!

D:

...It did make a good alarm clock though, after I got a lite.

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

I didn't even want to play my phat after a while. I hate it when things that are supposed to be portable are that clunky.

Try walking around with a PSP in your pocket; not only are they gigantic, they break so easily that you actually need to be careful of how you walk to avoid breaking it in your pocket. Plus, who's great idea was it to put the WLAN switch, Magic Gate, AND the headphone jack all in one spot? @_@

I actually really like the phat over the lite. Mostly for that 'metallic sheen' as said by a previous poster, and I've actually found it to be much more durable; I stopped buying Lites after my second broke, and I've never had any interest in the DSi. Mostly because I don't feel like shelling out money for an R4i. I like my R4SD :c

 

[Adriane]

The hinges on my phat snapped clean, my lite is still A-OK.

 

[goldenquagsire]

...There are people who like the design of the phat? D:

yeah! :o

I didn't even want to play my phat after a while. I hate it when things that are supposed to be portable are that clunky.

they're not that clunky.

original GB WAS clunky, but everyone still carried them around.

And the stylus was tiny and flimsy and sucked!

fair point. but literally none of the games I play on the DS require the stylus for anything more than the occasional poke.

Mostly for that 'metallic sheen' as said by a previous poster, and I've actually found it to be much more durable; I stopped buying Lites after my second broke, and I've never had any interest in the DSi.

I think I got my phat in '05 or '06? it still works fine; not mint condition, obviously, but the buttons are still fine and the screens don't have any weird stuff on them.

actually I'll admit one problem is that the battery life on the phat is shit. I seem to be able to do 3~4 hours without needing to recharge.

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

I think I got my phat in '05 or '06? it still works fine; not mint condition, obviously, but the buttons are still fine and the screens don't have any weird stuff on them.

actually I'll admit one problem is that the battery life on the phat is shit. I seem to be able to do 3~4 hours without needing to recharge.

Yeah, I've had mine for about that long too. I've had absolutely no problems with it in the last 5 years :o

Battery life is kind of moot for me, since I usually only use my DS for 2~3 hours at a time, and when I do use it, it's almost always plugged in anyways.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

I seem to be able to do 3~4 hours without needing to recharge.

I recall my big one being able to do 4-6 hours or so. Mind you, I was playing with reduced volume most of the time. Not terrible, but the Lite's battery life is signifigantly better. I found myself unplugged a lot, so it matters to me. Each design has it's merits, to be sure.

And reading all of these anecdotes and hearing accounts from friends just posed one thought, you people break the DS? How long/hard do you have to be playing? I can't imagine breaking my phat or my Lite, but I probably don't play nearly as much as you folks. From all of this, I'm gauging the DS as the most fragile piece of Nintendo tech yet. Mind you, that's not saying much, Nintendo hardware is nigh upon indestructible.

 

[goldenquagsire]

I've dropped my DS a whole bunch and it doesn't have so much as a scratch on it. O_o

 

[Yarnchu]

Well uh, to be honest, it's sorta my fault my Phat is borked. See, I'm not known for having the greatest temper, and I got a little mad one day...so yeah. Now the entire screen is flooded with that dark ink/whatever it is they put in the screens. But even if it didn't break, I wouldn't be able to use it anymore after feeling how clunky it is in comparison to the Lite and DSi.

Durablity doesn't really seem to be an issue with any of the models unless you go out of your way to inflict damage upon it. But the Lite's hinges do break after a while, especially when dropped, as my brother found out rather recently.

I'm still suprised at how many of you guys hate the DSi. I mean, it isn't a necessary purchase or anything, but the bigger screens and better speakers, as well as the number of features included do make the system worth it, if you aren't going to miss the GBA slot.

But I still stand behind my original suggestion of the DS Lite, since it seems from the OP that you don't have a GBA or something.

 

[Phoenixsong]

My brother's phat broke because it was dropped in a way that compromised the hinges (and what was left of any wireless/Wi-Fi functionality, which was apparently already defective on his unit). My broken Lite was one of the aforementioned early batch that had crappy construction in the hinge/flex cable area, so it broke simply because the hinge couldn't take as much normal wear and tear. My old phat, now my brother's, and my newer-model Lite still work just as well as the day they were purchased. Hinges are perfect and no more than a few scratches.

 

[spaekle]

I've never had any of my DSes break, and I've had one of each model. My phat always had this one dead pixel that kind of bothered me, but it was still in pretty good condition when I sold it to a friend a few months ago. My lite is still perfectly good too.

they're not that clunky.

original GB WAS clunky, but everyone still carried them around.

Heh, good point. Back when the original game boy was still around I didn't care as much about putting things in my pocket and taking them everywhere, so the portability factor never bothered me then. :v I do like the sleek designs of the lite and the DSi better though, too. The phat was too lumpy.


Eh, I guess I'll go sit in the corner and marvel at how easily my micro fits in my pocket or something.

 

[Autumn]

I remember the day when I discovered that my lite fit perfectly into the breast pocket of my marching band uniform. :3 </random>

 

[fresh fruit for Adol]

Eh, I guess I'll go sit in the corner and marvel at how easily my micro fits in my pocket or something.

The one time I used a Micro I didn't like it; its screen was too small :c

 

[Blaziking the God General]

Thanks for the suggestions. And no, I don't have a working GBA. Somehow its screen got cracked and half of it is now black and I can't see anything worth shit.

I was considering waiting it out for the 3DS and getting a used GBA, but now my DS Lite has declared war against me. Yesterday I was playing Dragon Quest IX. In the middle of playing the game, the DS suddenly couldn't read the game, so it froze. I had to restart the system about 3 times before it read the card again. It did that about 2-3 times more throughout the course of the day.

Today, I was playing DQIX again and got through a very long dungeon and got through some cutscenes. I went to go to the bathroom, come back, and it couldn't read the card again, thus I had to restart.

And it's not just DQIX either. I was playing Disgaea and Suikoden Tierkreis a couple times and it happened while I was playing them. I thought it might just be a problem with the actual games, but I got DQIX new, and so now I know that it's the system.

So needless to say, my DS Lite is starting to decay beyond the buttons starting not to work. Since I plan on getting a 3DS eventually, I don't want to buy a new DSi or DS Lite just to buy a 3DS later. I don't have too much money to kick around, anyways. I don't really want to get a used one either, because I have bad experiences with used games not working well.

Right now I see my options as letting my DS Lite decay and ignore it until I can get the 3DS, or get a new DSi / DS Lite and wait a long time until I have money to buy a 3DS.

Help?

 

[spaekle]

I think it just boils down to whether you think you can go that long without a DS.

I never could - mostly because my preferred method of getting to sleep at night is playing my DS until I can hardly hold it up any more, but yeah. :v

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

As mentioned right above, all down to how long you can go without a DS. I personally would be mostly fine, my DS is usually only played when I'm out and about anyway.

 

[Yarnchu]

Well, in that case, I would opt for getting a used DS. A Phat would definitely be cheaper, so it shouldn't be too much of a hit to your wallet. I don't really see how anyone could last that long without a DS after owning one, tbh. But if you must save money, I guess you should wait...

 

[Jason-Kun]

Phat? Too clunky and breaks easily. DSi/XL? Clunky and it gets rid of the GBA slot for a couple of crappy cameras and features that aen''t even good or needed. What you really need is a Lite which is sleek, portable, and best of all it can still play GBA games.