Just when you thought there wasn't a reason to buy yet another Nintendo DS, the game manufacturer has announced that it will produce it's fouth generation model of the popular dual screen device, this time in a large-screen format.
Upon hearing this announcement I immediately thought that Nintendo may have targeted a neglected niche - children whose parents may purchase a DS instead of a full console. It seemed that the expanded gaming experience with a larger screen would be appealing if I were a "tween" desiring to enjoy some more robust gaming. It appears though that Nintendo is targeting an adult demographic here with earth tones and a large stylus (not to mention a pre-loaded dictionary.) While I'm not aware of any data to base this assumption on, I would imagine that adults in the U.S. would dismiss this larger device given: a) Their access to full - television projected - consoles and PC's and b) the market's propencity to move to smaller multi function devices.
Perhaps there's a demand in the geriatric demographic that I'm missing. Or perphas I'm not being honest with myself. In the back of my mind, I would indeed love to play "The Phantom Hourglass" on a screen bigger than a credit card, and I can see "Master Sudoku" being easier on the eyes in a screen that appears to be rougly 30% larger than those on my DSi.
However, if I really wanted to do some large screen portable gaming, I'd probably go for something more like this:
Yes, it's a Nintendo 64 console with batteries and a small LCD screen wrapped up with a controller into one neat package. If I'm gonna take something big that plays this caliber of game, I think I'd rather take along the analog joystick and play some old favorites like "The Ocarnia of Time," "Goldeneye," and the greatest "Mario Kart" ever made. Someone better tell the folks over at Nintendo US to step in and mod that DSi LL!
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