Nintendo DS/Headscratchers


 * Okay, so the DS's screens are maybe an inch apart, but a lot of games treat them as though they were right next to each other. It kind of ruins cutscenes.
 * This might have come about due to the various DS redesigns. Their screens are a different distance from each other than on the original DS, and developers can't know which model the player is using, so they develop the games not to take the hinge into account. I know there are some games that do have the graphics "pass behind" the hinge and it can seem weird there when it assumes there's more or less space there than there actually is.
 * Actually, there is at least one case of a game that does something subtly different depending on whether it's being played on an original DS or a DS Lite - the Mario Kart DS intro is different depending on which game you play it on; on the original DS, Mario goes "yahoo", but on the DS Lite, Mario goes "Here we go". Therefore, we can know that DS games can identify whether they're being played on an original DS or a DS Lite. So it's just that developers didn't bother trying to make games work right with the gap.
 * Why are they getting rid of the Game Boy Advance slot? I know the Game boy is obselete now but it was formerly the most popular ever handheld console. A lot of people still probably have old GBA games and might not be able to use them if their GBA breaks (Game Boys are almost impossible to find.)
 * And there's the whole issue that you can no longer trade pokemon into the DS games without a DS or DS lite (meaning you have to spend between $80-$120 if you don't have one readily available). All the Generation 4 games have Pal Park, but only the older DSes can actually use it.
 * They can only keep backwards compatibility with the Game Boy Advance for so long, especially as they add features and the difference between hardware increases. It was either get rid of the GBA slot or keep it at the sake of progress. Besides, the the DS Lite is still being produced alongside the two D Si models, so there is a choice after all.
 * What was the point of the DSi XL? They already downsized the DS with the DS Lite! Making it bigger again is just defeating the purpose.
 * Something about people with large hands or bad eyesight, I suppose. I really don't see the need for it, I'll just nip it as a collector's item in the future since my original D Si does the job quite fine.
 * Taking a look at promotional material for the XL, the device was meant for older people and as a, not just a game console, but as a utility. This commercial shows middle aged people using a DSi XL for recipes.
 * It really is a lot more comfortable to hold for long play sessions if one had issues with the previous models. Smaller isn't always better.
 * COMPENSATION!
 * So others can watch you have fun.
 * Hell, what was the point of the DSi to begin with? Nintendo clearly has had the 3DS in development for a while now, which includes all the DSi functionality and then some, so the DSi comes off as the worst kind of revenue-enhancing device: GBA functionality removed from the original DS and replaced with a camera like one you can find on many cell phones, obsolete in the face of the 3DS within two years of its release dates outside Japan (a pretty short life span for any game system), what was the point of it?
 * Perhaps as an experiment? Various features, such as the multiple cameras, internet access, an online store, Sound Player, and aesthetics, were being tested for the first time on a Nintendo handheld. Some things, like the downloadable games, were enough of a success so that the 3DS equivalent can use the same memory card. Others, such as the internet access, required a major overhaul on the 3DS. And some things, like the actual dimensions of the 3DS, would more closely resemble the DS Lite.
 * Nintendo apparently finds it inconceivable that someone might still be playing on an original release-day DS phat, and to that end has stopped making accessories for them. I've been using a mechanical pencil in place of a stylus for three years, Nintendo! Don't release hardware with easily-lost bits that you don't intend to replace!
 * It's also next to impossible to find a charger cable for the original DS these days. You either have to buy second hand, or use a third party charger.
 * Good thing the original DS uses the same charger as the GBA SP.
 * Anyone else have trouble with games playing on D Ses that are a couple years old?
 * I did have issues with my DS's touch screen, though it has since been (mostly) resolved due to some shaking, though it is still a little off in some areas.