Nintendo DSi – Creativity over technology?
One would expect the launch of a new game console like the Nintendo DSi, the long-awaited successor to the DS Lite, to be cloaked in all sorts of technological superlatives: faster, bigger, more megapixels, but it doesn’t seem to be the case with the DSi, in fact, Nintendo certainly seems to have aimed for the creative over the technological with this release. How is that? Mainly in two areas, the camera and the music player. Launching a console (or any device) these days with 0.3-megapixel camera resolution is a bit like Dr. Evil proudly announcing a “Million Dollars!” – He barely raises an eyebrow. Add to that a music player that doesn’t support MP3 files (only AAC) and you’re wondering what Nintendo’s angle really is, but the company has gotten ahead of these questions quite well.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had this to say in the DSi launch announcement in October:
“You can share the impression that, since many of today’s mobile phones already incorporate similar camera and audio player functions, this news does not seem to play any important role in the expansion of DS. While these functions for phones phones are offered as additional utility tools, we would like to bring with DSi the entertainment value of playing games and enjoying sights and sounds by using these features in more proactive and fun ways in your daily activities.”
So the point with the DSi is not “How many megapixels does the camera have?” but “It has a simple camera (2, actually), now take a picture and we’ll give you the chance to have fun with it.” There are 11 different effects you can use to play around with and enhance your images, from stretching and mirroring to comparing and transforming two faces together. The point is not “The DSi will replace your iPod as your main music player”, but rather “Take your favorite track or record something with the built-in microphone and see what you can do with it”. The DSi Sound application allows you to independently adjust the speed and pitch of a song or other audio file, as well as add a host of effects.
These creative angles come together to create a fun mini media center, as one site noted “the ultimate blogging tool”, as the features described are combined with an updated version of the DS browser and (for the first time on a handheld) firmware. that can be upgraded via the web to create a new console that feels like its time, capturing the spirit of the times…
Who needs more megapixels? Let’s be creative.
