Apparently the lowercase “i” stands for what “I’m going to be doing with the DS.” Not “Interactive” or “Internet.” I think that means they want it to be more of a multifunction device, instead of simply a handheld gaming console. I’m hoping that it gets there, but the lack of MP3 support is going to hurt the DSi. I’m just saying. If they want me to use it for more than just video games, they’re going to have to at least try.
Mine, in matte black, is on its way from Amazon. I’m the early adopter that they’re making money from. I’m looking forward to not carrying cartridges around. Even though the current cartridges are about the size of a large postage stamp and about as thick as a quarter, it’s just too much to carry around in this modern age.
The era of digital stores, online repositories of small, easily downloadable applications and games, locked to a single platform is already here, has already been here for several years.
I’m just astounded that it took this long to get to this level of adoption. I know that carts and proprietary formats won’t ever go away, but at least offer the same software that’s physically available. As a handheld owner, I know that I’d buy games again just so that I wouldn’t have to carry the media around. That’s why I like services like Steam and Impulse on the PC. Impulse I like even more because I don’t even have to be logged in to play the games that I buy from them.
Is that so hard?
The market is there, the companies just need to react to the demand and provide the virtual goods and services.