Hacking Why should you do/not get a DSi!

[Ducky]

For that I know many people have a problem with getting a DSi yes or no.. So I decided ill just catch all the reasons as you should do so..
just to save others time when looking for the reasons.
Ill name my reasons , you just add your ideas.

Very important , im looking at that from a position where you DO flash your DS with any flashcart

Pros

DSi Ware
Camera
Built in internet

Cons

No GBA Slot
Requires buying again the flashcart and the hardware , like buying a DS again, Sort of waste of money.

 

[Evilmaster1985]

You forget to note under cons:
Possible future firmware updates may cause DSi flashcarts already on the market to no longer work. (on the updated DSi)

Greetz, Vistabuser.

 

[kimit]

Under Pros you should add SEXY matte finish

 

[Nocturnius]

For me the built in internet is rather useless. It is rather slow. can't handle a lot of sites and its a taking up one of my slots lol. The camera feature I love. get to mess around with it. pretty cool if u ask me lol. For alot of people the gba slot problem is big. for me though its no big deal. I have a ds lite. so i can use the flashcart for the lite and use the dsi for games i feel like buying or for the warez. : ]

 

[Legobot]

Is the DSi region locked or is it just the DSiWare?

 

[BakuFunn]

Its only the DSI ware.

 

[Ducky]

Added =P

 

[beefymeatloaf420]

Pros:
12% thinner
Looks cool
Larger screens
Improved speakers
5 Brightness settings
SD slot
Photos can be synced with Photo Channel on Wii
WPA and WPA2 suport
DSi Shop
Camera
Acekard 2i

Cons:
Cameras are only .3 megapixel
Power switch is now power button (less likely to break, more likely to accidentally turn off)
Battery Life on lowest setting reduced to 14 hours
Only plays AAC audio (I think)
No Game Boy Advance Slot (No rumble, Guitar Hero, or migrating on Pokemon D&P)
All previous flashcards for DS no longer work
Upgradeable firmware potentially block DSi flashcards
DSiWare Region locking
WPA and WPA2 don't work with old games

 

[Thunderboyx]

Pros:
12% thinner
Looks cool
Larger screens
Improved speakers
5 Brightness settings
SD slot
Photos can be synced with Photo Channel on Wii
WPA and WPA2 suport
DSi Shop
Camera
Acekard 2i

Cons:
Cameras are only .3 megapixel
Power switch is now power button (less likely to break, more likely to accidentally turn off)
Battery Life on lowest setting reduced to 14 hours
Only plays AAC audio (I think)
No Game Boy Advance Slot (No rumble, Guitar Hero, or migrating on Pokemon D&P)
All previous flashcards for DS no longer work
Upgradeable firmware potentially block DSi flashcards
DSiWare Region locking
WPA and WPA2 don't work with old games

Acekard 2i shouldn't be a pro, because you have to buy it to play your dsi?

 

[unknownworlder]

Isn't it possible to avoid firmware updates? Sort of like the PSP? That could let you keep on using the ak2i.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I think a con is that it's a lot of money to pay for not a huge upgrade. Also, giving up GBA support is just too much. We'll most likely figure out a way to emulate it (or at least use the extra RAM to run GBA games) but until then it's not worth it.

 

[ryukyus]

dude save your money for the real next generation nintendo handheld, do not waste your money on that crap, as far as I'M concern ds lite is 100 times better than dsi, there is no gain in buying dsi, and on top of that, the dsi ware games are lame

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

dude save your money for the real next generation nintendo handheld, do not waste your money on that crap, as far as I'M concern ds lite is 100 times better than dsi, there is no gain in buying dsi, and on top of that, the dsi ware games are lame

I wouldn't go that far. The DSi is definitely better. My point was that I don't think it's that much better. I just don't think it's worth going out and spending another $300 (or however much it costs) if you already have a working DS Lite.

Another thing I forgot to add: the battery life. Come on Nintendo! A handheld with less battery life than the predecessor? That's awful!

 

[Narin]

I think a con is that it's a lot of money to pay for not a huge upgrade. Also, giving up GBA support is just too much. We'll most likely figure out a way to emulate it (or at least use the extra RAM to run GBA games) but until then it's not worth it.

RAM isn't the problem, if it was, then we could have emulated GBA games using a slot 2 RAM expansion pack. Its not the memory, its the processing power. Th DSi and DS Lite/Phat simply doesn't have enough processing power to emulate GBA or N64 games. How the DS did it was to run the games from the slot 2using actual GBA hardware/gba compatibility mode. So GBA games weren't being emulated but running under actual hardware. So far from the looks of it, it was removed from the DSi.

 

[aphirst]

In my opinion the only hope for GBA on the DSi is if they kept the hardware in the device without the slot (such that you could, say, download the GBA ROMs onto the SD card via a propreitary Nintendo Online Store or some kind). Then it would just be a case of fooling the DSi to run it from there instead.

However, if it doesn't have the internal gubbins, then there's no chance for GBA games, and as such, no chance for me buying it.

(If the DSi were a bit smaller, didn't have the silly cameras, and had better battery life, then I would have considered having a GBMicro for GBA and a DSi for everything else. Oh well, Ninty's loss.)

 

[Narin]

In my opinion the only hope for GBA on the DSi is if they kept the hardware in the device without the slot (such that you could, say, download the GBA ROMs onto the SD card via a propreitary Nintendo Online Store or some kind). Then it would just be a case of fooling the DSi to run it from there instead.

However, if it doesn't have the internal gubbins, then there's no chance for GBA games, and as such, no chance for me buying it.

(If the DSi were a bit smaller, didn't have the silly cameras, and had better battery life, then I would have considered having a GBMicro for GBA and a DSi for everything else. Oh well, Ninty's loss.)

The DSi doesn't have the GBA mode that the DS Lite/Phat had. Slot 1 cards could boot the system in GBA mode which shows the Nintendo GBA logo and so on which lets you run games from the slot 2. Though even with nothing in the slot 2, the logo would still appear but this is absent from the DSi meaning they removed the GBA mode from it.

Also the DSi runs DS games and flashcards in a DS compatibility mode which lmits the games, flashcards and homebrew to what is available in a normal DS Phat/Lite. Meaning that the increased memory, cameras, the SD slot, WPA and other DSi features are locked out and not accessible to normal DS games and flashcarts. The only way to access them is to break the DSi encryption and buy yet another flashcart that runs in the DSi mode.

So don't expect any miracles folks, basically the DSi flashcarts now have the same functionality of the ones you have on the normal DS but minus Slot 2 support for GBA, Rumble and RAM.

 

[Hop2089]

DSiware games aren't so great for right now but later on when third parties get the support maybe DSiware will become good. I didn't utilize the GBA slot very much so that wasn't much of a hassle but if you buy make sure you base your purchase on what type of DSiware you want since all games won't be available for all regions. Don't be biased and if the games released in US/EU aren't what you want don't be afraid to import but I encourage you to wait a while.

 

[Waddle Dee]

How about that you can pirate by using an SD card? Wow, Nintendo, good job on screwing yourselves over.


... And no GBA support? What in the HELL were they thinking!?

 

[Narin]

How about that you can pirate by using an SD card? Wow, Nintendo, good job on screwing yourselves over.


... And no GBA support? What in the HELL were they thinking!?

No flashcard can access the SD slot unless the strong encryption and digital sigantures are cracked on the DSi are cracked. Short from a serious hardware exploit, its near impossible. Also DSiWare is signed and encrypted only for the DS that downloads it. You can back it up and even give it to others, but that file will only work on your DS.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I think a con is that it's a lot of money to pay for not a huge upgrade. Also, giving up GBA support is just too much. We'll most likely figure out a way to emulate it (or at least use the extra RAM to run GBA games) but until then it's not worth it.

RAM isn't the problem, if it was, then we could have emulated GBA games using a slot 2 RAM expansion pack. Its not the memory, its the processing power. Th DSi and DS Lite/Phat simply doesn't have enough processing power to emulate GBA or N64 games. How the DS did it was to run the games from the slot 2using actual GBA hardware/gba compatibility mode. So GBA games weren't being emulated but running under actual hardware. So far from the looks of it, it was removed from the DSi.

I'm fully aware on how the DS Lite did it. I was hoping that they didn't take out the GBA hardware though. Is it fully confirmed that that's the case?
QUOTE(Narin @ Jan 1 2009, 12:32 AM)

No flashcard can access the SD slot unless the strong encryption and digital sigantures are cracked on the DSi are cracked. Short from a serious hardware exploit, its near impossible. Also DSiWare is signed and encrypted only for the DS that downloads it. You can back it up and even give it to others, but that file will only work on your DS.

They found a way to share VC and Wiiware titles on the Wii (WADs) so in theory it should be possible on the DS.