In the United States market, the iOS range of devices has now overtaken the Sony PSP in the listing of the most popular gaming platforms. There are two main PSP products (PSP and PSPgo), whereas there are three core iOS products (iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone), but it’s still a reasonable comparison to make. In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of people are playing Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds these days.

Let me preface this by saying that I do not personally own an iOS device and am still partial to traditional control schemes for my gaming, but I can also recognize just how popular iPhone and iPad games have become. It also helps that there are a lot of free games for iOS and basically no (legitimately) free games for the PSP. That helps too.

Nintendo is still reigning supreme in the mobile gaming market, but Apple looks like it’s aiming for the spot of top dog. Can the iPhone really beat out the DSi and the upcoming 3DS for the portable gaming crown? Is the multifunctionality of iOS products misleading, since the PSP and DS are largely dedicated to gaming? Either way, I don’t think Nintendo is worried. They always find a way to print money.

[Game Pro]

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Nintendo DSi XL with 93% larger screen area

The Nintendo DS family of gaming handhelds has gone through several different incarnations in its relatively short history. The original DS launched in 2004 and it was later updated with the Nintendo DS Lite and, more recently, with the Nintendo DSi. Well, a newer version is almost here and it almost points back to the original.

You might remember hearing about the Nintendo DSi LL launched in Japan, offering a pair of 4.2-inch displays that are 93 percent larger than the screens on the Nintendo DS Lite. It’s taken a little bit of time, but the handheld is almost here in North America as the Nintendo DSi XL. I guess they figured we wouldn’t know what to make of LL.

You don’t get any expanded functionality with the Nintendo DSi XL compared to the smaller DSi, but it is a significantly larger device with a full pen-sized stylus. Whereas the DS Lite went smaller than the original DS, the DSi XL goes in the opposite direction.

The Nintendo DSi XL will be launching in North America on March 28 with a suggested retail price of $189.99. That price includes three pre-installed games to train your brain: Brain Age Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, and Photo Clock.

For Canadians, I hear that if you trade in your Nintendo DSi into an EB Games or GameStop location, they’ll give you up to $175 credit toward the purchase of a DSi XL. That sounds like a good deal to me, but your mileage may vary.

Nintendo DS Family: Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo DSi XL - Photo: Nintendo

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In a nutshell, the Nintendo DSi LL is everything that the Nintendo DSi has to offer, except with a pair of bigger screens. The “LL” in the name presumably refers to the two larger 4.2-inch screens. This makes the DSi LL about 50% heavier than the regular DSi too.

Even though the screens are bigger, battery life has actually improved this time around. The DSi LL boasts a battery life extended by one to three hours, depending on the brightness settings. Nintendo has also decided to bundle three free DSiWare titles with the LL too: a humanities brain training game, a science brain training game, and DS Easy Dictionary.

The new Nintendo DSi LL will hit store shelves in Japan on November 21. Available in Dark Brown, Wine Red, or Natural White, the LL is set to retail for 20,000 Yen ($220). No word on an American release just yet.

Source: Newlaunches

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This move toward Facebook was originally announced during the E3 press conference earlier this year and it gives gamers Nintendo DSi owners the ability to upload pictures directly to their Facebook accounts. After all, this dual-screened wonder comes with a pair of cameras.

It won’t be able to replace your iPhone or your BlackBerry any time soon, but little applications like this for the DSi could help it better compete against what smartphones can do for users. It won’t be long before we see some custom Twitter and mobile web integration, I imagine.

The cool thing is that you can not only upload regular photos taken using the DSi to Facebook, but you can also upload pictures that have been manipulated using the handheld’s built-in software. You’ve surely seen the commercials for the face-squishing and face-stretching.

I wonder if Microsoft will be pushing the envelope further when it integrates Facebook and Twitter into the Xbox 360 dashboard later this year.

Source: 1Up

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