gdgt

What more can be said about the amazing Nintendo DS. Being that this review is late to the game, sort of speak, I have the benefit of time to now put forth the following criticism. The Nintendo DS is fantastic. But it is also outdated. In a world where everyone has a smartphone and kids have access to iPod touch-like devices, the Nintendo DS is a dinosaur.

The role of the Nintendo DS is to keep my child occupied in the car and at various other transitional times where I wish her to be occupied. To that end the DS serves its purpose. However, an Ipod touch or Android phone is much more versatile in this respect. There are thousands of free and 99 cent apps that fit the bill nicely and that can be downloaded near-instantly from almost anywhere.

So as much as Nintendo got everything right when the DS was first released, it is showing its age. It simply cannot keep up with the better-connected (Game cartridges, really?), better-priced ($29.99 games, really?), and better-to-touch alternatives (A stylus, really?). Sure they have some great software experiences that cannot be found elsewhere. But that is less important than the versatility offered by the competition.