Game Consoles

When Nintendo Wii first came out in the year 2006, it made waves. It was not because of an incredible launch of an array of titles, which it did not then and it was also absolutely not because of Wii packing in some dazzling HD graphics; it did not then. It was because everything boiled down to motion-controlled interface that had the players hooked on to gaming and in fact experience the sport for the first time. Playing tennis, all of a sudden became about hitting and swinging the ball, instead of the age old way of hitting the right buttons using your fingers on a control pad towards the right corner. The whole of gaming industry was revolutionised.

Now, after about four years and a whopping 75 million worldwide Nintendo Wii sales later, both Microsoft and Sony have given their high end answers to wii-mote and they could not have been more distinct. All these three major game consoles have motion controls that are more or less similar in one way or the other. Unlike the Sony PlayStation Move and the Wii-mote, Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 has decided to chuck out the buttons, or even a controller for that matter, relying solely on the voice commands and body gestures. As the 500 million dollar campaign says, “You are the Controller”, for better or worse. Microsoft is hoping that you will completely forget the controllers, those old things you used to make games work, before Christmas. Read on to find out more about the amazing Kinect.

How the Technology works?

So, here is how it works: The Kinect sensor sports an RGB camera and a depth sensor which tracks your movement. This sensor measures the positioning of 48 key joints in your anatomy and by tracking the movements of these joints and, amazingly, it can figure out exactly the position your body is in. Want to know more, the views are 3 dimensional by the input being overlayed that is obtained from a depth sensor enabled RGB camera. Meanwhile, multi array microphone on board scrutinizes the room seeking your voice, Yes, you read it right, your VOICE! The Kinect also allows you to control your Xbox 360 using just your voice commands. It sounds almost too good to be true, is it not? This is a dream come true for every 6 year old child. This is the kind of technology we have always dreamt about in the 60s as grumpy little kids. But, we are really talking technology here, not fantasy. And so, like most of you, what we nervously want to know is, does this thing really work, and is it any good at it?

Design components:

As far as the design is concerned, the Kinect Sensor itself is quite glossy complementing the look of the new Xbox 360. But, this also means that dust and fingerprints settles on the surface well too. The motorised stand that is mighty sturdy, tilts sensor vertically for calibration. The bar itself measures around (W x H x D) 284 x 70 x 70mm.  In the fascia, there is a small green LED light to indicate power and also the above mentioned three cameras. The one in the middle is the RGB camera, and in other words, it is a 640 x 480 pixels camera with 32 bit colour and at 30fps. And, the outer pair of cameras consist of the depth sensors, which is a blend of an infrared projector allowing Kinect to have a 3D of the room in an array of lighting conditions. Note that, the darker rooms seem to work better and in the “near-pitch” black settings, the tracking improves considerably, but the cost it pays for this is the RGB camera virtually sees nothing. And, finally, you get a quartet of microphones too. For all of this stuff to work, there is the, as Microsoft calls, “Special Sauce” which is a software that takes all this information and parses through it for skeletal mapping and facial or voice recognition. Since that is software drives, it demands a little processing power that was reserved for Kinect, but it seems to be pretty minimal; about 60MB of the 512MB total for the Xbox 360 memory reserved especially for the motion sensor. Since that is a fixed amount that cannot be lowered, we hope the developers make the most of it.

Purple for Kinect:

Kinect’s colour is purple. Yes, we say so because, while all of Xbox games so far have come in that distinctive green DVD cases, the cases of Kinect come in Purple. Hence, from now on, be aware that a Purple case means, it requires a Kinect Sensor and if it is Green, it is the normal Xbox 360 game. For those games which actually do not need Kinect, but do have the Kinect for Xbox 360 features for the sake of those who have it, will come with a ‘Better with Kinect’ sticker on the casing. This is Microsoft’s way of avoiding bewilderment in the console games market. Hence, there will be no juicing out your brain if something is compatible with Kinect or not. Well, our final word is, if it is Purple, go for it dude and divas.

Value for your money:

The Kinect Adventures mini-game bundle together with the sensor bar plus would cost you £125, or you have the option to purchase the Kinect that is bundled together with the Xbox 360 Slim 4GB for £250. We know that it probably would not have escaped your notice that £125 is rather a lot of money. After all, you can pick up a brand new Xbox 360 console for just about £140, and on the other hand, a PlayStation Move controller costs just £40. Nevertheless, despite this, you don’t really think Kinect to be a comprise in terms of value for money, and the reason is as follows.

The Kinect for Xbox 360 Motion Sensor detects as many as 6 persons in a room supporting 2 active players at a time. Hence, that £125 brings with it two player gaming from the minute you buy it. This would mean you end up paying £127 for the corresponding PS eye along with the PS Move setup together with the 2 Move controllers and navigation controllers. Our only quibble with Kinect is that, if you have no friends (a highly unlikely situation) and just wish to play on your own, you still to have to fork out the full £125 regardless. While this is a gripe, the single piece nature of the device does not allow it to work any other way.

Connect the Kinect:

There are two different ways to connect your Kinect to the Xbox 360. If possess got one of the new, slim models, you will find a proprietary connection on the rear, into which, you can directly plug in the Kinect. This also doubles as the power supply to the sensor. However, if you are one of the few unlucky ones stuck with an older model, you can still connect the Kinect in by using one of the two USB ports on the fascia and you will also have to plug it into the wall for power using this method, too. Preferably, the Kinect’s sensor will need a minimum of six to eight feet of distance between the device and you, to work without any issues. Again, it would be ideal to keep another five feet plus or minus distance on either sides of the room such that you get to move around freely. We are actually talking a bare minimum; here you would not want to have any lesser space than that.

This sure does seem to be a handicap with a lot of eager Xbox gamers who run short of this kind of space requirement, especially when they are residing in apartments or dormitories. Note that the specified six feet is just not a recommendation, but a requirement. A small consolation would be that try placing the Kinect Sensor on your TV top as against placing it below or in the front and this might prove to be a bit helpful in this regard. In this way, the camera has more to look at, and you can also make the most of the room you have if you have got limited space available. And, it is as easy as that. Once you have managed to position the Kinect sensor, just switch on your Xbox, and you are then taken through a very simple setup process.

Interface:

Kinect Sensor for Xbox 360 comes with its own menu system which can be accessed from the dashboard of Xbox 360. Inside this menu, you will be able to access all the available Kinect compatible entertainment features. In addition to this, you can also browse through these features without using the Xbox 360 controller. The whole Kinect experience begins as soon as you switch on your 360.

If you decide to set up the play space, there is a “smiley face” calibration kind of cards. Assuming that the lighting conditions are ideal, that is, not too bright for infrared and not too dim for the webcam to detect anything at all, you have to be walking to and fro a lot as you try to line up the card with the help of the on screen glasses. Then, as with Nintendo Wii’s Mii, you have to calibrate your Avatar ID, looks like Microsoft wanted to have some fun at our expense here. If you wish to be signed in automatically as soon as you walk in front of the Kinect sensor, you will be asked to move around the play space and lineup with a series of grids while at the same time doing various antics with your arms reminiscent of the antiquated dance routines, like the robot arm slump and the disco finger point. We just hope that this is not some plan from Redmond to record us secretly on the goofiest poses possible.

On reaching the dashboard of the Xbox, waving at the telly once more will navigate you to the special all new dashboard menu. From this menu, you will be able to access all Kinect-compatible contents which include the existing game in the device, Sky Player, Zune music, Last fm, ESPN etc. You can also navigate via your Xbox controller, but what Microsoft really intends you to do is, make use of the hand gestures. And this is the point where you make a decision if Kinect is your kind or not; If you don’t fancy waving your hand, no worries here because you can navigate ESPN with just mere voice commands. Well, it is a shame that we cannot say the same for the other two services, as voice search does not exist either.

Who do u interact with?

At most times, you will be interacting with the Kinect dashboard and with most Kinect games too, you will be doing it in the same way. If you hold your hand out in front of you, a hand icon appears on the screen. You need to wave your hand such that the icon mimics your action moving to the option you want it to and if you want to make a selection, just hold still for a few seconds. You will see a circular progress bar going around your hand icon displaying the amount of time you will have to hold still. We found it to be a bit of a tedious experience. Few games like the Dance Central, makes use of a point and swipe action that is much more intuitive and less messy. You might get used to it after a while, but to be frank, we cannot see why anyone would want to navigate an Xbox menu by holding their arm in the air, instead of just pressing a few buttons on the controller. We accept the fact that there is a certain novelty aspect to it, and while you will try not allowing yourselves to go back to using the 360 controller, you would certainly want to do so at times.

Voice control:

Possibly, the most fantasy like feature of the Xbox 360 Kinect is its voice control capability. While using the media services such as Sky Player or the Zune music service, you will be able control your Xbox just by using your voice. You will be able to get the attention of the console by saying “Xbox”, and then a list of commands pops up from the top of the screen. If you are playing music or watching a video, then these commands typically include pause, play, stop, rewind, fast forward, faster and slower. We will let you know how well all these commands work on the performance section.

Video:

If you possess a good quality VGA camera and a powerful mulity array mic, video chat is a kind of no barrier. The good news is that, this part on the Kinect actually works great, that is, once you manage to get this thing connected. The sensor will not be too fond of you sitting down, with the lighting conditions being the biggest trouble maker with the device’s inability to gesture your hands. Fortunately, you have some options to use a controller here. Even if you are just looking at using Kinect for audio alone (like a mic) it can be done so as smart noise cancellation  is any day better as against wearing a headset.

Games:

As we had mentioned earlier, it comes with a free copy of Kinect Adventures, which is a title with lots of mini sub-games. To be clear; it is like Wii Sports, simply devised to showcase the various capabilities of the sensor. We will give you an idea about this title considering that this will likely be the first and in some instance, the only Kinect experience for the gamers. The Adventures is by all means and intent, you requisite pack of the mini-games that is meant to give you a taste of Microsoft’s campaign of “body as controller” experience, under the disguise of a jungle theme. And for that, it does a pretty good job. There are totally five games and each comes with a multiplayer component, which includes the River Rush and the Rallyball. It would be easy on you if you just think of this as a basic party game and not really expect much of replay value outside of an occasional round of show off to your friends.

The other popular games include the crowd favourite Dance Central, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Kinectimals, Kinect Sports and Kinect Joy Ride. Hormonix are the makers of the Dance Central, which is a rhythm game that is a Rock Band with the dance choreographed. This is one of the games that really exhibits the capability of the Kinect; track your movement, teach you dance and offer all the embarrassment you ever asked for. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved is Ubisoft’s exercise game that has a handful of games, complete lesson plans and also keeps track of your progress too. In this game, the menu system is quite fast and the on-screen avatar is eerily accurate. Kinectimals is very much similar to a pet simulator that focuses majorly on minigames. While Kinect Adventures is a similar version of Wii Sports Resort, the Kinect Sports is nothing but plain Wii Sports; and this we don’t mean on a positive note. The games on the Kinect Sports are not extremely accurate.  The Kinect Joy Ride is a racing game that requires you to stand up, which is sure to frustrate a number of people to begin with.

Performance:

Beyond doubt this Xbox Kinect does pack some fantastic technology and is sure enough a fairly impressive system, but then if you wanna truly take full advantage of it, you will have to minimize your expectations in terms of what it can and is not capable of doing. If you are expecting your on screen avatar to mimic exactly what you do rapidly and in complete sync with you with absolutely no lag, amidst playing a game, well be ready for some disappointment. You just cannot do that in all games. To be more precise, Kinect is more about thinking your body to be a controller and less about mimicking your precise real world motions that appears on screen in real time.

The irritating lag:

For instance, the Fighters Uncaged is a 3D Beat them up title, where you will be controlling your fighter with your fighting moves. But you will witness a significant lag between the punches and kicks that you perform and the same being actually mimicked on your telly screen. By letting rip with a yanking uppercut, you might have swung even before your avatar mirrors your move. This goes true for all games. Again, in the Kinect Adventure’s minigame of River Rush, you are required to bend and jump if you want to shun barriers. But then your avtar doesn’t really sync his jump with you and there is a split second delay.

Across the board, with all games and apps, this delay is totally dependent on your speed of movement. For instance, a slow, gradual movement has almost no noticeable lag at all, and so, the quicker you move, the more pronounced the lag is. And again, no matter how high you jump or whether you tuck your knees in or anything like that, your on screen avatar will just jump in the same way each time. Do not expect it to mirror your exact movements. This is why, with most games, your movements simply trigger a pre-animated reaction in the game, instead of the avatars exactly mimicking you. This will bother you a lot for the first few times you play with the Kinect and will prevent you from having the kind of fun you might have envisioned, when Microsoft announced the product for the first time. However, if you manage to get over with this issue, it will not be all doom and gloom.

What is with the other games?

However, the good news is this lag issue is kind of irrelevant in majority of the games anyways. For instance, Harmonix’s Dance Central, the makers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero is simply all about skill, precision and timing. You will have to do the right dance moves in time with the music and dancers on screen, in order to get anywhere near a good score. Here, the lag does not come into, because you are simply mirroring the dancers, rather than the dancers mirroring you. Here again, there is a plethora of health and fitness related games such as The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout. It is more about body position and balance as against flying kicks, quick moves or punches. Just imagine a Yoga game wherein the on-screen tutor is more into analyzing your postures and teaches you to improvise your Downward facing dog position. Kinect is just as much about this kind of stuff as it is about the hardcore action titles. And hence, what it has done is, it has gotten the Xbox a more preferred gaming console for the casual gamers; something that is not offered by the PlayStation Move.

Accuracy:

As you must have guessed by now, it does take a while to get to grips with the Microsoft Kinect Sensor. Just ignoring the lag issues with some games, the other major issue you will be facing is to get the hang of a new kind of hand and eye coordination. A few of you might find it really hard enough to catch a ball or donk a ping pong ball in real life without messing up and with Kinect, you will have to do all of this on behalf of your on-screen character. You will be forced to relocate your thinking into your avatar’s body timing the precise movements for it, and it is kind of tricky that what it sounds, particularly keeping the lag in mind.

When you consider the games such as Kinect Adventures, throwing obstacles at you, you will find yourselves wanting to wait until that obstacle reached the screen before performing the appropriate tactic, rather than waiting until it reached the on-screen avatar. This means, you will be often too late to perform the jump or sidestep. Once again, this is something which you will improve over time. However, this again simply represents a hurdle between you and the game. As any good gamer will want to, you will want to feel inside the games you were playing. But in general, with the Microsoft Kinect, you will not get that feeling at all and, remember, you are still just controlling a character, who is not actually you on the screen. As soon as you have got the hang of it though, Kinect will prove to be perfectly accurate enough. If you like to know when you have got into terms with it, here it is: on messing up you tend you blame yourself as against blaming the game.

Confusion:

There are instances when the Kinect gets kind of confused, the frequent one being when someone steps into the vicinity of the Kinect’s sensor with someone else gaming. In such scenarios, Kinect tends to lock on the wrong person, causing a lot of mess. Imagine if this happens when you are in the last level of a game with a high level of difficulty and have just about one life to finish it off. We also noticed a few problems with the voice control.

Voice control works?

Controlling the Sky Player with voice commands is major fun and while it is a limited function time to time, it is almost perfect. The voice command informs the console that you are commencing to talk to it, and the on-screen options, which resembles the original Monkey Island command menu pops up quickly. The Xbox 360 more often than not did exactly as we asked it to, it is really great fun and the kids will love it for sure. However, we are not trying to say that it is a perfect system, because it is actually not. For instance, there are very high chances of someone saying “Xbox” when you are playing with your Xbox. While it is not unusual for your friends in the room to utter “Xbox,” it unfortunately triggers the voice command feature erroneously. This can be easily remedied if there was any kind of individual voice recognition system, wherein you could instruct your Xbox to only respond to a particular individual’s voice. But alas, this is not possible – not yet, to say the least.

The second quibble with voice control was while is it effortless to just say “Xbox — pause” with something inevitable popping up, it is even more effortless to just hit the pause button on the controller. Hence, for this sole reason, we can imagine many gamers simply abandoning the voice control system completely. But, on the other hand, we can also see a just as many people being so fascinated by this feature that they never want to go back to their controller. Talking about Pause, Xbox has also made up a new universal pause gesture. You got to get used to this one; place your right hand down at your side and raise your left hand, palm out, 45 degrees outward from your side and then wait a few seconds. You will see the Xbox guide popping up from the dashboard with a unique pause menu for every title. Looks to be a just a necessary evil to us.

Package:

Microsoft has retained its packaging aesthetics in the Xbox 360, with the biggest and noticeable change being the slit in the cardboard to accommodate the Kinect Adventures. The retail package is covered by yet another slim layer of cardboard and ads that keep the game in place. Opening the top flap reveals a very purple interior (remember? Kinect’s colour choice). You will unearth a USB extension cable, a handful of brochures together with an AC adapter behind the sensor making the Kinect compatible with the older version of Xbox 360 models.

Verdict:

From its date of release, the Kinect has had a bit of a rocky ride. There had been plenty of criticism, but in fact, it is actually pretty good. The issue will be, Kinect will be most anticipated by the hard core gamers who have got a mountain of games and looking for something really new. But, this console is actually not for that type of a gamer. It is true that there is plenty of Kinect games that are aimed at the hard core gamers, but it was actually designed to get the Xbox 306 to a wider set of audience.

On one side, we loved the voice control which works quite well and never has any issues with dealing with the games or apps and misunderstanding what you command. The Kinect opens up the Xbox 360 into a much more of a well rounded console. And on the other side, we hate having to point the arms in the air to make selections from the Kinect menus; it is really annoying and we bet, you would prefer the point and swipe method that is employed by some games. The need of space can also prove to be a big issue for most consumers who just do not have enough space in their living rooms. Lag gives a feeling as though the Kinect is not a finished product while such delays exist. And finally, it certainly is more expensive than we would have liked it to be, but this is a point that is hard to criticize on, as the Kinect is one of its kind. Overall, though Microsoft Kinect is not perfect, it is a lovable console and a very impressive piece of technology. In the months and years to come, we are sure it will spawn out some truly revolutionary games.

Microsoft Xbox Kinect Motion Sensor – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Microsoft
Model Name	Kinect for Xbox 360
Accessory type	Motion sensor
Supported game console	Xbox and Xbox 360
Dimensions (W x H x D)	284 x 70 x 70mm
Colour	Black
Sensor	Colour and depth-sensing lenses Voice microphone array Tilt motor for sensor adjustment
Field of View	Horizontal field of view: 57 degrees Vertical field of view: 43 degrees Physical tilt range: 27 degrees Depth sensor range: 1.2m – 3.5m
Data Streams	320×240 16-bit depth @ 30 frames/sec  640×480 32-bit colour@ 30 frames/sec 16-bit audio @ 16 kHz
Skeletal Tracking System	Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players Tracks 20 joints per active player Ability to map active players to Xbox LIVE Avatars
Audio System	Xbox LIVE party chat and in-game voice chat (requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership) Echo cancellation system enhances voice input Speech recognition in multiple languages
Warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty

Unless you had met with a terrible accident and had been hospitalised for the past six months, you must have, for sure heard about some of the hype that is surrounding Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS portable gaming console. As cool as the Kinect or PS Move Controller are, Nintendo totally beat them hands down at the E3 2010 show with unveiling their Nintendo 3DS. This console has arrived as a follow up to the highly successful DSi and DS portables. As you can imagine, the main attraction of the Nintendo 3DS console is that it will let you play games in 3D sans the need of any glasses. We have reviewed the 3DS hands on, and can happily report that it is looking very rosy indeed.

Though the Nintendo 3DS really doesn’t bring out the same impact on the video game arena that big brother Wii did around 4 years ago, looks like it has more to it.  Looks like Nintendo has managed to pull out their trump card at the right time when they require it the most. The firm has managed to keep up their promise that they made 5 years ago when unleashing the original DS – the promise to make gaming more exciting, and they have very much lived up to that promise by giving us an entirely novel way to see gaming.

Design:

As always, let us deal with the design factors first. And the form factor of the 3DS is quite similar to its predecessors. With the dimensions of (W x H x D) 135 x 74 x 20 mm, making it around the same size as the Nintendo DSi and weighs just 228 grams. Now, instead of white or black there is a selection of colours including Purple, Green and Red. The dual coloured glossy shell adds to the gorgeousness of the device.

The two screens:

There are very few new features too; for instance; when the clamshell body is popped open, it reveals two screens. The one in the bottom is a 77mm or 3″ resistive touch-screen with a maximum resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The top screen is a w ider, 3.5” one, with a much higher resolution of 800 x 240 pixels than the lower one. Usually you will not find anybody appreciating the 800 pixels, but as the 3DS portable Game Console has assigned 400 pixels to each of your precious eyes, it makes the 3D effect actually work. This allows the images to appear to have a 400 x 240 pixel resolution, which is still a significant step-up in resolution compared to previous versions of this console.

Fun with the slider:

You will find a slider on the right side of the top panel, which can be used to adjust the depth of the 3D display. Fiddling with this itself is entertaining in itself, as it lets you flatten the image by degrees, until the display is completely 2D. You would not ever have to adjust the slider, but it is a welcome feature, and even allows you to fine-tune the display goes a long way towards assuaging our fears that the 3D effect could be overwhelming. And the very fact that the 3D effect can be turned off in just a moment’s notice as against relying on the game’s menu clearly makes it evident that Nintendo treats it as just a visual enhancement that is optional rather than a prerequisite.

D-Pad sacked:

You will also get used to the new analogue stick, which allows for 360 degree movement, and bumps the famous Nintendo d-pad downwards. We found the stick to be a welcome addition, as it feels quite smooth and comfortable, and your fingers will not slip off the top, which was a common issue with the Sony PSP portables. The instinctive and comfy controls seem less ‘clicky’ responding promptly to even a gentle rub in any given direction. Also its huge size proves to be a perfect fit to your thumb, especially with its enclave surface ensuring that the fingers don’t slide away.

Features:

Memory:

There is the SD Card slot that takes care of expanding the unit’s memory. That being said, Nintendo prefers not to comment on the unit’s internal memory. Games will come on carts of a size indistinguishable from the current DS.

No specs:

As you can imagine, not having to wear glasses to enjoy the 3D effect feels extremely liberating. To begin with, you will not have to wear or carry around a pair of bulky specs, and looking at the display of the 3DS in the context of the world around you, creates a feeling of immersion that you will not get when your vision is disturbed by glasses. In addition to this, it is devoid of any colour draining that can be witnessed in the conventional stereoscopic 3D that is glasses-based, which is a consequence of the specs having the light filtered prior to hitting your eyes. The 3DS also packs the most sharpest, brightest and vivid 3D display witnessed until date.

On a TV this technology does not work as you will need a find a spot to sit tight in order to get the desired effect, meaning the others in the room will not be able to witness the 3D effect. However here as it is just you watching the one screen and your head is in the same spot, it is theoretically not a problem. Hence, do not imagine that this technology will hit the cinema or TV screens any sooner.

The Technology:

Nintendo has managed to keep the details just to exactly how the 3DS works, to itself, mainly to avoid the competitors rushing into the market to make its own kind before the 3DS hits the shelves. The tech behind the device was supposedly a last-minute buy from Sharp; Whilst Sony blares out that it is ushering in the 3D revolution, by slapping a not-so-pocket friendly, £100 glasses on the bridges of our noses to make it happen; Nintendo may have just created the most important piece of entertainment technology in decades. It is like you are looking through a small window into a miniature world. It was certainly the clearest and clearest 3D, outdoing any of the Sony Bravia 3D sets that you might have gamed the PS3 on.

We have a gut feeling that the main screen of the Nintendo 3DS  handheld console has employed the parallax barrier, which is nothing but a layer on the top that is covered in the slits. This kind of a set up allows each eye to view a slightly different type of image and hence creating a stereoscopic display.  However, one major disadvantage of this technology is that, you will have to keep your head steady and at a constant distance from the display for the 3D effect to work. However, there is a thin room that allows you to move your head to about 3 or 4cm to the left or right of centre before the spell is broken. Well not so easy as it may sound, particularly when you are on a bumpy train or bus or if you are just glancing at the bottom, second screen. Then again, it isn’t really hard to get back to enjoying the 3D again. With a notable graphical power boost, the 3DS is sure to beat the PSP hands down graphcally.

Wifi:

We are not sure if Nintendo is taking the device to any film studios, or whether movies would be downloadable via the 3DS’ built-in Wi-Fi or purchased on a cartridge. We did not see the improved WiFi functions, using which you can download extra applications and software ‘as you sleep’, like the Nintendo Wii, but connectivity is subscription free, which is a big plus point.

Camera:

The Nintendo 3DS console has employed two cameras on its lid that can be used to take 3D photos- yet another major step forward from anything we have seen before. We were quite impressed by this feature. If it was not enough to have portable 3D gaming without the glasses, and the ability to take 3D photos, the Nintendo 3DS would also likely support 3D movie playback that can be downloaded directly to the device. It is not called the 3DS for nothing you know. During the process of taking the photos and after that, you are allowed to tinker with the settings in order to make the picture look right. Two cameras in the rear of the device manages to picture your mug and eventually gets displayed on the screen’s top in a super blurry mode. Now use the analogue control to slide these images together till you reach the sweet spot, you get o have a perfect blend of differentiation between your background and you. While the 3D effect is impressive, it is disappointing to see that Nintendo has not taken advantage of the opportunity to upgrade the cameras themselves and you will end up being stuck with the same 0.3 megapixel cameras that is already available on the DSi. But currently, you will find three of the blighters, two on the lid and a front facing one on the inside of the console. With 3DS proving to be a real knockabout playground gadget that suits all ages, its camera looks to a tertiary function that adds spice to it making it simply astoudning.

The Extras:

3D is just one of this little gadget’s many clever tricks. The box houses accelerometer sensors and a gyroscope helping the unit detect both positional and tilting, similar to the Wii Remote. This opens up a range of possibilities in terms of new gameplay in the 3DS. The 3DS Video Game Console also boasts of augmented wireless communication features that seeks and communicates with the other units by default helping you to trade info like scores with rest of the gamers. The current DS has a similar feature, but for it to work you have to leave the game in the system and running in a special communication mode.

Games:

The games that were exhibited during the release of the game include Nintendogs + cats, Samurai Warriors 3D, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample, Mario Kart 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, StarFox 3D, Pilot Wings 3D, Augmented reality, Steel Diver, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, Target shooting, Disney’s Tangled and Kid Icarus. The third party games that were on display include DJ Hero 3D from Activision, Resident Evil Revelations from Capcom, The Sims 3 from Electronic Arts, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample” from Konami, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracles from LEVEL-5, Ridge Racer from Namco Bandai Games, Kingdom Hearts franchise game from Square Enix, Dead or Alive 3D from Tecmo Koei Games, Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike from Ubisoft, Hollywood 61 from Ubisoft and Samurai Warriors 3D from Tecmo Koei Games.

Performance:

The good news here is that, our impression on the all important 3D display is very positive. These visuals are not filtered through clever technology in front of your eye. It is an immediate, comfortable experience seamless, and offers a very attractive scale of depth. The image is truly vibrant with the colours convincingly high-def. Hence it wouldn’t be fair to judge the software of the system at this point with any sense of true outlook, but with the upcoming 73 games in their production lab which includes a handful of classic Nintendo remakes, we guess there is absolutely nothing to worry in this regard. In fact, we are pretty sure that their innovative software from Kojima and Miyamoto alone is sure to cause a revolution. While playing the ‘Pilotwings Resort’, in an upcoming flight simulation for the console, we were pleasantly surprised with the fact how the far away distant landmarks seemed.

The 3D effect was at its best when it is simulating depth and distance, rather than poking out the objects out of the screen in front of your eyes. While a few objects seem to protrude out beyond the display, most of the in-game objects had been layered backwards, into the display. The best part is that, you will not lose focus on objects anywhere in your field of vision, nor will be any headaches experience or other massive trauma. The movie, like the photos, was not revolutionary, and seemed more like a layered 2D experience. Overall, the playing experience on the 3DS is a very comfortable one, although your personal experience might vary.

Sound:

Sound was rich and cinematic, aided by Nintendo’s investment in pricey BOSE headphones, mind and certainly as good as anything we have heard via the PSP.

Verdict:

As with any new technology, we received and reviewed the Nintendo 3DS feeling a little sceptical, but were left giggling like kids at a birthday party. The major highlights such as the extremely impressive 3D effect, the mechanical slider that adjusts the depth of the image, smooth controls and the built-in WiFi too. The best part about the device is that, the ‘3D without glasses’ actually works. Though the images do not jump out of the device like James Cameron’s Avatar, the device does make up for this in its clever subtlety.

The 3D is incredible, and yet that is just one of the many clever features of the unit that could result in some truly revolutionary games. As with any games console, the 3DS’ success will depend on the games available at launch and how well Nintendo markets it. We are certain that this 3D powerhouse will not fail on account of the hardware. Attractive, lightweight and affordable, it is a marvel and those who simply scoffed at the Nintendo 3DS as a ‘mere’ hardware update will be left dumbfounded. We are pretty sure the device will enjoy a good deal of success, pre-order yours. The pricing of the console is yet to be determined, but it has been announced that the device will be on the shelves from March 2011.

Nintendo 3DS Game Console – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Nintendo
Console Name	Nintendo 3DS
Form factor	Handheld
Dimensions (W x H x D)	135 x 74 x 20 mm
Weight	228 grams
Top Display	3.53-inch widescreen LCD display, enabling 3D view without the need for special glasses; with 800×240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing).
Touch Screen	3.02-inch LCD with 320×240 pixel resolution with a touch screen.
Available Enclosure Colours and Designs	Black, White, Purple, Green and Red
Backwards Compatibility	Yes
Camera	One inner camera and two outer cameras with 640×480 (0.3 Mega) pixel resolution.
Included Games	Nintendogs + cats, Samurai Warriors 3D, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D “The Naked Sample, Mario Kart 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, StarFox 3D, Pilot Wings 3D, Augmented reality, Steel Diver, Paper Mario, Animal Crossing, Target shooting, Disney’s Tangled and Kid Icarus
Parental Controls	Parental controls similar to the Nintendo DSi
Sound	Stereo speakers positioned to the left and right of the top screen
Controls	Touch screen, embedded microphone, A/B/X/Y face buttons, + Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons, “Slide Pad” that allows 360-degree analog input, one inner camera, two outer cameras, motion sensor and a gyro sensor.
Memory	2 GB Max. at launch

With the console arena going through some pains owing to the innovative motion controls recently, the Wii seems to have obviously blazed the track in this regard. It is really surprising taking into consideration that the Wii has been on sale for nearly four years, and only now are we seeing some true competition from the rivals of Nintendo. Well, that is of course considering the half-cooked motion controls of Six axis, it sure is a smart move from Sony to take its own sweet time in designing the PlayStation Move post its initial unveiling about 16 months ago.

Design:

As far as the design is concerned, it is not that hard to realise that Move has bought the concept of remote style controller that Nintento started off, but the company has made its own se of changes. This Move controller is made out of matte black plastic and also has a rounded, sleek design which complements the latest PS3 consoles.

The Glowing Ball:

The most noticeable fact about Move’s primary controller is the glowing ball on top, well, no prizes for guessing that. That is not decorative as that is how the Move system keeps track of the motion-controller’s location.  When the controller is not active, the orb is soft white, translucent, and looks like the identical twin of a ping-pong ball and it is actually about the same size as one, too. With the controller in full use, the ball lights up in a range of colours allowing it to be tracked by the PlayStation Eye camera. Though the ball seems to be a weak point, with the controller brushing against a lamp or wall or your buddy’s skull for that matter, the spongy thing just pops right back into shape post the impact.

Curvy:

The rest of the Sony PlayStation Move controller has more of an organic look than the Wii remote. It is curvy and becomes slightly thinner in the middle, presumably to be more ergonomic. In the front, you will find the four familiar PlayStation face buttons. However, the fact that they are arranged in a square, rather than a diamond, makes it quite hard to remember which one is where for a while. In between those, you will find the Move button, which is the new inclusion of a thumb size that is obviously the Wii remote’s chunky A button in this Move version.

Controls and Slots:

Beneath those sits the PS button offering a functionality akin to the SixAxis or DualShock 3 or controller – popping up the Xcross Menu Bar. Sitting in a concave position, it smartly averts accidental presses. The controller’s underside for the most part is clear but for a trigger called the T button. This is analogue, akin to right/left triggers featured in the Xbox 360 controller or L2/R2 seen in the DualShock 3, quite the reverse of the crisp clicky button B on the Wii. In the left-hand side, you will find the Select button, which is quite hard to hit, but is rarely needed. On the right side, there is the Start button, which has greater chances of being pressed accidentally, depending on your hold over the controller, though it only happens occasionally. At the base of the Move Controller, you will find a microUSB port for charging, a slot for the provided wrist straps, and there are even two mystery connectors, which we imagine, could be used for accessories in the future.

Feel and Comfort:

To begin with, the Move controller might feel a bit more comfortable than the Wii remote and it is not that wiimote is uncomfortable, but the roundness of Move does help the controller sit neatly in the hand. That said, you get to realize the difference like the Move being faster with prolonged usage, and guess you will have to thank its shape for it. The tapered middle indicates that you are gripping the Wii’s controller harder than required, particularly games that require a hard swing. You realize this a tad earlier with the discomfort creeping in your wrist than it normally does generally while playing an equivalent game in the Wii Sports Resort. Well, to be precise we are definitely not branding the Move as uncomfortable, painful or messy, that is, provided you are not suffering from joint problems to begin with. Also we are definitely not suggesting it to be less comfortable as against the Wii remote, like mentioned already, it definitely seems better to be held, only that it might not be an ideal for demanding wrist games or for prolonged periods.

There are few other characteristics about the Move’s design that seem kind of odd to us. We were just wondering why has Sony added a new button with the Move logo which can just be a squiggly line, so does not jump out at you on-screen, when Sony could have just used X or Circle?

The distracting globe:

As you can imagine, the tiny light globe on the controller proved to be quite distracting, especially with someone else gaming with two controllers, your eyes naturally gets distracted and for the most part is drawn towards it. With the Wii remote designed to be almost inconspicuous, it sure does gel in with you TV remotes and almost vanishes in the hand with it being held, but then this doesn’t hide the fact of it being a bit gaudy. On the flip side, motion controlled gaming has always been associated with a weird factor to it and never has the wild flailing been dignified prior to the addition of the glowing ball. So, guess we are better off being happy with the supplementary possibilities and accuracy that it offers.

Features:

The Technology:

The Move’s design is very much like the Wii than the Kinect. Let alone the glowing globe, the company is mainly looking to take the high end technological road, as in the case of all of the PS3 stuff, and take on the Wii in the field of precision and movement accuracy. The technology used very similar to that of Nintendo’s, but on steroids. If you are not conscious, Wii’s sensor bar, which is placed by the TV releases IR lights that the camera in the Wii Remote identifies in order for the pointer to function. The Move actually flips this around, with a camera next to the TV picking up the glowing ball on the end of the controller. The PS3 can then measure distance from the controller using the size of the ball as a reference. The Move controller also has all of the movement sensing bells and whistles of the Wii remote and MotionPlus attachment.

Navigation Controller:

If you are in search for some extra control, the company has also some additional peripherals that connect wireless to the controller, known as the navigation controller. Their functionality seem to be very much same as that of the nunchuck of Wii, offering an analogue controller, 2 analogue trigger keys, a D Pad, X and O buttons and a PS button too. Again, if the navigation controller doesn’t seem like a fair buy, a conventional DualShock 3 controller (wireless) would also suffice. Note that, if you are planning to use Navigation Controllers together with the Move controllers, you might want to be aware of the fact that only 2 controller sets get going at a time with the navigation controller occupying a slot all for itself. Hence, while with the Wiimote and nunchuk, 4 of you can play, Move will allow just 2 of you.

Gaming:

While playing a few games with the Move, that were compatible with the controller, we felt a bit limited by the way it was programmed. Unfortunately, this is the biggest quibbles of Wii and also the mammoth problem with the games that use motion sensing in a way that should have actually been done with buttons. That said, the good news is, we are very impressed with the Move, however, it still requires careful implementation. Its ball provides you with the type of accuracy that goes beyond what the Wiimote is actually capable off. While it is not as accurate as a mouse, it is accurate enough that it is capable of some real strategy games. The ball is used as the pointer, but often has a very narrow field when compared to the Wii. Though this is not so bad, it makes navigation through menus quite hard than what you are used to. We should also mention here that it is just perfect at larger distances than what the wiimote can do.

The distance issue:

If you are a Wii user, you will be aware that if you are a Wii user, you will be able to walk into another room and bowl if you wished to, but the case here hardly comes close to this. As a matter of fact if the camera’s field of view is left with the active controller, it ceases all functions inclusive of the buttons. While a major criticism of the Kinect is the lack of space to use it, this kind of goes true with the Move’s controller as well. For instance, the ‘Sports Champions’ requires you to stand 2.5 meter or 8 ft away from the TV and yet you are expected to step back and swing up arms in a full circle. While this will not be an issue on the first case, but in most cases it means that people will have to shift the lounge furniture back by a few feet every time we wished to play, and there is no doubt in the fact that you have to get rid of the hefty coffee table. It is true that you will always have to make some room when playing any game for that matter, but it is nothing like this. And remember, we are talking about the lounges here and these kind of restrictions will simply rule out playing Sports Champions in bedrooms.

The ball and camera restriction:

You might be wondering, why should this hassle with Move while it worked for Wii, a far more energetic and active gaming that could easily be played in the comforts of your recliner or just standing without much of this fuss. Well, it is actually the constraint of the ball and camera system. You should be able to swing your arm well out regularly, and still be on camera. This restriction also follows through into some of the multiplayer games. You will be just fine once you have managed to make enough space if only two of you are playing. Try playing a four-player game like Volleyball where it requires all of you to be on camera together, it proves to be an absolute massacre.

You will be disappointed to know that it is not just Sport Champions that causes the distance issue, because, with the ‘Start the Party!’ game, you will find yourself far too back. This game makes use of the camera and Move controller for amplified reality WarioWare kind of party games, so each player has to be quite close to the camera to be the right size on the display. This discrepancy in distance is another give up for the accuracy on offer, but it is simply a trouble that you will not have to deal with the Wii.

Performance:

The biggest plus of the Sony Playstation Move Game Controller is its incredible accuracy. The additional reality devices move accurately with the device. Though the controller seems comfy, that is not the case with prolonged sessions or hard swinging games as mentioned already. The glowing ball definitely looks ridiculous, but guess that is price you end up paying for your accuracy.

Warranty:

Sony PlayStation Move comes with one year manufacturer’s warranty for parts and labour.

Conclusion:

The Move has got its own pros and cons over the Wiimote. This orb provides you with a great deal of accuracy than the Wii and this preciseness is more than that of what Wii can do with the help of its motion sensor. However, the orb at times looks like a restriction to the controller too. This restricted confined area of the camera is great for one or a pair, but for group gaming, it is a no no. We hope the game programmers of the future will drop the too much reliance on the camera and a range of motion sensors. On the same note, while the precise detection of the depth of the Move is great for a few games, its inconsistency of distance is not that great.

As a gaming gadget, we can recommend the Move to the owners of the PS3. The motion gaming part of industry is increasing at a rapid pace and we can be certain that it is not going off anytime soon. The only main factor that will be troubling most consumers is its steep cost, considering that it is just an optional accessory for the gadget. However, those who make up their mind to buy it will not be disappointed.

Sony PlayStation Move Game Controller – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Sony
Model Name	PlayStation Move
Accessory type	Motion controller
Supported game console	Sony PlayStation
Dimensions (H x D)	200mm × 46mm
Weight	145 g
Colour	Black
Motion controller	Three-axis gyroscope Three-axis accelerometer Terrestrial magnetic field sensor Colour-changing sphere for Playstation Eye tracking Bluetooth® technology Vibration feedback
Sub-controller	Built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery Bluetooth technology 2 DUALSHOCK or SIXAXIS Wireless Controller replacement capability.
PlayStation Eye	Built-in four-capsule microphone array Echo cancellation Background noise suppression
Playstation eye resolution	60 Hz – 640×480 pixels 120 Hz – 320×240 pixels
Features	Accurately reads each player’s position Head tracking for reading upper body movement Zoom lens for close-up or full body options Allows players to create a lifelike avatar of themselves in compatible games Use for in-game chat and voice commands Video chat with up to 6 people at a time 120 frames/second for pristine video quality Sound quality is crystal clear with the built-in 4 microphone array
SNR (sound to noise ratio)	90 decibels
Battery	Built-in, rechargeable lithium-ion batter
Connectivity options	USB 2.0
Warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty

We all know how we react when the Nintendo comes up in a conversation. The King Kong of the gaming industry started out small, manufacturing playing cards in which they were quite successful. Their thirst to prove themselves and carve a niche in the world helped them become a household name and a basic necessity. They are the world’s best-seller of hand-held gaming consoles and the second best seller of video game consoles worldwide. Having made landmarks in the gaming industry, they set the standard for other video game consoles. How can we forget the gameboy and its series which went on to become the best selling portable gaming console of its time? Their choice to dabble in electronics was perhaps a turning point all over and we certainly do not regret that.

Surviving many a pitfall to eventually reign the gaming industry, we all wait and watch to see what this company will come up with next. Their video game ventures including hand held consoles of recent times, include the Nintendo DS series and the wireless Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo DS series consist of the original DS, the lighter and sleeker Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo DSi and its successor which we will be discussing, the Nintendo DSi XL. The Nintendo DSi XL boasts bigger screens and better quality. We will tell you whether it is a reasonable upgrade or if you should save up for the upcoming 3DS system instead.

Is it bigger and better? Or is it better since it is bigger? Let us find out.

Design:

Compact:

The one feature that has everyone wanting to get a good look at the DSi XL Portable Gaming Console, is the bigger screen which is said to be the star of the show. Weighing at 314 grams and measuring (H x W x D) 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 millimetres, this console is still extremely comfortable once held and does not feel bulky. It comes in three beautiful shades of blue, maroon, white, black and brown.

Dual Screen Interface:

The dual screen interface of the Nintendo DSi XL is enhanced by its 4.2 inch displays. There was speculation about how this would make the picture more pixillated, and hence making it seem blurred. But once the cartridge was put in and the device turned on, it delivered crisp and clear images. The Nintendo Dsi XL is rumoured to have been aimed at the older generation who find it harder to look at the tiny images and text on screen. Well, the DS Lite and DSi have small screens of 3 inches and 3.25 inches respectively and they have never failed to deliver. But a 4.2 inch screen is a significant difference and it shows when a game is played. The controls are clearer within the game. The dialogue and other text is clearer which relieves eye strain. Older citizens are waiting to lap it up. The top has a glossy finish and the rest has the matte appearance. Also the wider viewing angle seems to make it the social device that Nintendo has described it to be.

Navigation:

The detachable component of the system, i.e. the stylus has a new member in its family. The Nintendo DSi XL comes with two styli. There is a longer stylus compared to the previous consoles which fits into the slot that is located on the device itself. The new member is more like a fountain pen and there is no slot for it. This will help those who find it hard to navigate around certain features of the console without their fingers cramping. We will get to those features later.

Connectivity and Slots:

The DSi family sadly, has done away with the popular GBA slot previously provided on the DS and DS Lite systems. This means you can chuck out all your GBA cards as they will not be compatible with the DSi consoles. This is one of the aspects which continues to disturb us as there is still an impressive library of games for the Gameboy. However, they have introduced the popular SD card slot. You can save your photos on the SD card and transfer it to other consoles or upload it onto the internet.

Speaking of the internet, the DSi family does not come installed with software that allows you to access the internet. You have to set up the connection yourself. It does have wireless communication which is what helps you share photos and use pictochat. With its built in WiFi , you can connect with players across the globe and participate in various multi player games. Maintain a range within 65 feet and you can play with other DSi users within the locality without internet access.

Features:

As you turn on the unit, the Nintendo logo will appear after which you will be directed to the main screen displaying options to change your brightness, settings and alarm at the lower part of the screen and in the middle, there will be options like the Pictochat, DS download play and the game that is inserted. The feature list of the Nintendo DSi XL include the Pictochat, the cameras, the new DSi shop, multi playing and downloads, DSiware, the Flipnote studio.

Camera:

The Nintendo DSi family comes with two built in 0.3 mega pixel cameras with eleven different lenses. One is placed internally facing the user and the other is on the outer part. Everyone who has been cribbing about the resolution of the cameras in the Dsi system will be disappointed as they have not improved in the slightest in the Nintendo DSi XL.

Pictochat:

Pictochat is nothing new to existing users of DS consoles. To those of you who have not heard of it, Pictochat is used to communicate between other DS users. It is pre installed into all the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi consoles. It is quite convenient and user friendly with its easy to use interface. After you select Pictochat, you will be asked to pick a chat room. There are four chat rooms each sharing a capacity of sixteen people. After selecting your chat room, you can communicate via Pictochat. There is a range within which your device has to stay in order to participate. Then you can get started. You can use the stylus provided to write on the screen and then click the send button located on the side to submit. It also has an on screen keyboard. Pictochat supports quite a few other languages like French, German, Spanish and Japanese. The pictochat is pretty cool to use for animations. You can create several frames and scroll by fast and watch them play. Many display their creations online too.

Flipnote Studio:

The Flipnote studio is quite popular with those who like to draw and animate. This is a free download which gives a boost to the Nintendo DSi XL. The Flipnote Studio, as the name suggests, is used to bring to life your creations. Its interface is very simple and users seem to love it. You just draw on the screen and tap to move to the next frame. The previous frame will be displayed lightly for your convenience in a light box and it displays up to 4 frames this way so you know how your animation will end up. You can share your creations by directly sending them to your friends who own a Nintendo Dsi or DSi XL console or you can upload them onto the internet via the Flipnote Hatena website. You will also be able to go through the uploaded content of other users which makes it a fun aspect.

DSiWARE and DSi SHOP:

The DSi shop is where you can redeem your Nintendo points to download DSi software to your console. You will require a wireless broadband internet connection to access this through your DSi XL. You will find its icon on the main menu. The DSiware is exclusive to the DSi and DSi XL systems. Nintendo Dsiware is a service that provides games and applications that can be downloaded for free or a price. They can be bought with Nintendo points which are in turn bought with money. The selected game is downloaded onto the internal drive and the Nintendo points are deducted from your account.

Pre-installed Software:

The Nintendo DSi XL Game Console comes with three preloaded software titles, the Brain Age Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters, and Photoclock. These are perhaps the only few features exclusive to the DSi XL without being shared by the DSi. Let us see if they are worth it.

Brain Age Express: Math

Brain Age Express series are well played games. They are designed to keep your mind mentally fit. This is the first version of the Brain Age Express games. The game has been modified slightly keeping in mind the DSi family. It has been made with the intention of spiffing up those dead brain cells and to keep your mind young even if you are not. Solve problems with your stylus as quickly as you can. Your progress is recorded using the internal clock in the console and new challenges are introduced. With internal storage being available, the game play is fun. You can save your challenges and access them later.

Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters

This is the second instalment in the Brain Age Series.

Arts and Letters has seven different challenges. Read on for a detailed explanation.

Read Aloud: You are given reading material and have to read as quick as you you can for a good speed result.
Word Scramble: Unscramble the given words in the required time period. The words become harder as you go farther into the challenge.
Photo Recall: A photo or a group of photos will be displayed on one screen and you will have to pick out the photo that you last saw on the other screen. Sound easy? Check it out for yourself.
Word Attack: Think you are fast? Then, in this challenge you have to memorize and spell out correctly the word that is flashed quickly on the screen.
Piano Player: On one screen, you will have a piano with labelled keys. On the other screen, red arrows will progress along with the given sheet music and when they hit a particular note,you will have to try and play it on the piano.
Meet and Greet: This is an interesting challenge which requires you to memorize the face of a person along with their details as fast as you can. As you progress, you are quizzed upon them. This gets very tricky with multiple people.
Virus Buster: You will have to eradicate viruses by placing them in multicoloured capsules. Align them in order to form vertical or horizontal rows of four like colours.

Focussed on words and letters, Brain Age Express: Arts and Letters gives you timed, audio and physical challenges which are bound to keep you occupied. So with improved handwriting recognition, unlock new challenges, act out a scene and train the literary part of your brain.

Photoclock:

This is Nintendo’s second clock application. Well, there is not much to say about this software. The name says it all. You can have your desired photo displayed behind the clock and that is about it.

Performance:

Video:

The video performance is definitely its biggest asset. With its bigger screens, it makes you go crazy the minute you open up the case. Even while playing games that are not made for its screens, it pulls off a decent picture and there is not a single noticeable pixel in sight and even if there are, it will not be noticed because you will be busy playing the games in awe. Say goodbye to cramped images and enjoy the larger experience.

Audio:

The audio has also been significantly improved and there is less interference than before. However, the only format supported  for audio files is AAC. It is high time that Nintendo switches over to the widely and more conveniently used mp3 format.

Battery:

The original DS has a battery life of four to ten hours depending on how much you play. The DS Lite gives us five to nineteen hours of play depending on the level of brightness that you choose. It has four levels. The DSi and the DSi XL both have an extra level of brightness. The battery life of the DSi is around three to fourteen hours and the DSi XL gives us about four to seventeen hours of play accordingly. This is a big difference for those avid gamers.

Warranty:

The Nintendo Dsi and Dsi XL systems both come with a warranty period of twelve months from manufacturer defects which are applicable to all the included components, i.e. AC adapter and stylus. The software and accessories come with a warranty period of 90 days. If you wish to extend this period, you can do so by registering your system to your Club Nintendo account. Visiting their official site will give you more information.

Verdict:

So are you confused yet? If you are thinking that the DSi XL Hand Held Console is nothing more than the Nintendo DSi with a bigger body, then you are mostly right. Sure the screens are bigger and there is an extra stylus, but it really does not have much to offer. The audio has improved. If you already own a DS Lite or DSi , then you will fail to understand why you should upgrade to a DSi XL. The DS Lite comes with a GBA slot and is backwards compatible. The DSi, though it has done away with the GBA slot has the DSiWare to make up for it. What does the DSi XL have to say in this regard?Though it will play the DS games, you cannot transfer the games that you have downloaded through DSiWare to your DSi XL console which is a major setback for all those gamers who have a library full of them. This will put down any thought of buying one. Most of those who own a DS Lite did not think it necessary to upgrade even to a DSi as they were quite satisfied just playing games which is what the central idea is.

The introduction of DSiWare provided some incentive for them to buy the DSi but we cannot say the same for the DSi XL. It offers nothing that makes us want to run and get a new console. The screens make us say “wow” but that is just about it. As for their wider viewing angle, it does not really serve any purpose nor is it really necessary. After a while, you begin to notice the low resolution of 256 X 192 pixels per screen. The extra juice provided by the battery powers up those huge screens and still gives you good playtime though. The release of the DSi XL has also been badly timed with another upgrade soon to be available. The Nintendo 3DS is to be released. It boasts backward compatibility with all the existing DS titles till date and 3D experience. The pre installed software though popular is not enough to justify the price tag. We recommend the DSi XL to those who do not own a Nintendo DS Lite or Nintendo Dsi console and are waiting to game. Those who like to buy the latest gadgets or have slightly big hands too can go ahead. But if you wait a little longer, the Nintendo 3DS might be a more reasonable upgrade for the extra dough that you have worked hard to save up.

Nintendo Dsi XL  Console – Technical Specification Table

Manufacturer	Nintendo
Model Name	Nintendo Dsi XL
Form factor	Handheld
Dimensions (H x W x D)	21.2 X 161 X 91.4 mm
Weight	314 grams
Display	LCD TFT (Active Matrix) With Touchscreen
Display size	4.2 inch screens
Available Enclosure Colours and Designs	Dark Brown, Wine Red , Natural White, Black and Blue
Stylus	1 x 96mm internal stylus 1 x 129.3mm pen style stylus
Colour Support	Yes
Compatibility	Plays DS games and new DSi games (Does not play GBA games)
Camera	2 VGA (0.3) Megapixel cameras
Included Games	Brain Age Express:Math, Brain Age Express:Arts and Letters
Sound	3.5mm stereo headphone plug
Controls	built in triggers and action buttons
CPU	ARM9 133 MHz processor
Memory	16 MB RAM and built in 256 MB memory
External Connectors	Headphone jack only
Wireless Support	The DSi and DSi XL support WEP, WPA (AES/TKIP) and WPA2 (AES/TKIP) wireless encryption. Supported speeds 1 or 2 Mbps
Capacity	1050 mAh – 19 hours
Package Particulars	AC Adapter  Battery Pack
Manufacture Warranty	One year limited warranty