Actually REGRETTING a DS Lite purchase...

PawnTakesKing

PawnTakesKing

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I bought my DS Lite two days after launch back in June. And of course, I traded in my old, fat, clunky DS to get some credit towards this new hotness.

In retrospect, it was a big mistake.

First off, I love my DS Lite. Don't get me wrong - the thing is as sleek and sexy as ever. The brighter screen is a definite plus, and the bigger stylus makes playing certain games easier for me.

That said, there are several flaws that make me wish I had kept my old DS. I just discovered my DS Lite has the cracked-hinge problem. a flaw I thought I had escaped until yesterday. Not only does it make the DS look bad, but it appears that the entire hinge could eventually break, thus crippling the system.

The D-pad on my Lite is very loose and slides around, and sometimes it's unresponsive. Although this is nothing more than an aesthetic flaw, it's very annoying.

The "A" button sometimes makes a popping or grinding noise when pressed, like it's rubbing up against the plastic. So far, it hasn't affected gameplay, but it worries me nonetheless.

The touchscreen pops when moving the stylus into the two lower corners. I have read (on IGN) that this is simply the touchscreen "settling," but that it could eventually become unresponsive.

Finally, and this is merely personal preference, but I have larger hands, and they seem to cramp more quickly when playing the DS Lite. They would seldom, if ever, cramp when playing my old DS, and it seemed more comfortable to hold.

Anyway, I realize that all of this comes with being an early adopter, I should have been expecting it, etc. etc. Well, recently I've been thinking about just going back to an old, fat DS. What do you guys think? Is the DS Lite worth putting up with all of the setbacks?

(Also, I have contacted Nintendo to repair the DS Lite, and they're sending me a shipping label. I'm just wondering if I should keep the Lite once I get it back.)
 
It seems to me your biggest beef with the DS Lite was that you were one of the lucky few to get the cracked hinge. Had that not happened, do you think you would feel the same way?

BTW, I too traded in the original DS for the DSL. For all the "problems" DSL might have, the much brighter backlit screen and the fact that it is so much lighter overshadow the other problems it might have.
 
Hell yeah keep the lite. the only reason I still have my fat is for friends to play and stuff, I actually gave it to my gf, she plays animal crossing for hours everyday.
the only thing I miss about the fat is the way better sound and the d pad is slightly better I think. but when I look at the screen it makes me wonder how i enjoyed ds before the lite. play a fat now that youve played the lite for awhile, you wont want one. it sucks.
My hinge hasnt cracked yet so I may get pissed if that happens but I still wouldnt return to the fat.
and for the hand cramping. im 6'3 about 200lbs so I wouldnt say I have small hands, but I dont get cramped on the lite. The fat I would say is a little more comfortable, but it seems unbalanced sometimes.
overall, youve been spoiled by the lite now, you can never go back.
 
You can send the DS lite back for repairs. I personally am hoping that a revision comes out soon as most of the lite owners that I know have the crack :(.
 
[quote name='Theenternal']You can send the DS lite back for repairs. I personally am hoping that a revision comes out soon as most of the lite owners that I know have the crack :(.[/QUOTE]

that aint a mullet!, "a mullet is a haircut that is short in the front, on the top, and on the sides, but long in the back".
 
The only thing I don't like about the Lite is that I still don't care for how it feels in my hands over the DS Phat. I though the original DS had a great weight to it and felt comfortable while the Lite is a little too brick like and corner-ie. Everything else about the Lite is fine though and in most cases (stylus, screen, battery life) superior.
 
Strange, my hands cramped up after 10 min of Mario Kart on the Fat DS. On the DS Lite my hands don't cramp up until about 30 min of Mario Kart on the DS Lite.
 
I have the original DS which I love, but I noticed on the Lite store displays that the plastic around the touch screen seems "flexible"--so much so that you can push it down below the touch screen. I like the look of the lite, but it doesn't seem as sturdy as the phat. I guess that's to be expected since they are smaller and lighter, or is that just because the store display is getting beat up on.
 
Less the size and look, the biggest selling points for the Lite over the fat for me were the longer battery life and the better screen. Both of those are huge improvements, in my opinion.
 
[quote name='elwood731']Less the size and look, the biggest selling points for the Lite over the fat for me were the longer battery life and the better screen. Both of those are huge improvements, in my opinion.[/QUOTE]

Agreed...and enough of a reason for me to ignore the d-pad.

Although, games like AC:WW and I'm sure GBA games like Zelda and the like, that use 8-way d-pad movement, will always suck on my lite.

But my fun comes primarily from games that don't use diagonals much...so i'll live. The battery life and screens are great.

When the black one comes out I may use my replacement plan to swap for it, so we'll see if I keep the lite I have now, or swap it in the hopes that newer lites have better d-pads.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']I have the original DS which I love, but I noticed on the Lite store displays that the plastic around the touch screen seems "flexible"--so much so that you can push it down below the touch screen. I like the look of the lite, but it doesn't seem as sturdy as the phat. I guess that's to be expected since they are smaller and lighter, or is that just because the store display is getting beat up on.[/QUOTE]

watch this guy press the shit out of a ds lite.. it came out ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNNwK2XMzk
 
I just got my DS Lite a couple of days ago, and I love how it feels in my hand. The PSP seems too wide for me, but the Lite is just right.
 
Well, I haven't had much experience with DS phat, but I lean more towards the buttons and feel to the DSL. Though I thought it was cramped at first, I got used to it and I love playing on it for extended periods of time.

I also acknowledge that the d-pad isn't perfect, but I see it as a small problem that is overshadowed by all the cooler things the the DSL struts off.

No system is perfect, IMO. And we shouldn't dwell on just the bad points, I'd say. Three cheers for DSL, hip hip hooray.

And sorry to hear about the defects that came with your DSL, hope things turn out ok.
 
The DS lite makes the original look like utter garbage IMO. Besides aesthetics, the brighter screen and beefier battery are a must.

Now if you had a good fatty and ended up with a defective lite, I can see the regret, but for me it's no contest.
 
My only beef with the lite is the sound being that I can hardly hear it without headphones and the fact that the GBA carts stick halfway out. Other than that I am happy with my Lite.
 
I really like my lite but mind you I never owned the larger version of the DS. I could see the Dpad "maybe" being a problem but only on something like fighting games other than that I'm perfectly happy with mine. No broken hinges no clicking noises nothing wrong with it at all.
 
I think nintendo is offering free repairs for cracked hinges right now. Check into the repair. The rest of your problems, seem strange. I have never heard of them before. Maybe it's just you, and you broke it? Or maybe you just got a flawed DS Lite. None-the-less, if you want a fat DS, get it.
 
I love mine. Play it more than all my consoles (GC, PS2, X-box) combined by far.

And the Lite was a huge improvement on the Phat (which sometimes cramped my hands).

I've replayed a couple games just to enjoy them on the brighter screens.

I haven't got the cracked hinge yet, but honestly don't care since it's just cosmetic.
 
The buttons on my launch-day DS Not-Lite were definitely better in terms of responsiveness and "feel," but whatever... the DS Lite makes up for it in sleekness, battery life, and screen quality.

The only thing I don't like about the Lite is the way GBA carts stick out... suck city, Nintendo... suck city.
 
I still have a phat ds mainly because I don't intend on dishing out another $160 for a ds (I got my red hot ds for about $200 after tax w/ animal crossing and mario kart good deal IMO) I do like the ds lite, but it doesn't seem to have enough heft to it, definitely looks sleeker, brighter screen and i'll admit i did like the stylus ALOT, oh well I'll stick with my older model.
 
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