Nintendo Launches Large Screen DS called the DSi XL

Well, it looks like I might purchase the first Nintendo hand-held since the Gameboy.

Todd Greenwald of Signal Hill Capital said the new DS device may suffer from comparisons to the iPhone, which can be had for $10 more and offers many games for 99 cents or less.

"I think that makes the DS a tough sell at $189, with games going for $30-35," he said in an e-mail interview.

The DSi XL will launch at stores on March 28, at a price of $189. That's about $20 more than the price for the current DSi. The DSi XL has two screens -- one touch-sensitive -- that are about 93% larger than the screens on the previous version.

I have to disagree with Todd Greenwald though because the iPhone is not really a gaming device in the same category as the DSi. Most of the people buying this new DSi XL will be parents purchasing them for their kids. I don't see many parents buying their kids an iPhone for gaming or even general use.

Also most of the iPhone games are cheap for a reason because they aren't much more then a quicky diversion. The DSi games are are much more robust and usually worth the $30 price tags. Also even though they might be popular to some I have never heard of a "must-have" iPhone game that justifies the monthly data fee and the AT&T plan. Here is the Japanese box for the DSi CL. Hopefully they come in better colors than this one.