I’m torn (and this time it’s not just my sphincter).  Last night Nintendo unveiled their third generation DS, the DSi.  And while it takes away the GBA slot (boo!) it offers up a host of improvements that make this thing worth buying.

Bigger screen?  Check.  Better sound?  Check.  But then we get into the real meat and potatoes.  It has a camera.  It’ll take SD cards.  And what are those SD cards for?  Downloadable games from the new DSiWare Shop.

Everything else I can deal with — I really can.  They’re all shiny new features that you can live without but make a nice upgrade, just like the DS Lite.  But DSiWare is a big deal, and it’s going to make me throw my current DS right in the crapper.  To put it into perspective, imagine if 2 years after buying your 360 you were told that you’d need to buy a new model to buy things on Live Arcade.  You’d go fucking apeshit, and rightfully so.  That’s what I’m doing — I’m going apeshit.  I’m going apeshit because Nintendo has just forced me to spend $150-$200 for a system I already own.

There’s an unspoken deal between us and the hardware manufacturers.  It’s called a 5 year console cycle.  We give you a few hundred bucks, you give us a five year break between purchases.  Nintendo’s just got to grease up that hog and give it to us train robber style.  I for one don’t like it one bit.

More system details here.