DS Lite, should I buy?

[Valientlink]

I've wanted a DS lite for several months now. I've read, and viewed online that they get "Hinge Cracks" very easily. It also said that this doesn't happen as easy with newer models, such as the Zelda DS gold, and the new silver model. I've had a silver original DS for almost 4 years now. It's in good condition, but it's just old, it has scratches, and I'm ready to move on to another one. I'm thinking about getting silver because of how I heard that newer ones last longer. Before that, I was going to buy a crimson ds.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

I have had an Onyx Black DS Lite for about two years, and my hinge has never cracked...I think they had already resolved the issue before I purchased mine.

The hinge is an issue known to Nintendo, and they will replace your DS Lite within a year for sure if it cracks, and probably even after that.

I say buy one. No real reason to wait for the DSi, considering it will not be out in the US until "late next year." Besides, I like having the GBA slot, so I will probably own a DS and a DSi.

With all the unknowns concerning region locking, importing might not be an option either...

[Valientlink]

Well, red and silver are available where I am. 129 dollars.... Wish I lived somewhere where a 14 year old could work. Minimum wage is like great for me. That's not the point. If they fixed it, then why are people still getting cracks? I look on youtube often. A lot of them occur in the white and black ones.

[The_Amaster]

I've never had mine crack. Just don't smack it shut all the time. Take a second to close it rather than half a second to snap it.

[Archibaldo]

Yeah of don't treat your DS like crap and drop it a lot, it won't ever break.

[MottZilla]

Sorry but the DS is no GameBoy. :p It's not as indestructible.

[vegeta1215]

With all the unknowns concerning region locking, importing might not be an option either...

From what I understand, the region locking is going to be on the downloadable games you buy that are going to reside in the DSi's internal memory (think WiiWare for the DS), and not necessarily for the game carts themselves. But who knows? :shrug:

I still have my red Mario Kart original DS, and that thing is rock solid. I don't like the buttons on the DS Lite, and the DSi doesn't interest me at all. Really though, I haven't touched my DS in forever anyways. But knowing my luck, Nintendo will release a Zelda or Metroid game that is only playable on the DSi, and I'll be suckered into buying one.

[Shazza Dani]

Nintendo is supposedly releasing a newer DS model. Don't buy the Lite just yet.

[Aegix Drakan]

I've never had mine crack. Just don't smack it shut all the time. Take a second to close it rather than half a second to snap it.

Yeah, I learned that the hard way. :uhoh: I snapped my DS shut all the time, and BLAM! Hinge crack.

All the other people I know who snapped their DSs shut had hinge cracks. all the guy swho DIDN'T snap 'em shut didn't have hinge cracks.

...Seeing a pattern? I sure do. :o

[Din]

Yeah, I usually don't snap mine shut. Though I did snap my Game Boy Advance SP when opening it up once. Yep, that kind of ruined my day. :o

[MottZilla]

I'm confused. People actually use great force in a "snapping" motion to open or close these things? That's retarded. Why don't you just pull it open or push it closed? I've always done that with my DS and GBA SP. It just doesn't make sense to slam them shut.

[Valientlink]

I don't have to worry about closing it shut hard. I never do on my "phat".

[Mak-X]

I still have my white DS Lite in good condition that was bought 2 weeks after U.S. launch. I'm not rough with it either.

Unless you want to wait until sometime in 2009 for the DSi to come out of Japan, if you play a lot of DS games, buy a DS Lite now. It's such a huge improvement over the original DS, its like buying a new TV.

The only thing the original DS has over the DS lite is slightly better sound quality and a better LCD response rate. There was also a problem with diagonals on the DS lite dpad like I have on mine, that might have been fixed on later versions.