savedR

A couple small errors in this article, and all of them in the introduction. The actual steps are 100% correct. 1. The DS and DS Lite are not versions of the Super Nintendo. In fact, when they came out they were a big deal simply because they were a totally new handheld system with totally unique games. To my knowledge, the only game for DS that even has any relation to a game released on Super Nintendo is the very-new Yoshi's Island for DS, related to Mario World 2:Yoshi's Island on SNES (which has also been re-released as Super Mario Advance 5 (6?): Yoshi's Island on Game Boy Advance). The Game Boy Advance (and GBA SP and Micro, which are really just retoolings of the system) has a much closer relationship to the Super Nintendo, and as a result has seen a very high number of SNES games released for it as ports. (Ex: Super Mario World, MW2:Yoshi's Island, Breath of Fire I & II, Super Dodgeball, Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, Final Fantasy IV & V (and soon VI), etc.) The DS and DS Lite do have the ability to play Game Boy Advance games, but are somewhat limited in this capacity, as the DS has no Link port; no 2+ player GBA games can be played on DS. 2. The DS is not really a Game Boy-sized package, unless of course you're talking about the old, original grey Game Boy that came out in the early 90's. It's probably about the size of that model with the lid closed, and with the lid open it probably has about twice the surface area though the DS Lite is a little smaller and rather thinner). With the lid open, it might be the biggest handheld Nintendo has ever released. It's still not too big to slip in a coat pocket or purse, though. 3. The DS and DS Lite don't take batteries. :) Ever since GBA SP, Nintendo has very wisely started giving its systems rechargeable battery packs built-in. The system comes with a plugin AC charger; when it's dead, plug it up for 3-4 hours and it will live again. :) Thus, buying a new Nintendo handheld (with the possible exception of the Micro, not sure if it takes AAAs or not) almost completely absolves a parent of buying batteries for it, except maybe once every couple years when the pack stops holding a charge; all rechargeable batteries eventually wear out. (I've had my GBA for a few years now and have never experienced this phenomenon, though. Typically, Nintendo systems charge quickly and the battery lasts for several hours of playtime.) And that's all I have. :) Overall, an impressively well-written article, with a very high degree of accuracy. Should certainly help some parents find their children DSs for Christmas this year. One more warning, though. You're right that prices are pretty universal for new DS systems.. except for certain retailers who, on purpose, charge much too much for their products. These are usually brick-and-mortar stores that don't usually sell videogames at all, or for whom game sales are a very small part of their business. I know I've walked into my local Hastings', for example, and seen a game that went for $20 at every other major retailer (including Wal-Mart and Target)marked at $49.99, and it wasn't a mistake. I haven't been there recently enough to check their prices on DS systems, but unless you shop around it's easy to be had. Parents, make sure you check multiple retailers, even the ones that are sold out, for pricing information (and know that, at the time of this writing, the new DS Lite systems are going for about $129, with the original DS models somewhat cheaper).
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