Opinion: DSiWare launch disappointment

I adore my DS lite, content with its capabilities and GBA slot. One of my friends, though also quite happy with his handheld, decided that the world might possibly end if he didn’t have a DSi in his hands on launch day. This meant that the two of us set out to a GameStop midnight launch event so he could claim his precious.

Once the treasured item was acquired, it was time to investigate the DSi Shop and see if there was anything worth spending the 1,000 ($10) free DSi points on.

There were only two items – Art Style: Aquia and WarioWare: Snapped!, each costing 500 points.

Technically, you could say there were three. The DSi Browser is quite nice and much better than the original DS Browser, and actually would have been worth spending DSi points on. Luckily, it’s a free download, so that isn’t necessary. But it is good enough to be worth actual points.

The disappointing fact is, half of the DSiWare launch titles can be considered demos. You’ve seen Bird & Beans, Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face and Brain Age Express: Math before. If you played the GBA game WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgame$, you’ve likely played the Pyoro and Pyoro 2 minigames that make up Bird & Beans. WarioWare: Touched for the DS also features a version of Pyoro. Likewise, Master of Illusion Express and Brain Age Express are samples of Master of Illusion DS and Brain Age and Brain Age 2.

Bird & Beans is a forgiveable release. It’s only 200 DSi points, the DSi has no GBA slot to play the previous WarioWare games and WarioWare: Touched can be hard to find. Plus, it is an enjoyable little time-killer.

Master of Illusion Express and Brain Age Express aren’t as forgiveable.

Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face, though cheap at only 200 points, seems like a pointless addition that was released just to pad the number of launch titles. It gives you two magic tricks that you can execute with the DSi. You’re supposed to get friends together, draw a face and then have the face predict what card they picked for the Funny Face trick. The Vanishing Card trick has the game “predict” what card you choose out of five by making it vanish. Maybe children would be amused by this addition, but gamers over the age of 10 will be wanting and expecting something more.

And then there’s Brain Age Express: Math, a compilation of some of the math challenges in Brain Age and Brain Age 2 that happens to be the most expensive item in the DSi Shop at 800 points. The thing is, you can get the full Brain Age DS game for a better price, if not cheaper, if you’re willing to bargain hunt online. A quick check at Amazon.com yesterday (1:01pm CST, April 7, 2009) shows three sellers willing to part with the full game for under $13.50. A search executed two minutes later for “Brain Age” on eBay gives 77 results for Brain Age and 88 results for Brain Age 2. Listings of what appear to be authentic copies of the games show up for between $5 and $8.

You would think that Nintendo would want to impress DSi users with the DSi Shop launch games. After all, people are more likely to get excited about original titles like WarioWare: Snapped! or Art Styles: Aquia than rereleases of games they’ve already seen, or maybe even already own. Bird & Beans, Brain Age Express: Math and Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face seem like demos you’d download for free from the Nintendo Channel or a DS download station, not something you’d squander DSi points on.

Let’s hope that future DSi Shop updates include more substantial applications and games.

Read [Gamertell] Also Read [IGN]