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Jonathan Takiff: Nintendo's DSi XL works well ... and 3-D's aheadApr 05, 2010 (Philadelphia Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune News Service via COMTEX) -- THE GIZMO: A hugely popular touch-screen entertainment and communications device gets larger and points to the future. THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR? More than 125 million of these touchscreen marvels have already been snapped up worldwide. Fanboys are salivating for the new version. And today we can finally answer the question you've been asking: Is the Nintendo DSi XL all it's cracked up to be? Sorry, but I had to try and fool you into thinking I already had an Apple iPad. But Nintendo's new portable game system has stuff in common with that other hotly anticipated product. SEPARATED AT BIRTH: Both new devices suggest copious ingestion of steroids, with the DSi XL ($189.99) boasting twin, 4.3-inch screens that are 93 percent larger than previous models. So, just like the oversize (9.7-inch screen) iPad, the DSi XL won't slip into a shirt pocket, and thus seems destined more for home use. Underscoring the point is one of the new Nintendo apps . . . I mean, game cartridges released in sync with the system: "America's Test Kitchen, Let's Get Cooking." Set the DSi XL on the kitchen counter, get the whole family involved with prep assignments, then whip up one of 300 clearly detailed and illustrated recipes. The software has a timer, and it moves through the recipe with "hands-free" voice commands. SENIORS WELCOME: Like those big-button phones and remotes, the new Nintendo system (and the iPad) offers an especially warm face to seniors who can't adjust their eyes or fingers to work the itty-bitty versions of (literally) yesterday. In fact, the XL comes with two DS programs built-in _ "Brain Age Express Math" and "Brain Age Express Arts and Letters" _ previously marketed as stand-alone software for sharpening elders' minds, though my twentysomething work colleague Stephanie likes the think-fast Brain Age challenges, too. And I can't think of anyone who wouldn't be happier exploring the dense fantasy worlds of Zelda, creating games on the new "WarioWare D.I.Y.," reliving "Konami Classics Series Arcade Hits" or racing down a track in, say, "Deca Sports DS" or "MarioKart DS" on the bigger playing field and with the significantly louder sound that the XL also provides. FASTER COMMUNICATING: Reading and sending e-mail via wireless Wi-Fi connection is a bit friendlier, too, in the new edition(s). Too bad no improvement has been made in the processor running the DSi XL's show. You could grow old waiting for a page to load using the XL's Opera operating system. PICTURE SNAPPING: Image quality from the two, 0.3 megapixel cameras (lenses inside and outside the case) on the XL remains the same (OK) as on the prior DSi model, though playing with photo customization features will be more fun. Images are still wirelessly transferred to friends' DS systems as they "Pictochat," though they can't be e-mailed to connected Facebook buddies. At least this device has a camera, unlike the iPad. NEXT-GEN NEWS ALREADY??? In unprecedented fashion, Nintendo Japan put out a news release about yet another, hotter variation on its portable game system at virtually the same moment a review sample of the DSi XL landed on my desk. Yes, the XL has been available in Japan (as the DSi LL) since late last year. But I believe that the real reason Nintendo dropped the word about the coming 3DS version was to tell gamers, "If the XL doesn't grab you, hold on for this, more sophisticated (and doubtless more expensive) system. Don't blow a big wad ($499 and up) on that new, game-friendly iPad." A BAD APPLE: How big a threat has Apple become in the video game world? The research firm Flurry Analytics reported last week that Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad game platform accounted for 5 percent of the $10 billion in U.S. video game software revenue for 2009, up from only 1 percent in 2008. Portable software for Nintendo and Sony's PSP systems claimed 24 percent of sales, up from 20 percent, while revenue for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft console systems accounted for 71 percent, down from 79 percent. FIGHTING BACK IN 3-D: As the (tentative) name suggests, the Nintendo 3DS will serve up stereoscopic, three-dimensional games without requiring viewers to wear special glasses as you now do at the movies _ and will do so with 3-D Blu-ray discs, TV channels and PS3 video games coming for 3-D TV sets. Unofficial word is that the 3DS system will use Sharp 3-D LCD technology, previously showcased in a 2003 notebook computer, which employs "parallax barrier" technology to deliver different patterns to the viewer's left and right eyes. Only one viewer directly in front of the device can enjoy this stereoscopic image. The effect can be switched off for conventional 2-D software. Japanese industry tracker Nikkei says that the system will have a "3-D joystick" and a "force feedback mechanism that will let players feel the collisions of a game character." Also promised are "significant improvements" in wireless communications, though the screen will likely be smaller than the DSi XL's. Consumer Electronics Daily reports that THQ and Majesco have 3-D games in the works for the Nintendo system. The newsletter also quotes a Majesco executive's prediction that the system could hit stores as soon as November, and it has an unnamed source who said that Sony will offer a 3-D PSP by year's end. Nintendo previously fielded a 3-D game system, Virtual Boy, introduced in 1995 and discontinued the following year. _____ E-mail Jonathan Takiff at [email protected]. ___ (c) 2010, Philadelphia Daily News. Visit Philadelphia Online, the World Wide Web site of the Philadelphia Daily News, at http://www.philly.com/ Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. _____ TO SUBSCRIBE TO NEWS2USE Items in the News2Use package are not included in your MCT News Service subscription. You can subscribe to the News2Use package or purchase the items a la carte on MCT Direct at www.mctdirect.com. To subscribe, please call Rick DeChantal at Tribune Media Services at (800) 245-6536 or [email protected]. Outside the United States, call Tribune Media Services International at +1-312-222-4444or e-mail [email protected]. 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