When Nintendo unveiled the new DSi this week, gamers across the Internet went wild with excitement, curiosity, and maybe even a little doubt. The evolution from DS Lite to DSi shouldn't be too surprising though, as we've seen this kind of progression in Nintendo hardware before. Consider how the Game Boy Advance moved from its second iteration to the Game Boy Micro and compare that to how the DS Lite will transition into the DSi. In both cases:

• Backwards compatibility for previous generation dropped. The GBM cannot play classic Game Boy or Game Boy Color games, while the DSi is losing its GBA game-playing abilities.


• Smaller size. Both the GBM and the DSi are smaller than their immediate predecessor.


• Brighter screens. Again, both the GBM and DSi sport livelier displays than their younger brothers.


• Apes features from other gizmos. The DSi seems set to try and take a bite out of multi-function gizmos that most of us already carry each day, what with the built-in music player and cameras. The GBM took a stab at this too with the interchangeable faceplates that were so popular with the cell phone crowd several years ago.

Let's just hope that the DSi succeeds where the Game Boy Micro did not. The new gadget seems to have more potential for interesting games than a last-ditch quickie effort to give the DS market one last push before moving on to a major platform upgrade.