Nintendo DSi: You Finally Got Me

Nintendo, Nintendo!  How could you do this to me?  How could you tempt me with the Nintendo DSi?

First you seduced me with the Nintendo Wii, then, once you had me, sucked me in even more with the Wii Fit, and finally, you made me fall for you all together with Wii Music. I'm a Mom who doesn't like her kids having too much screen time. It seems anti-social to me, to be staring at a screen all day. (Only when they do itm though.  When I do it, I'm writing.  And that's OK.  No really.  It is.) I'll admit.  I've given in. But only because you've made electronic gaming palatable to me by making it physical and interactive.  My kids can play Wii and be social, and get exercise.

So you got me.  Happy now?

Evidently not. 

Because up until now, I've not gone "all the way."  I haven't yet succumbed to the holy grail of electronic games: the handheld.

Yes, I've managed to hold out.  I've dissed the world's most popular handheld, the DS. Oh, I have one.  The good people at Nintendo sent me a DS Lite a long time ago.  But I've left it there on the shelf, untouched.  Too proud.  Too much of a luddite.  Too much the mean mommy to let my kids have what every other kid seemingly does. Why would I want my kids to stare at a screen all day and get carpal tunnel syndrome?  Why would I want them sitting and thumbing something, when they could be up and around?  That's what I've told myself. And even though that DS Lite has been on the shelf, taunting me, tempting me, I haven't given in.  It's still in the box, unopened.

But Friday, like a persistent suitor, those sneaky Nintendo folks gave it one last shot: They sent me the new two-screen Nintendo DSi.  And all I have to say is: I surrender.

Nintendo, with this latest incarnation of the phenomenally popular Nintendo DS, has finally won me over.  Why?  Because finally (finally!) they've figured out how to make the handheld interactive.(I'm assuming that's what the i in DSi is for)  The DSi still plays all the same gazillions of DS games as the other ones (and some new ones, too) but it also takes pictures, plays music, and connects to the internet.

Now, maybe that just seems like more bells and whistles.  But from a Mom point of view, it feels like they've finally made it creative.  I know my kids will probably want to just play the same old mindnumbing games as everyone else -- but at least here, they have an option. And I have a justification for letting them have it in the first place.

Because DSi doesn't just take pictures, it lets kids play around with them.  Add a funny nose.  Cut out a head and attach it to a different body. Stick pictures of your friends into silly, funny, photo backgrounds.  There's a lot of opportunity here for creativity.  I like that in a toy.

Music is another new part of the DSi. You can play MP3's - no biggie, right?  But you can also record your own voice, and add it to the music.  Or change the music by adding cymbals, or drums.  You can  change the pitch or what you record.  Speed it up, slow it down.  Dare I say that my kids might actually learn something from this?  About speed and pitch and rhythm?

So have I taken the DSi out of the box and let my kids play with it.  Well, I will.  But for now, it's mine, all mine.  Hey, after such a long courtship, my handheld deserves a little time alone with me -- you know, before the kids come along. 

This is an original post to NYC Moms Blog.

Nancy also blogs at Ageless Body, Timeless Mom.