Goodbye Dear System

captaink

So my DS lite's hinge crack turned into a completely broken hinge today. It was a good system, served me well through a lot of Picross, Professor Layton, Final Fantasy, and so on.

So I need a replacement. Problem is, I was using it to play FFV Advance at the time. So a DSi/3DS actually won't do the trick. I'm considering two options:

A) Used DS lite from Gamestop or something. $90. Cheap, questionable reliability. No future proofing.

Buy some flavor of GBA from Gamestop or Ebay. SP is like $45 from gamestop. Later on, buy a nice shiny 3DS, and I'll have it all!

C)Repair? Not sure how feasible this is. The entire corner piece of plastic over the R button, the piece where the On/Battery LEDs are, is what broke off. Doesn't seem fixable without some spare parts or an awesome superglue job.

Valleo

If it were me I'd get a GBA micro and a 3DS. The micro is awesome, and you may want a 3DS eventually anyways.

Forar

I've been pondering a new/used DS Lite for a while, doubly so now that the official price has dropped and I can only assume the demand has gone down while the supply has possibly gone up a bit now that people are possibly jumping to the 3DS.

That said, Ebay, Craigslist and Kijiji all seem to have people under the impression that these things are still worth ~$100 used, and ebgames.ca still has theirs listed at $140 Can new, so either I'm incorrect in my initial assertion, or it's simply going to take a while for my belief to become reality.

Bullio

DS Lite had a price drop to $100 new. If you're going that route, splurge on the extra $10 for a system that has a manufacturer warranty, will probably last longer than a used one, and minimizes GameStop's profit. I think the best GBA experience is on the DS Lite due to having the best picture quality, though the size of the system is a little small for my taste and tends to give me hand cramps after a while. If you want a cheap alternative, go for an SP or a Micro. It ultimately depends on what matters more to you: money or the experience.

Lindsay Lohan

Worth mention is the DS Lite is only $99 new right now until they sell out - so I wouldn't even consider the used one if I were you.

I think Nintendo charges $70 to repair them and they do a great job so you may want to call them to discuss that option.

I'd go with a new DS Lite - at least if you update to a 3DS later you'll probably still be able to get a few bucks on Craigslist for it later - the GBA probably not so much...

UncleSporky

Definitely just buy a new Lite, well worth the money over a used one.

Kaseius

Take your pick in color: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=DS+Lite&x=0&y=0

or if none of those appeal, check local stores for other colors. They should all be 99.99 new!

captaink

Repair would be kind of nice because I just put a new Hori screen protector on the bottom screen. But on the other hand, a new one would have a fresh battery, and I think mine is starting to peter out.

Edit: Also I lost a stylus and my other one is worn out and falls out of the holder easily. AND my broken DS is white and I'm tired of its griminess. Blue/black or red/black will not be as dirty looking. AND I have a nice case that wouldn't work for other sized consoles.

DeathPrawn

captaink wrote: »

Repair would be kind of nice because I just put a new Hori screen protector on the bottom screen. But on the other hand, a new one would have a fresh battery, and I think mine is starting to peter out.

Edit: Also I lost a stylus and my other one is worn out and falls out of the holder easily. AND my broken DS is white and I'm tired of its griminess. Blue/black or red/black will not be as dirty looking. AND I have a nice case that wouldn't work for other sized consoles.

There's no guarantee you'd get your same DS back with your screen protector. A lot of the time they just give you a new device, and even when they don't I've heard lots of stories of people getting their devices back with the screen protectors taken off and included separately.

captaink

Amazon's got Hori's for $9 so it's not a big deal. Worth it to get new stylii and battery, I guess.

captaink

Popped over to Target and got a new black and red DS lite. Not sure if I like the 'unfinished' feel of the black plastic parts. It probably doesn't pick up grime and fingerprints as much though.

Ferquin

The matte finish does prevent it from being covered in fingerprints. Personally, I like the glossy finish. A quick polish with a microfiber cloth and it looks all nice and shiny.

Just_Bri_Thanks

I am not a big fan of gloss covering for handheld items, especially droppable ones. I want a DS with a covering like an otterbox. Something I can accidentally drop onto my foot and kick across a parking lot without the wailing and gnashing of teeth afterwards.

SyphonBlue

Nintendo fixes the hinge crack for free, you know

l_g

Nintendo does not fix the hinge crack for free if your DS is older than a certain date. I know this because this exact problem happened to me, and when I called the repair center they said that they could not give me the free fix and that the cost would run nearly the price of the DS lite itself.

What you can do is buy a hard case for the DS, and it holds the DS together for you. These go for like $10-$20 dollars depending on the one that you buy.

captaink

Mine must be too old as well. I put the serial number into the Nintendo repair website and it did not give me that option. It was $70 to fix or $80 for a refurb.