Nintendo DSi LL Announced, Screen Almost Doubles in Size

The myriad rumors about a larger Nintendo DSi with a 4-inch screen turned out to be true and remarkably accurate. Today, Nintendo announced the DSi LL, which almost doubles the screen size to 4.2 inches. Consequently, the whole device is larger, but if you want more screen real estate it might be worth it.

As you can see from the image below (the new, larger DSi LL in burgundy compared with the original DSi in white), the device is wider and taller than the previous version, and both screens are definitely bigger, but the whole thing isn’t much thicker than the DSi. The stylus seems to have gained a lot of weight though.

Besides the size of the screen, there don’ t seem to be many improvements in the DSi LL. The battery lasts about the same amount of time, it only comes in uninspiring colors (seriously, who chose dark brown, wine red and natural white as the color scheme?) and it only comes with two DSiWare brain-training games and the DS Easy Dictionary.

We’re also a little skeptical about the larger screen. Sure it’s much bigger, but the resolution has stayed the same, meaning you’d get the same effect by just bringing the old screen closer to your face. That makes the bigger screen a much harder sell.

Speaking of selling, you won’t have to worry about whether to buy the DSi LL right now. It’s only available in Japan this November 21 for about $220. You can probably expect it to hit American shores in the next few months. We thought Nintendo would probably try to get the DSi LL out in America before the holidays, but a follow-up statement reveals the European version (called the DSi XL, oddly enough) won’t be released until early 2010. That probably kills any hope of seeing it here before the holidays.

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