Gaming on a Budget: Nintendo DS Lite

Gaming on a Budget: Nintendo DS Lite

By Tay ~ August 2, 2022

If you’re on a budget to play some of the best Nintendo games, you’re in luck. While Switch Lites can run on eBay for around $135 USD, there are some alternative options if you’re looking to save money and only pay around $60 USD. This console is the Nintendo DS.

The DS was originally released in 2005, and even though it has been 17 years since the console’s release, it hasn’t aged badly. It features some of Nintendo’s top franchises such as Pokemon, Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros., Animal Crossing, The Sims, and much more. The one to buy is the DS Lite because of its better form factor, speeds, better buttons and screens, and size. I would recommend getting this one over the original DS because the original has a dim screen, and is fairly large.

I recently got a DS Lite for my birthday, and so far, it has been used more than my Switch the past few days. I’ve been playing Animal Crossing: Wild World (favorite Nintendo franchise), and it’s sooooo much fun. I would recommend picking one up off of eBay for around $60 USD. I also have Big Brain Academy too.

I got mine for $70 USD, but it was because it had barely any scratches, a game (MySims), a brand new charger, and a stylus and GBA cartridge cover. (Note: sometimes the console can be scratched up a little, have a little screen and case yellowing, and may not include a GBA cartridge, stylus, and charger)

The DS also has a GBA cartridge slot, which stands for GameBoy Advance cartridge slot. The DS and DS Lite are backwards compatible with the Gameboy Advance. The DSi however, does not feature a GBA slot. The DSi has cameras that can be used to take photos, is slightly faster and thinner, and has special software. The special software and web browser are not available anymore and do not work.

Ok, let’s talk about where to buy. It’s probably best to buy from eBay, as they are cheaper and have reliable shops and stores on it. Sites and shops I do not recommend are Amazon and DKOldies. These shops often sell DS Lites for $150 USD, which is overly expensive for products that have only been cleaned. To clean a device takes 5 minutes and is simple. There are many YouTube videos on how to do that.

Thanks for reading. I’ll probably do a followup article as a review with game reviews, and I might even do a gameplay video on it.