Ballot: 20 Years On, Does Your DS Lite Nonetheless Have Cost?

After final week’s 3DS fifteenth anniversary, we knew it was solely a matter of time earlier than one other massive {hardware} birthday despatched us spiralling; we simply did not count on it to return this shortly.

In the present day marks 20 years because the launch of the DS Lite in Japan — a undeniable fact that we’re completely comfy and okay with. Sure, on 2nd March 2006, Nintendo launched the slimmer, glossier, extra vibrant counterpart to the OG phat DS, and it was a magnificence.

This youthful mannequin boasted all the identical key options as its predecessor, solely… higher. Except for the far sleeker shell, the DS Lite packed in brighter (if marginally smaller) screens, a sliding energy change fairly than a button, a notably lighter weight, and considerably improved battery life.

It is that final characteristic that grabbed our consideration for right this moment’s anniversary, as, you see, when this author returned to his Ice Blue Lite a couple of weeks again for a spot of Pokémon Diamond forward of the sequence’ thirtieth anniversary, he was shocked to be greeted by a stable inexperienced energy mild, regardless of not having touched the rattling factor in years.

It is one thing that now we have seen repeatedly with outdated tech — flip open your outdated Nokia telephone, and we wager it will nonetheless come again to life — but it surely was shocking from a handheld that felt so futuristic on the time.

In accordance with Nintendo, the DS Lite battery ought to final 15-19 hours on the bottom brightness setting, and 5-8 hours on the best (relying on sport exercise), with the inexperienced energy mild solely altering to pink when the battery drops under 30%. Whereas this’ll little doubt degrade over time, our techniques nonetheless appear to be going sturdy.

We did a fast whip spherical Nintendo Life Towers, and all these of us with a DS Lite or DSi (which had an analogous battery life) nonetheless at hand discovered that the beloved little clamshells nonetheless turned on, with a inexperienced energy mild to point out for it. The exception is editor Gavin, whose brand-new pink Lite has remained uncharged and within the field since he purchased it. Tut. [I saw it five years ago and couldn’t say no to a cheap, never-opened Lite! RIP my original black one, which went to the great trade-in in the sky many moons ago. – Ed.]

Naturally, we’re not suggesting that any of our techniques have remained totally charged for the final twenty years — most of us have plugged them in a couple of years in the past, no less than — however the lifespan on this stuff is notoriously spectacular, nonetheless.

So, we need to prolong the anniversary experiment to you… for science. Should you nonetheless have a DS Lite kicking round, strive flicking it on and see if it nonetheless involves life. You may tell us the leads to the next ballot, then take to the feedback to share your recollections of this pleasant little DS improve.