There's something missing in the DSi - the Game Boy Advance cartridge slot. Reggie says - don't worry!

Nintendo's latest handheld incarnation is the DSi, the third iteration of the original dual-screened handheld, but the first not to include backwards compatibility with the GBA. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime says the company isn't worried about how consumers will react:

"Consumers always adapt pretty easily to new technology, and I have no doubt they will do the same with Nintendo DSi. Game Boy Advance fans can always fall back on their GBA or older Nintendo DS systems when they want to dip back into their GBA libraries."

But the slot has also been used for transfering Pokémon between GBA and DS versions of the series and as a utility slot for plugging in the much under-used DS Rumble Pak and the new Guitar Hero finger-board accessory. Says Reggie:

"But [the DSi] will have lots of interesting features that players will want to experience. As for games like Guitar Hero, I'm sure our third-party partners are thinking about ways to make use of the new, unique capabilities of the DSi."

Hmm. To be sure, time has passed since the original "DSPhat"'s release (when the GBA was still considered a current console - one of Nintendo's "three pillars"). But the massive success of the DS has meant the GBA has been completely superseded and, several years into this generation of handhelds, backwards compatibility is no where near as important as it once was. And anyway, Nintendo would make no money getting you to download Wario Ware microgames from the GBA game if you could just plug the original title in.

Will you be upgrading to a DSi? Are you disappointed by its lack of a GBA slot? Let us know in the comments below...