Given Japan’s rapidly aging population, the fact that the release of the Nintendo DSi LL (to be know as the XL in other parts of the world) was graced with a commercial that depicted an elderly woman playing the DSi with her family makes perfect sense. With the handheld about to make its way into Europe, Nintendo is backtracking is to be sure that people understand that the DSi XL is not only for the well-aged.

Sporting a larger 4.2 inch screen, a jumbo touch stylus and a refined color scheme, the DSi XL is, for all purposes, aimed at grandma and grandpa, but Nintendo wants to make sure that everyone feels free to get in on the action. Complaints such as a lack of privacy in public places due to the large screen and the heaviness of the handheld – at 314 grams it is the heaviest handheld of its generation – are hounding the DSi XL ahead of its release in Europe this March but Nintendo has been quick to point out that Japanese gamers of all ages have been quickly buying up the DSi LL.

It’s absolutely not (just for old people). DSi XL appeals to as many people, if not more, than its predecessors. With bigger screens and a larger pen-like stylus it’s likely that older users may find the DSi XL easier and more comfortable to use but there are many more people it can and will appeal to.

Nintendo senior product manager for DS James Honeywell