Market will determine if DS Lite is phased out

“We’ll let the market decide. We expect some people will upgrade, but we also anticipate that we’ll win over people who were still undecided on DS – the extra features will help convince them. There’s an extra incentive. With the DSi we see multiple consumer types for it. As with everything now, we look at our target market being five to 85, offering different things for different people. The functions of the device really open the platform up to more consumers – it gives the DS format unlimited potential.” – Nintendo’s UK general manager David Yarnton

Personally, if I had a choice between the DSi and the DS Lite, I would choose the Lite even though the DSi lacks a GBA slot. Consumers in Japan have still been purchasing the DS Lite though, so it’s possible that the system will still have legs with the DSi launches in other territories.