On November 27, 2009, I picked up this Crimson/Onyx Nintendo DS Lite for $100 as part of a Black Friday deal at Walmart. Over time, the original L and R shoulder button switches have failed, but after having extensive practice in soldering surface-mount (SMD) component, I took the plunge and replaced the button switches myself using some replacements I found on Amazon. The replacement was a success, and the buttons work perfectly again, although the DS Lite's shoulder buttons now have a tactile feel similar to those of the shoulder and trigger buttons on Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons. To be honest, I do actually like the way they feel now. After 15 years, the DS surprisingly still has decent battery life. I will likely not invest money in replacing the shell, because the small flakes of paint are the "bumps and bruises" that show what the DS has made it through, like the various battle scars that we earn during the course of our lives. As long as the DS continues to function correctly, cosmetic condition doesn't mean anything to me.

The box in the picture is not the original box that the DS Lite came in, however it is the box for a Crimson/Onyx DS Lite that I picked up for $1 at a recent book sale put on by the local public library. I can see potential local multiplayer gaming in the future with Elly, with help from my flash cart and Nintendo DS ROM backups that I have made using my own equipment -- backups of the DS games that are strictly part of my library, and not of anyone else's library.