if I have a choice of either going for the Nintendo 3DS, or whatever current incarnation of the Nintendo DS preceded the 3DS one, which one should I go for? I have many ppl telling me the 3DS isnt worth it, doesnt really having any games to support it, etc., but I wantd to get another opinion. thoughts?

Go for the 3DS man. The console is young but it has a lot of potential. Especially the XL version. DSi ware, Virtual Console, and 3DSware are worth it alone.

Not only that later you get
-Megaten 4
-Soul Hackers
-Monster Hunter(s)
-Code of Princess
-CastleVania Mirror of Fate

Oh yeah, and it plays DS games.

Well the 3DS is backwards compatible with all the DS games so just get that one. It's a bit unfair to compare them since 3DS is still young. I don't really care about much handheld games but SMT4 and the 3DS Fire Emblem should be great.

isnt it also backwards compatible w/ GBA games?

DS will play GBA games but 3DS (and I think DSi?) will not.

3DS is the better choice if you can do without GBA games.

and even so GBA games will probably eventually come to Virtual Console.

he can't play his games on virtual console. there is also no guarantee that every GBA game will be released there.

Thats very true but it wouldn't matter if he was simply considering a DSi instead of a 3DS.

not to worry, Ive a GBA emulator that works w/ most GBA games I want to play. prolly go w/ the 3DS f/ what everyone's saying. thx 4 teh input!