Should I worry about my DS's battery?

It's the old school fat DS, not the DS Lite.

I've had my DS since about late 2006. Not sure how long/often I've used it, but I do try to play it with a charger whenever I can. I hear that the average battery life of a DS is only 2-3 years. It's soon approaching year 3 for my DS. Should I worry about the battery life if ~70% of the time I've played it with a charger? On the other hand, does playing it with the charger actually lengthened the life span of my DS battery?

It's already gotten signs of age. Somewhere in the middle the touch screen is slightly cracked (you can't see it, but you can feel it), and the L/R buttons are busted.

I haven't really noticed on my DS, and I've had it since it was released in 04. Of course, I haven't used it in a while since the top screen cracked, but the batterie's seemed fine to me for a while.

And I hear that usually what's bad for a battery is when not charging it is not letting it run out all the way. If you don't plug it in until the light turns red, it should still be fine.

[COLOR="Teal"]yeah I still have the old school one as well lol

I just plug it in when the light turns red. Lasted me this long, nothing wrong with it so far.[/COLOR]

I've also had it since release.

So far, no battery problems. My only problem is a line of dead pixels on the top screen

Seems like it's time to Invest in a DS lite or DSi. And, I believe playing with a charger actually shortens the battery life because I always thought over-charging a battery can ruin it.

Seems like it's time to Invest in a DS lite or DSi. And, I believe playing with a charger actually shortens the battery life because I always thought over-charging a battery can ruin it.

Nah. Pros use original DSes

Nah. Pros use original DSes

The Dslite is significantly better than the original DS, so unless 'pros' means people who haven't needed to buy a new DS since the lite launched, then thats wrong for so many reasons.

And, I believe playing with a charger actually shortens the battery life because I always thought over-charging a battery can ruin it.

The charger automatically shuts off if it detects a fully charged battery.

The charger automatically shuts off if it detects a fully charged battery.

Yes, but if you take it out and put it back in, it will overcharge it, shortening the battery life. If you ever leave your Wii Remotes in a charge station for a really long time, you will notice that they die off within a few minutes.

I suggest getting the DSi, I already payed in full for it, just gotta wait until the 5th now for mine. <3

I'm gonna have to agree with Kabanaw. I don't have a DS, but I speak from a GBASP. I've had mine since December 2003, and it still runs for about 7 hours until the LED shows red. Personally, I run it until the whole battery is almost out, and then leave it on the charger overnight. I've had various mishaps with my GBA; there's tons of dust under the screen, I've had it go through the washer and the L button screw up (it would act as if it were pressed down 24/7), but had the button fix itself after a month. I was surprised at the durability; this is just from my case though. o_o

It takes longer than that for a battery to die out. Maybe a shortened lifespan yes but it takes longer than 3 years in most cases for a rechargable battery to die. My GBASP from launch still works fine, let alone my DS.