DS Games Respond to DS lite Hardware?

One of our readers left a comment in the previous post stating that Mario welcomes you with a different greeting in Mario Kart DS when you play it on a DS lite. Since I also acquired a brand new DS lite today, I decided to put this whole thing to the test.

Armed with my Phat DS and DS lite, I booted MKDS with both portables. On the original DS, Mario welcomed me with “Yahoo!” and some engine sounds, as usual. But on the DS lite, Mario changes his greeting to a familiar “Here we go!”.

Are Nintendo DS games aware when they’re on a DS Lite? Could this lead to some special and/or unlockable game features like we used to see during the transition from Game Boy to Game Boy Color? Hit the link below to see a short video of MKDS booting on both DS’s.

Mario Kart DS booting on DS and DS lite (YouTube)

Thanks Aboo for the little discovery!