Since this is the DSi, not the 3DS, you don’t get any of the glasses-free 3D magic. Instead, it’s the same 256 x 192 twin screens and a pair of VGA-resolution cameras, one inside and one outside, along with a D-pad, shoulder triggers and an integrated microphone.

The DSi is already available in the US in white, black, pink and blue, though the latter is paler than the newly announced version. Pricing has not been confirmed, but we’re expecting street figures to come in at around $120, just like the four existing variants.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL, the latter of which went on sale recently in Japan and reportedly saw nearly 200,000 unit sales in the first 24hrs. Nintendo is counting on the 3DS XL to rejuvenate its sales ahead of the Wii U release, having seen Wii demand plummet.

Both handhelds come with a variety of preloaded apps and games, including Flipnote Studio, Nintendo DSi Camera and Nintendo DSi Sound. The larger Nintendo DSi XL throws in a few extras, too, in the shape of Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock.

Previously, the DSi had been retailing for $149.99, meaning this is a $50 saving, while the DSi XL was $169.99, for a $40 saving. The glasses-free 3D capable Nintendo 3DS, the company’s current portable flagship, has a street price of around $177 at present.

Nintendo posted its first ever annual loss in the last financial year, blaming desperate price-cuts for the 3DS  - which took it below cost price – for the shortfall in cash. However, the company has said it expects to return to profit in the current financial year.

Featured: On the subject of T-Mobile, our Chris Davies wrote a column about where the big T is headed. Read it here – Could “Unlimited” Save T-Mobile USA? Also on our featured list today, Chris Burns shows us what some of the best iPhone 4S apps are in his article, A Week With the iPhone 4S. Spoiler alert – the SlashGear app is in there.

Gaming: When it comes to using video games in a classroom environment, it’s a win-win situation, so this trial of using the DSi’s speech recognition in school is pretty cool. So is this build of a portable Counter-Strike game on Android. But the biggest thing we heard about today is the Xbox 720 – new rumors suggest there will be two versions of the new Microsoft console.

Software & Gadgets: Speaking on Microsoft, a technical preview of Office 15 has been released. Woot. On the Apple side of things, AirPort Utility, Time Capsule, and AirPort Base Station have all been updated. But if you’re looking for someone a bit more exciting and new, you have to check out this – Panasonic demos WiGig with tablet and in-car system.

The sets will come with a custom Nintendo DSi carrying case and each DSi will have the new legendary Pokemons Reshiram and Zekrom etched on the casing. Both of the new legendary Pokemons are among the more than 150 new Pokemons in Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. The retail price will be $179.99. You can bet the bundles will be snatched up quick so you better get there fast if you want one.

The games will work with any device on the Nintendo DS system, but if they use the DSi or the DSi XL you can use the games new Xtransceiver device to talk to others in video chats. Up to four players can use Xtransceiver through a local wireless connection, or two players can do the same online through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. If you’re playing on an original DS or DS Lite, you can voice chat, and all players can send written messages using the touch screen.

The regular versions of Pokemon White and Pokemon Black will be available in North America on March 6th and will retail for $34.99 each.

[via Nintendo]

However, the larger Nintendo DSi LL (aka the DSi XL outside of Japan) is reportedly still in production and generally available. The change in production priority is most likely in preparation for the impending release of the Nintendo 3DS, the 3D-capable handheld set to launch in Japan on February 26 2011.

Nintendo had slashed DSi pricing in Japan midway through 2010, following tumbling sales of the console. The company is yet to comment officially on the rumors.

[via Kotaku]

The company has unveiled a cool black storage ottoman for the Wii called the Versus Storage ottoman. The ottoman is black and when you open the lid it has room to stash away 32 different games or movies along with other gaming items. It is covered in durable microfiber and is strong enough to sit on or prop feet on.

The Versus ottoman sells for $29.99 and has solid wood construction for the frame underneath. It is available in Toys R Us stores around the country right now. A new tray for the Nintendo DS is also available that will hold accessories and a pair of the portable game consoles. It is available for $19.99, there are versions for other game systems like the Wii, and they will fit inside the ottoman.

Nintendo are billing the price cut as a generous offer to US customers wanting to squeeze the value out of every dollar, though we’d also wager that tumbling DSi sales had something to do with it as well.  The company dropped Japanese prices for the handhelds back in June.

Of course, it also gives them the opportunity to clear stock ahead of the 3DS launch, about which Nintendo are expected to reveal more details come September 29th.

Press Release:

Nintendo Dropping Prices of Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL Systems on Sept. 12

Latest Versions of Best-Selling Portable Video Game System in History to Be Priced at $149.99 and $169.99

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo is dropping the suggested retail price of its Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™ video game systems. Effective Sept. 12, the new suggested retail price of the Nintendo DSi system will be $149.99, while the new suggested retail price for the Nintendo DSi XL system will be $169.99. The Nintendo DS™ Lite model will remain at a suggested retail price of $129.99. The Nintendo DS family of video game systems is the best-selling in the history of the U.S. and worldwide. The new prices offer consumers tremendous value for their money while providing access to the best portable video game experiences possible.

“We know shoppers want to get the maximum value out of every dollar they spend,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Our new Nintendo DSi prices make it easier than ever for consumers to access the tremendous variety of games, applications and social tools on the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems.”

The Nintendo DSi and Nintendo DSi XL systems offer consumers access to more than 1,300 packaged games and more than 200 downloadable games. Both systems feature two built-in cameras and photo- and sound-manipulation software that provide for a more social experience. Users can wirelessly upload photos to Facebook with the touch of a button (wireless broadband Internet access required). The Nintendo DSi XL system, which features a screen that is 93 percent larger than that of the Nintendo DS Lite, comes pre-loaded with software like Brain Age™ Express: Math, Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Flipnote Studio™, Photo Clock and the Nintendo DSi Browser.

Through the end of July, total Nintendo DS family hardware sales are more than 42.3 million in the United States alone, according to the NPD Group. Recent and upcoming software releases for the Nintendo DS family of systems include DRAGON QUEST® IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies™ (now available), Professor Layton and the Unwound Future™ (Sept. 12), Pokémon™ Ranger: Guardian Signs (Oct. 4), Art Academy™ (Oct. 25), Mario vs. Donkey Kong™: Mini-Land Mayhem! (Nov. 14) and Golden Sun™: Dark Dawn (Nov. 29).

Remember that Nintendo DSi features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendodsi.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.4 billion video games and more than 565 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at www.nintendo.com.

Everyone, including Nintendo, knows that the Nintendo DSi XL isn’t doing all that well. At least not here in the States. It was doing quite well for itself over in Japan, but once it hit store shelves locally, sales slumped. In an industry that’s getting smaller in most cases, adding 40% overall size to the mobile gaming platform may have not been the best bet. In any event, Nintendo wants to go ahead and freshen up the line-up, adding the Midnight Blue color to their current models available in stores.

The unit will be available starting on July 11th. It will cost you $189.99, and there’s absolutely nothing different about this model when compared to the others in the line-up. Other than the distinctive color, that is. So, are you going to go run out there and grab one for yourself, or are you going to wait for the Nintendo 3DS? It is “cool,” after all.

[via Engadget]

As for the new colors, the current brown, white and red DSi LL units will be joined by new blue, yellow and green versions.  These will seemingly be priced the same as the existing handhelds.

The new pricing – and the new colors – will arrive in Japan on June 19th.  However there’s currently no word on whether international markets can expect similar price cuts.  The move is likely being made to combat recent drops in DSi sales, in advance of the 3D-capable Nintendo 3DS making its debut later this year.

[via Andriasang]

Business performance overall was, Nintendo say, impacted by a strong yen and a price reduction on Wii hardware.  Still, overseas sales accounted for 84.1-percent of the company’s 1,434.3 billion yen net sales, with net income of 228.6 billion yen.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has already said that the company intends to ”enhance the ability to combat piracy in Europe through both legal and technological means”, predominantly through developing consoles that won’t play pirated titles, but it seems they’ll also have to challenge attitudes toward game ownership.  ”Everybody is using [magicom],” one gamer is quoted as saying, “and I don’t feel like I am doing something particularly wrong.”

[via Kotaku]

In 2008, iPhone OS apparently comprised 1-percent of the video game market in the US, when judged by revenue; that rose to 5-percent in 2009.  It reflects a growing shift away from home console gaming to mobile gaming: console game software revenue fell eight points to 71-percent, while spending on portable games software rose four points to 24-percent.

As for the shift in portable games consoles, it was the PSP which saw the biggest decline in the same period.  iPhone OS-based game spending increased to take 19-percent of the US portable market, with the Nintendo DS dropping five points to 70-percent and the PSP almost halving to 11-percent.  Considering the relative prices of iPhone OS games compared to regular games, it’s an even more impressive shift.

[via iPhoneBuzz]

The console will apparently replace the current DS series, but be backward compatible with titles from earlier handhelds including the DSi.  No details into the 3D hardware have been given, but we’re guessing they’re looking at lenticular screen technology which uses tiny prisms to split the screen between your left and right eyes.  On full-sized TVs lenticular 3D has been criticised for having a limited number of “sweet spots” from which the effect can be viewed, an issue that shouldn’t be so restrictive on the 3DS.

It’s unclear why Nintendo are previewing the 3DS in this manner, ahead of E3 2010 which isn’t until June, and potentially undermining further sales of the DSi which the new handheld will replace.  Still, the news will likely give a small boost to the company’s share price, ahead of the end of this current financial year.

[via Twitter - Thanks carl91!]

Other hardware news is that the DS2 will have an integrated accelerometer, which RPad.TV aren’t too impressed by but which could indicate Nintendo are looking to leverage the larger panels and customer hunger for ebooks to better position the handheld as a portable reading platform (like a mini enTourage eDGe, though without the E Ink).  The dev kit, meanwhile, is believed to be as powerful as that of the GameCube, and developers are said to find it straightforward if they’re experienced in creating GameCube and/or Wii titles.

In fact developers who claim to have experience with the dev kit say it has very little learning curve.  Previous tips have suggested the next-gen Nintendo DS will use NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset.  As for those titles themselves, development is expected to be completed before the end of the year, and in fact the DS2 itself is tipped for a potential E3 2010 announcement and late 2010 release.  However, that could change if strong sales of the existing-gen DS variants continue.

[via Kotaku; image credit Phil Nolan]

Nintendo reckon this is a nifty workaround for handhelds that lack an analog joystick for more proportional control, as well as maintaining a more “realistic” in-game feel than joysticks manage.  The on-screen wheel could be pulled left and right, as is traditional, or it could be linked to other movements and gestures, such as dragging a stylus up or down the display.

There’s even talk of a new peripheral, a combination strap and thumb-stylus that the gamer could wear on their finger for closer, more precise control than the standard pen.  It all seems a little too “obvious” for a patent, at least to us, but then we’re not the USPTO.

[via GoRumors]

“I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines” Iwata suggested, when asked about a DS that brought the Wii’s motion-gaming technology to a mobile audience, and he was similarly dismissive of 3D gaming.  ”I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home. How is that going to look to other people?” he asked, before suggesting that more research was required into the longer-term health impacts of 3D gaming.

Sony recently introduced the PSP Go and Nintendo is set to launch a larger screen DS this year. However, Nintendo has a much more substantial update in mind according to analyst Jesse Divnich from EEDAR. According to Divnich Nintendo will unveil a new DS2 platform in the next 15 months.

We have already heard grumblings that the next DS platform would use the NVIDIA Tegra platform. According to the analyst, the new DS2 will hit the market in the next 15 months and we should hear an announcement of the coming platform in the next eight months. The new DS2 is also believed to be backwards compatible with existing games.

Divnich wrote, “We believe that due to the aging technology, the possibility of new competitors in 2011, a decline in publisher support and piracy, Nintendo will launch a successor to the DS within the next 15 months, and likely announce such in the next eight months.”

“[The new DS will have] highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing” Iwata is quoted as saying, though when asked about rumors of integrated cellular connectivity he said Nintendo are not considering such functionality.  Instead the company is looking at increasing the number of WiFi hotspots DS owners will be able to use.

[via Kotaku]

Even closed, the DSi LL pretty much dwarfs the PSP still, and Sony’s console has never been the most compact of the breed.  Still, that’s the payoff to having twin 4.25-inch LCDs, and it’s one Nintendo are expecting will be welcome to the sort of gamers – the elderly and sight-impared included – who they reckon will be clamoring for the DSi LL.

US and European gamers willing to make the same compromises will be able to pick up the DSi XL (the name for the DSi LL outside of Japan) come Q1 2010.  Nintendo have also discussed the next-gen model of the DS having integrated 3G.

[via Kotaku]

That’s thanks to the upcoming IMG SGX543, which is expected to drop as a four-core 45nm chip variant into the next-gen PSP: “a single core SGX543 should match and potentially exceed the performance of Tegra 2 clock-for-clock” says DigitalFoundry.  Considering the potential of the Tegra 2, that’s quite a performance hike.

Unfortunately, there are caveats all round; the OMAP5-based dual-core SGX543 isn’t expected until 2011, and IMG have been critisized for their driver support, meaning that while the raw power may be there it remains to be seen whether game developers will be able to take advantage of it.  Meanwhile NVIDIA are better at pushing out support, and the Tegra 2 is on course for a 2010 launch.  That means the next-gen Nintendo DS could be on the market next year, potentially with integrated 3G with no subscription.

[via Kotaku]

The idea, says Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, was prompted by the Amazon Kindle, which offers 3G connectivity but doesn’t charge an ongoing fee to the owner; instead, the cost of the 3G would be integrated into the initial purchase price.  Gamers would be able to download new titles to their DS, even if they weren’t near a WiFi connection.

“I’m interested because it’s a new business model in which the user doesn’t bear the communications cost … Only people who can pay thousands of yen a month [in mobile phone subscriptions] can be iPhone customers. That doesn’t fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products” Satoru Iwata, president, Nintendo

However Iwata also recognizes that if they were to incorporate the 3G price into the console “customers would complain about Nintendo putting prices up”; nonetheless it’s apparently a possibility they’re considering.  It seems likely that the integrated 3G would only be for game downloads, rather than online gaming, as the latter would use significantly more data.

[via I4U]

Running from left to right in the shot above are the new DSi LL, the DSi, and the Nintendo DS Lite.  Given the DSi LL has a display almost a full inch larger diagonally, there’s obviously more to fit into your pocket; as far as we’re aware, the new handheld will go on sale alongside the DSi, rather than replacing it.

Japanese buyers will be able to pick up the new DSi LL from November 21st, when it will be priced at 20,000 yen ($220).  No specific launch dates for the US and Europe; all Nintendo have confirmed is that the handheld will arrive in Q1 2010.

[via Kotaku]

In fact the company only sold 5.75m Wii consoles, while handheld console sales also fell by 15-percent despite the launch of the DSi in Europe and the US.  Nintendo have tweaked their financial year-end predictions to more conservative figures, suggesting 1.5 trillion yen sales and an overall net profit of 230 billion yen come March 2010.

Update: Nintendo UK have confirmed to Electricpig that the handheld will arrive in the UK come Q1 2010, as the Nintendo DSi XL.  We’re guessing it’ll have the same name and launch schedule in the US, too, though nothing is official as yet.  No word on pricing, either.

The size of the DSi LL is obviously greater, with the new dimensions being 161 x 91.4 x 21.2 mm (compared to the DSi’s 137 x 74.9 x 18.9 mm) and it weighs in at 314g (the DSi is 214g).  Battery life has also increased, up to 13-17 hours with the display at minimum brightness or 4-5 hours at maximum brightness; in contrast, the DSi manages 9-14 and 3-4 hours in the same conditions.

Ports, microphone/speakers and cameras are the same as the DSi, and as far as we know the internals are unchanged too.  The Nintendo DSi LL will be priced at 20,000 yen ($221) and available in wine red, dark brown or natural white when it arrives in Japan on November 21st; no word right now on a US or European launch.

Update: A Nintendo spokesperson has told Famitsu.com that “Our company isn’t doing any interviews [about this]. We think it’s a speculative article.”  Neat sidestep, guys.

The new DSi would have no other differences from the existing model, which itself increased screen size compared to the original DS.  The Japanese-language site suggests that the change is in part due to requests from older gamers, who find the smaller displays difficult to see; Nintendo have pushed the DSi to a non-traditional market with so-called “brain training” games that are promoted as helping improve mental agility and reactions.

There’s some confusion in the translation as to whether the new displays would be running at the same resolution or not, but what’s clear is that Nintendo expect the refreshed DSi to retail for the same price as the existing handheld it replaces: 18,900 yen ($206).  It’s expected to hit Japanese shelves by the end of 2009, but there’s no word on what sort of delay we can expect before it arrives overseas.

[via Engadget and via Kotaku]

Nintendo is reminding those who are looking for a DSi or have recently purchased one to log onto the DSI Shop by noon Pacific time on October 5 to get their free 1,000 DSi points. The points can be redeemed for games or other applications.

Nintendo also says that once the points are claimed the user can keep them as long as they want, points never expire. Software offered in the DSi Shop is at four price points, free, 200 points, 500 points, and 800 points and up. Those getting their 1,000 points will be able to get one or even more games or apps for free, just for logging on before the deadline. Not a bad deal at all. If you need more points, you can grab 2,000 for $19.99.

Nintendo COO and President Reggie Fils-Aime has announced new colors for the Nintendo DSi, Wii controllers and a launch date for the Wii Fit Plus during his keynote speech at the 2009 GameStop Managers conference. According to Reggie, a black Wii Remote and Wii Motion Plus bundle is coming to American along with a stand along black Nunchuk on September 13.

The Nintendo DSi portable will be offered in white and pink colors starting on September 13, with the same features as the other consoles already on the market. The Wii Fit Plus software is coming on October 4 and will be availed for $99 with the balance board and for $19.99 with the software only.

In fact, claims Iwata, there are “several such examples” where Nintendo have decided to mothball a new design despite R&D investment.  The failing of the handheld console, like the other projects, seems to have been uncertainty within the company as to whether it would not just be a success but a runaway success.

“when we are launching new hardware, the most important is thing is to sustain the momentum. If introducing new hardware won’t do anything to do that, well…” Satoru Iwata, global president, Nintendo

Meanwhile, as to the ongoing rumors of a Wii price cut, Iwata claims that no such discounting is on the cards.  Instead, Nintendo will be pushing out a “stronger” catalog of games over the second half of 2009, while keeping an eye on Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s Motion Controller.  The company describes the Wii’s motion-sensitive gaming as its push into a “blue ocean” - that is, a large, untapped market – and will now be watching closely to see whether its two key rivals turn that into a “red ocean” where a small customer base is over-contested:

“We have the greater potential to create the blue ocean market when people are skeptical. So when we realize that other people are coming into [this] market … there are two things we [can] do. One is trying to intensify the fun nature of something we are already doing. The other is try to create a new blue ocean” Satoru Iwata

[via Register Hardware]

Accompanying the black Wii – which will be officially known as the KURO Wii – are matching black peripherals.  The red DSi will join the white, black, pink, lime green and metallic blue versions already available in Japan.

The Nintendo Red DSi will go on sale in Japan on July 11th, priced at 18,900 yen ($197).  Meanwhile the Nintendo KURO Wii will land in Japan on August 1st, priced at 25,000 yen ($260); the matching black Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Classic Controller Pro will be 3,800 yen ($40), 1,800 yen ($19) and 2,000 yen ($21) respectively.  No word on a US/European release.

[via Kotaku 1 & 2]

Apparently, this gizmo is meant to add on 8x zoom to the built-in 640 x 460 camera. So, I guess that’s pretty cool, but who on earth needs that much zoom power on their DSi. Is anyone trying to take good pictures with this thing?

It seems you can remove the lens from the Zoom Case. We don’t know any pricing or release date information just yet, but we’ll be sure to let you know when we do. Until then, we’ll just bask in the glory that is the photo of this very sizable accessory.

The game itself comes with two pedometers that automatically sync with your gaming system wirelessly. This way, the game can keep track of all the steps you take, no matter where you are. So really, you can play the game, even when you don’t have the game right in front of you. 

You can then view your steps in the form of various stats to see how your exercising efforts are going. You can track your pet’s steps, even, by hooking the pedometer to a collar. The game itself lets you “walk” through various towns, cities and even in space for added fun. You can get Personal Trainer: Walking on May 26th for $49.99.

As we already know, the DSi ships with a smaller battery than the Nintendo DS Lite.  It’s down from 1,000mAh in the Lite to 840mAh, which is actually 10mAh less than the original DS.  That reduced capacity helps the DSi to be 12-percent thinner than the DS Lite, but it also drops runtime by up to 50-percent, depending on screen brightness.

Still, you’re getting plenty more for your money in the new, sleeker case.  There’s now an integrated SD/SDHC slot, together with the dual cameras.  The Nintendo DSi launched in the US on April 5th, priced at $170.

“Nintendo is keen to have developers offering all kinds of software once the DSi store fully launches for access in Europe and America … Given the advanced functions in the DSi, such as the microphone and camera, the company told us that there are a variety of opportunities for a variety of apps, both in a games sense and a non-games sense, that we could offer” unnamed developer

Nintendo have previously denied that they consider the DSi Shop any sort of rival to other platform-specific download systems such as Apple’s iPhone App Store or the Android Market.  However this week they promoted not only game-style downloads and add-ons, but standalone software that could take advantage of the DSi’s multimedia capabilities.

Some are now speculating that Nintendo president Satoru Iwata will announce the newly-broadened store during his Game Developers Conference keynote next week.  The Nintendo DSi console itself launches on April 5th in the US.

[via TechTicker]

More DSi images after the cut

The pink is perhaps the most eye-watering, with Nintendo obviously going for as vivid a shade as they could find.  It’s the sort of color that would make you worry about it rubbing off on fabric.  As for the green, it’s a little more insipid than the others, leaving the metallic blue arguably the most tasteful choice.

That’s good news for the US, as the metallic blue and the black DSi will be the only two versions of the handheld console to launch there.  Nintendo plan to release the DSi in the US come April 5th, but the pink and green versions will be Japan-only, at least for the moment.

[via Kotaku]

The new color versions of the DSi will be priced at 18,900 yen ($195), the same as the original two models.  The handheld adds a larger display and dual cameras to the handheld, among other things. 

Nintendo have also confirmed the availability of the DSi in other regions, together with the color options they’ll have to choose from.  Australia will get the console on April 2nd, in black and white, while Europe will follow the day after, April 3rd, also in black and white.  Meanwhile the US will come last, on April 5th, with the DSi launching in black and blue.

Press Release:

Mobile gaming, “Nintendo DSi” released a new color

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minami Ward, Kyoto, President: Iwata Satoru) is a portable game machine, “Nintendo DS” as a three-shot series in November 2008 released a “Nintendo DSi” for the body color The traditional “White” “Black”, plus the new “pink” “green,” “Metallic Blue” color to add 3, 2009 March 20 announced that it has released. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minami Ward, Kyoto, President: Iwata Satoru) is a portable game machine, “Nintendo DS” as a three-shot series in November 2008 released a “Nintendo DSi” for the body color The traditional “White” “Black”, plus the new “pink” “green,” “Metallic Blue” color to add 3, 2009 March 20 announced that it has released.

The price is 18,900 yen (including tax) is equal to the past. The price is 18900 yen (including tax) is equal to the past.

“Nintendo DS” series is the total sales, at the end of last year, 2567 million units in Japan and sold worldwide after its release in 9622 and 10,000 units, a popular video game, the fastest in all major markets around the world The machine is, the software keeps track of memory like “My DS” carry the excitement of making a feature called “Nintendo DSi” to further expand demand by increasing the number of color, body color, ” to ownership of one person from one family, “aims to be one step closer to the ultimate goal of dissemination. “Nintendo DS” series is the total sales, at the end of last year, 2567 million units in Japan and sold worldwide after its release in 9622 and 10000 units, a popular video game, the fastest in all major markets around the world The machine is, the software keeps track of memory like “My DS” carry the excitement of making a feature called “Nintendo DSi” to further expand demand by increasing the number of color, body color, “to ownership of one person from one family,” aims to be one step closer to the ultimate goal of dissemination.

(Reference) (Reference)
Nintendo DSI, which is currently sold only in Japan, and other local conditions are as follows. Nintendo DSI, which is currently sold only in Japan, and other local conditions are as follows.
Americas: 2009 will release on April 5, “Black” “Blue” Americas: 2009 will release on April 5, “Black” “Blue”
Europe: 2009 will release on April 3, “black” “white” Europe: 2009 April 3 release, “Black” “White”
Australia: 2009 April 2 release “black” “white” Australia: 2009 April 2 release, “Black” “White”

Video showdown after the cut

The test pits the Opera-designed web browser for the original DS Lite, that comes on a separate cartridge, against the new Opera Web Channel which is available as a free download for DSi owners.  Unlike the cart solution, once you’ve downloaded the Web Channel to the DSi it becomes a permanent menu feature, and so you don’t have to carry anything extra around.

As the video demonstrates, the DSi gets to a readable version of the webpage – in this case the NY Times – before the DS Lite does, and the whole thing finishes loading well in advance of its older sibling.  The Nintendo DSi is set to launch in the US on April 5th.

[via Digg]

With the announcement of DSi, Nintendo also roll out DSi Shop, a commerce system that allows gamers to buy and download games or demos using DSi points. I’ve been playing with DSi for quite sometimes now and these features upgrades are worth paying for.The DSi will be priced at $170 when it hits the shelf.

“DS Lite Onyx hardware systems have been discontinued and stores will no longer be replenished on this product. Once your store sells through its current stock of this item, please remove any empty DS Onyx display boxes (onyx color only) from the sales floor and discard. Please continue to display the other colors of the DS Lite system display boxes on the sales floor (eye level and above perimeter of DS software section, above the DS accessory section, etc)” GameStop daily newsletter

The Nintendo DS Lite Onyx was initially launched in August 2006.  If this talk of its demise is true, then it will leave only the silver, red and blue versions of the handheld on sale in the US.

Of course, waiting around the corner is the Nintendo DSi, currently only available in Japan but tipped to hit Europe and the US in Spring or Summer 2009.  It’s entirely possible that Nintendo are ramping up to replace the DS Lite Onyx with the black DSi handheld.

That range would allow for a release as early as March 20th (the first day of Spring in 2009), although it’s unlikely that Nintendo are timing their launch around the vernal equinox.  Still, the April 4th date we heard so much about would certainly fit in there.

The Nintendo DSi takes the current DS and adds dual-cameras (one inward-facing in the hinge, for video chat, and the second on the outside, for photography) and an SD card slot for media files.  It also has slightly larger displays, at 3.25-inches over 3-inches, and is region-locked.

[via electricpig]

According to IGN, their sources put the DSi’s release somewhere on or around April 4.  The price is supposedly going to be $179.99.  The price is believed to be much higher than the DS Lite (at $129.99) due to the DS Lite’s popularity.  Nintendo would like buyers to see the DS Lite as the system for casual gamers and the DSi to be seen as the system for avid gamers.

A few different sources confirmed the details above, but until Nintendo makes an official announcement, we can’t call this anything but speculation. We’ll keep you up to date on whether or not this story makes it out of rumorland and into factville when we learn more.