DS goes Lite
Wednesday, January 25. 2006
Today Nintendo officially announced the rumored update to the current model of the Nintendo DS. The new DS will be called “Nintendo DS Lite” and will go on sale starting March 2nd of this year for ¥16,800. Like its older brother, the new Lite will come with the DS unit and an AC adapter. No game bundle has been announced as of this publishing.
The feature set of the new DS will remain the same only in a smaller form factor. For a direct comparison, the new DS Lite is 133mm × 73.9mm × 21.5mm and weighing in at 218 grams while the current model’s specs are: 148.7mm × 84.7mm × 28.9mm at 275 grams. The new DS Lite will, however, sport brighter LCD screens which have 4 levels of adjustable brightness like the Game Boy micro. The new DS “Lite” name is supposedly derived from the concept of its “light” (as opposed to heavy) and “bright” features.
Of my own observations, the microphone input seems to have moved from the bottom to the very center of the unit. Also, the press release doesn’t seem to state what color(s) will be available at launch or “re-launch.” I’d expect to see a white unit as displayed in the press release image. Upon closer inspection, the redesigned D-pad, buttons, and iconic white finish seem to resemble that of the Revolution controller - obviously not a coincidence.
In retrospect, perhaps the DS shortages were also linked to this announcement. It would make sense for Nintendo to stop producing new Nintendo DS units in preparation for the revised version. However, Nintendo did not account for the surge in demand and was therefore caught off guard with a shortage on their hands. I wonder how many people will hold off on buying a DS until March.
Translated by yamakiyo
Source: [Nintendo Japan] [Dengeki Online]
Razor Ramon HG, a popular entertainment character in Japan, has made his way into video games. Gamepot's online golf title will soon include HG's likeness as well as several well-known soundbytes such as "Fooo!" and "Okay!" However, these items are only available through a special campaign which runs from 1/17 to 2/23. For those interested (and who isn't?), visit the official site, which is linked at the bottom.
Today Namco announced that the popular game series, Katamari Damashii, has sold over 500,000 copies nationwide. The first Katamari title to be released was Katamari Damashii for the PlayStation 2, which later joined the ranks of "the Best" series, followed by the sequel, "Minna Daisuki Katamari Damashii" for the PlayStation 2, and most recently "Boku no Watashi no Katamari Damashii" for the PlayStation Portable making for a total of 4 titles including "the Best" series re-release.
Game Iroiro has noted that 2 new TV commercials have been uploaded to the official “Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus” site. Both clips last about 15 seconds each. To access them, follow the link at the bottom and then click on the “PV” button.
Koei has announced that the game “Shin Sangoku Musou 4 Empires” (aka Dynasty Warriors) will also be released for Xbox 360 in addition to the original PlayStation 2-only release. Both versions of the game will ship in March.
