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Watch That Tiny $74 1.5GHz Android-Powered Thumb-Puter In Action A Japanese DIY aficionado stripped open his DS and added about 200 pieces of LED flair. The Nico Douga commenter who, amidst the sea of wwwwwwwww, suggested pairing this with the Korg DS-10 (which is now available, by the way)–I’m feeling you on that. The action starts, appropriately, at 4:20. [Kotaku]
Games that already play well with the DS could run into trouble on the DSi, causing many a developer headache, according to sources at Pocket Gamer. One unnamed developer told the publication that its studio is having problems getting one of its upcoming games compatible with the Dsi’s new hardware. Though the game plays fine on the regular DS, it freezes up when played on the Dsi and so Nintendo won’t certify it.
This news shouldn’t surprise anyone, but Nintendo Australia have confirmed that there are no short term plans to release the DSi Down Under, and we’re probably looking at a “late 2009″ shipping date. And with the recent news that the DSi content will be region locked, it looks like the DS Lite is still the handheld of choice for Australian gamers this Christmas. Unless the PSP starts releasing some decent games, that is…
The recently-announced Nintendo DSi will not, as confirmed by a Nintendo spokesperson, replace the DS Lite in the U.S. Her reasoning? The DS Lite is in half of all Japanese households, but only a fifth of U.S. households. Apparently this kind of whirlwind success actually means there is “huge untapped potential” for the Lite, so Nintendo is going to let the two brothers sit side by side, at least for awhile. [Kotaku]
Bad news, folks. We totally missed it in the wake of poor battery life specs, but Nintendo’s new DSi will completely ditch support for GBA titles. That not only means no more playing GBA backups (they only loaded from the now extinct GBA slot), but even if you were to load some sort of GBA emulation through the DS slot, chances are that the DS’s processor wouldn’t be fast enough to handle it (integrated GBA hardware processed these games before). Also, no GBA slot means that the lightly supported but excellent DS rumble pack and similar accessories are dead too. I can’t speak for everyone here, but the DSi is becoming a bigger disappointment by the second. [Kotaku]
MCV, a respected gaming news publication out of the UK, has stated “according to [an]impeccable source in Japan” that “Nintendo will announce a new, updated version of its DS console at a press conference tomorrow morning.” They cite the exact time of the conference to run at 5AM UK, or late tonight/early morning for Americans. Given the short timetable on this rumour, we’ll know either way soon enough. But it’s possibly that Nintendo wants to announce the products before any more leaks occur. [MCV]
This allegedly leaked photo of new Nintendo DS screens has played a game of Google Translate telephone before making its way to Giz wearing red sox and green hair, but from what we can make from the source, the big difference in the updated display is a shift in screen size from 3 inches to 3.25 inches. It’s still not a widescreen system like many of us would prefer, but then again, the alteration shouldn’t mess with the aspect ratio of existing DS titles, either. [Byokan Sunday via GoNintendo]
After Japan’s mainstream newspaper Nikkei announced a new DS with a camera, music player and enhanced wireless functionality, Nintendo had to say something in response. To gaming magazine Famiitsu:
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper—their Wall Street Journal, so by no means a shady source—is reporting that Nintendo will launch a new version of the DS later this year with a built-in camera and music playback, as well as more powerful wireless. The camera will be used for new types of games—who knows what Nintendo would cook up with that, though I’m sure it would involve taking pictures of yourself.
To those who’d like to support a real world cause while defending the princess from Bowser’s latest kidnapping, this limited edition Pink Ribbon DS Lite raises money for the cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure. For every unit sold, Nintendo passes $US5 to the organisation. $US5!!! Whoa. That’s big money!
