New Nintendo DS Coming This Year!

[Sonicpro]

Nintendo will release a new DS model to Japan later this year, Nikkei reports in its Sunday morning edition.

The new model will include a built in camera, support for SD cards, music playback capabilities, and improved Wi-Fi support. The system's screens will also be bigger.

The report says that the system will continue with its current setup of having two touch panel screens. It's unclear if this means that rumors of a dual touch panel system have come true, or if the the paper meant to say that just one screen will be touch-based.

Owners of the new model will be able to use the SD card to listen to music that's ripped from their CDs. Additionally, using SD cards, data can be exchanged with the Wii.

The improved Wi-Fi support will increase the system's use as an information terminal, allowing owners to get news and product information at retailers and train stations. Nintendo currently has such a service on test under the name Nintendo Spot.

Pricing for the new model will be below 20,000 yen. Currently, the DS sells in Japan at 16,800 yen, with the PSP going for 19,800 yen. The PSP-3000 revision is set to retain the same 19,800 yen price.

Japan will get a first shot at the new DS, as Nintendo plans on releasing a few hundred thousand units in its home territory before the end of the year. Nintendo is also looking into an overseas release.

Source

Edit #1-

Yesterday, GameSpot reported that Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson says Nintendo is gearing up to release a redesigned DS. Apparently, Wilson's "contacts" have told him that a new DS is complete. This redesigned DS, Wilson says, is slimmer than the current DS Lite, includes onboard memory, and features a larger screen. More interestingly, this new DS doesn't have a slot for Game Boy Advance games.

Call me a skeptic, because I'm pretty darn skeptical about this theory. Wilson seems to be straddling the line between "short-term prediction an industry analyst pulled out of thin air" and "long-term prediction that, two or three years from now, will obviously come true."

The Nintendo DS has already seen one hugely successful redesign in the DS Lite. It's thinner, lighter, and much brighter than the original DS and has been selling by the truckload. Last year, I saw times when the DS Lite was as scarce and sought-after as the Nintendo Wii. A generation before the DS, Nintendo redesigned the Game Boy Advance into the slimmer and lighter Game Boy Advance SP.

Unfortunately, Nintendo didn't stop there and instead went on to release the Game Boy Micro, a Game Boy Advance with a much smaller body and brighter screen. Gamers met this second redesign with a collective "Meh." The GBA SP already did what they wanted it to do; it was small, bright, and played all their GBA games. There wasn't a reason to get the Micro. Plenty of gamers are still quite pleased with their DS Lites, and I don't think they're going to find much of a reason to replace it, even if it has a larger screen and some onboard memory.

Wilson's claim that the redesigned DS won't support GBA games makes me even more skeptical; the GBA has a massive library of inexpensive, fun games that still see a lot of play. If Nintendo simply dropped that support, it would be as foolish as if Sony dropped support for Playstation 2 games in its Playstation 3. Oh, wait.

In fairness, Nintendo dropped support for the original Game Boy games with the Nintendo DS, so there is at least some precedent for it. I just seriously doubt it would happen. The Game Boy library was huge, but seriously aging. The earliest Game Boy titles are 18 years old now. If you have the original Tetris, it can probably vote in the 2008 election. More importantly, unlike the Game Boy/GBA compatibility, the DS' backwards compatibility enhances game play for DS games. If you plug in certain GBA games while you play DS titles like Advance Wars Dual Strike or Mega Man Star Force, you can unlock bonus content in those games. Cutting out GBA compatibility removes that possibility and makes obsolete many gamers' sizable GBA libraries. The supposed redesign's onboard memory would open the possibility for downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games, but I don't see why Nintendo would waste such a massive new feature on a simple product redesign. That sort of upgrade would be more warranted in Nintendo's next handheld game player to justify outright replacing the DS with a new system. Onboard memory would either be wasted on the DS' current system design, or require a fairly substantial reworking of its interface.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely think that Nintendo is hard at work on a new handheld player. I just don't think that we're going to see a redesigned DS any time soon. In two years, maybe we'll see the Nintendo DS Advance or some other handheld with more power and features. And yes, it might drop Game Boy Advance support at that point but retain DS support. But it probably won't be a DS redesign any more than the DS is a Game Boy Advance redesign or the Game Boy Advance is a Game Boy redesign. It will probably be a new system.
Of course, I might be wrong and Nintendo might unveil the DS Micro for a summer release. But I seriously doubt it.

Source

It seems great to see Nintendo working, but did not they not learn with the micro? Also there is a Nintendo Press Conference this Thursday. Isn't that weird.... also the second artical makes good points, and how would you play Guitar Hero: On Tour?

[knolan]

Where's your source?

but it's still awesome!

[Juggernaut]

Camera? Kinda strange... but more features = more happiness

I hope the DS isn't bigger though, it says the screen will be bigger so the whole DS might be bigger.

Music thing sounds OK to me... I don't think the new DS will make it to oversea release, doesn't sound good enough.

I wish there were pictures of it...

@knolan... the source is right at the bottom...

[Sonicpro]

Originally Posted by knolan

Where's your source?

but it's still awesome!

Actually where the souce button is at the bottom of the post! Lol... JK I've done that before.

[FrankForce]

Hmm...well I just bought my DS not too long ago and I am not upgrading anytime soon that's for sure. If anything I would trade it in for something else but right now I am having too much fun with it. If you got the source to this information it would make this thread more crediable.

[Ninman]

So all this extra stuff means the Chunky DS will be coming back?...I like the DS Lite's style, hope it doesn't differ too much...

So is this just another re-make or a Brand New DS? If it's simply a re-make I'm guessing the same 64-bit graphics chip.

Still, something to look forward to and to keep an eye on

EDIT;

@Frank...its source is at the bottom of the post :l

[Alphashadow]

Seems interesting, if it does make it out of japan, i might get it.

[Party Boy]

Why make this?I'm so tired of hand held remakes.

[Sonicpro]

Originally Posted by FrankForce77

Hmm...well I just bought my DS not too long ago and I am not upgrading anytime soon that's for sure. If anything I would trade it in for something else but right now I am having too much fun with it. If you got the source to this information it would make this thread more crediable.

OMG! FrankForce77 and Kolan, you guys need to open your eyes! I know nobody wants to believe it but it appears Nintendo is making a remodle, I'm sorry but it isn't a lie.

What do we want? New Zelda! When do we want it? With our new DS! Z-E-L-D-A!

Hopefully this explains for Nintendo's lack of DS games this year, working on a ton of new DS games.

Also does anybody notice a Nintendo press conference October 2nd? Hmmmm..... isn't this a coincidence?

[SuperSonic]

Aww man, if only my DS waited another few months before it broke lol. x]
I've got a new one now, so I seriously doubt i'll be ditching it in favour of this anytime soon...

Sucks that it's just a remodel, I wanted a completely new console.
Everything has bin done on the DS now.

[iNAKO]

Hey, remember when they told us they weren't making a DS remake? I sure do.