New System Revealed: Nintendo DS

Nitnendo's new portable will feature two LCD screens.

[January 31, 2004] — Nintendo has revealed the first details about its upcoming portable gaming system, tentatively named the Nintendo DS. The system will feature two vertically-aligned LCD screens. Nintendo explains that this will allow multiple perspectives to be viewed at once. The media for the system will be small memory cards which are said cost less in manufacturing expenses than discs.

Nintendo said that it does not plan to replace the existing Game Boy Advance with the DS, but to complement it.

With the upcoming Sony PSP, Nintendo may face its first real threat in the handheld gaming market since the company released its first Game Boy in 1989. The Nintendo DS may play an important role alongside the line of Game Boy products. Nintendo has reportedly been testing the idea of a third gaming system that would be marketed with the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo's GameCube home system.

A playable Nintendo DS and planned game titles will be revealled by the company at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), with a worldwide release by the end of the year. The system is estimated to cost about 20,000 yen, which is nearly $190 US—although no official pricing has been announced.

Colin Temple, Game-Machines.com