Via Gizmodo we learn about the next step in Nintendo's technological evolution. The company is bound to release an official MP3 player for their handheld consoles, boosting GBA usefulness and turning the DS into a music playing device too, in addition to its gaming and web browser capabilities. It's all official since the above picture could have been seen in Nintendo brochures at the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany. This is as close as it gets to an official announcement, but Nintendo is sure to release more information in the upcoming weeks.

In what looks like a rebranded Play-Yan Micro cartridge, the player will fit in the GBA cartridge slot and use SD memory cards up to 2GB. The MP3 player features a fully intuitive menu for easy use and comes with its own headphone jack. Supposedly the expected price is 29.99 Euros ($38), available on the October 8 launch. The problem is that for the same price one might as well buy a real flash card solution and put homebrew media on it. The Japanese Play-Yan version could handle media files along with a dozen of simple, yet freely downloadable games from Nintendo with original names like "Nose", "Avoid" and "Jump".

The Nintendo MP3 Player was originally planned to be released shortly after Game Boy micro, but the accessory got delayed due to sales not being as high as Nintendo had hoped. This is no longer an issue, seeing as the DS is a smashing success on every sales chart. It's still unknown why the video play function is not included, since this was a Play-Yan feature, nor if there's a special mode just for Nintendo DS.

Key features:
- For Nintendo DS (to be inserted into slot 2) and Game Boy Advance hardware
- To store music you need SD cards. Up to 2 GB cards are supported, this equals to 500 songs (best sound quality)
- Choose between different skins (including one with Mario)
- The interface shows all important information
- The unit itself features another headphone port