The Nintendo DSi is the answer to the PSP-3000, the new hardware variant from Sony, and Nintendo is aiming to get the fresh handheld as quickly as possible to the West. The new hardware specifications include not one but two cameras, both with 0.3 megapixel capacities and a larger screen; the whole device is smaller and lighter. Another change is that the old Game Boy Advance port was dropped to be replaced by an SD card slot. The DSi will also be able to get online and download music and videogames.

Satoru Iwata, the president and the Chief Executive Officer of Nintendo, said that the Nintendo DSi is supposed to arrive in the West before the autumn of next year, which means that the console will be a Japan exclusive for about one year, as the official release is scheduled for this November.

For the Japan release, Nintendo has prepared 200,000 units of the DSi and 100,000 more will be made available if stores run out. But the handheld is still selling very well in the West, mostly in North America, and Nintendo does not want to cannibalize its own sales by offering a new hardware variant in a period when it manages to attract customers with the hardware already available.

Iwata was quoted as saying during a press conference that “Specific plans will be unveiled by our local subsidiaries, but an autumn or year-end launch would probably be too late”. At the moment, Nintendo is the most successful of the three major console creators, with both the DSi and the Wii selling very well on all markets. The company has recently revealed record financial results while also saying that overall expectations for the year would be reduced to reflect current market conditions.