14 DAY TRIAL // Data research company Enterbrain has released data which shows that after the November 1 launch date, the Nintendo DSi has sold around 535,000 units in its first weeks of sales. The DSi is a big improvement over the DS Lite model. It has two cameras, one pointed towards the outside of the device and the other pointed at the user, which can be used for video conferences. The old Game Boy Advance slot is now gone and replaced by an SD card slot, while the device is able to connect to the Internet to download programs and videogames. The new service is powered by Nintendo Points.
The most important rival of the Nintendo handheld is the Sony made PlayStation Portable, which has reached the PSP-3000 version, featuring a bigger screen and improved battery power. The new model was launched about a month before the release of the DSi and its sales are now well below those of the Nintendo product. The PSP has been affected by some hardware issues.
Overall sales for the Nintendo DS handheld line up, since the initial launch in December 2004, have reached over 24 million units in Japan. The DS Lite accounts for about 17 million of those sales. In the United States, the device has sold 27.63 million units while in other parts of the world, including Europe, the Nintendo made gaming console has sold another 32.99 million copies.
At the moment, the Nintendo DSi is only available in Japan but the company says it plans to offer the revamped model in April 2009 in the United States, sometime in spring in Europe, and later in the year in the rest of the world. There have been some contrasting statements on several issues from various Nintendo leaders and no clear schedule is available.