14 DAY TRIAL // Just as the Nintendo DSi, the newest version of the handheld, is getting ready to break out of the Japanese market and land in Europe and in North America, Masato Kuwahara, who is the project leader for the group that handles hardware development for the Nintendo DSi, delivered a speech at the Game Developers Conference, spelling out how initiatives from the 90's and the desire for an ultimate DS design led his team to create the DSi.
One of the most interesting revelations was the fact that the new device underwent a radical redesign as early as October 2007. Kuwahara said that “The previous design had two slots for game software. We thought this would be perfect for games you play a little at a time, like New Super Mario Bros and Brain Age, for example. You could have them both in there, and switch back and forth. That’s how we thought gamers would want to use it. When we presented the idea internally, the approval results were not good. It was just too heavy. So we redesigned again, focusing on the weight and size of the system.” Now, the DSi is smaller and lighter than the DS Lite, while having a somewhat bigger screen and offering a better gaming experience.
Kuwahara was very frank about how the idea for the Nintendo DSi was born. He said that the Japanese market was saturated with the earlier DS models at the end of 2006, which means that there was little room to grow for Nintendo. The concept behind the DSi was increasing the penetration of the Nintendo handheld to one per person.
The developer revealed that those getting a new Nintendo DSi in North America would be able to take advantage of a promotion that also ran in Japan. Simply connecting the device to the Wii Shop will grant players 1,000 Nintendo Points that can be used to acquire games via digital distribution. The titles will cost 200, 500 or 800+ Points.