14 DAY TRIAL // Even if it is getting ready to launch the brand new Nintendo 3DS handheld device, the Japanese game company will continue to support its existing portable console, the DS, in all of its forms, be it DSi, DSi XL or other such variations.
The Nintendo DS has been a phenomenal success, managing to sell lots of millions of units since the original DS launched, followed by the DS Lite, the DSi and, recently, the DSi XL.
Nintendo is looking to the future now, as the 3DS will be the first portable console to support 3D without the need of glasses or other peripherals.
But the upcoming release of the 3DS, in February for Japan and March for the rest of the world, won't mean the end of the life cycle for the regular DS family.
According to Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata, the Japanese company will continue to support its non 3D-enabled console through new games, features and other such things.
"Already in next year, we will launch Nintendo 3DS, but for the existing Nintendo DS family of devices, while we'll intensify the legal and technical countermeasures against the likes of [piracy devices] MagiCom, we'd like to change the situation by creating hit titles [and] leveraging upon the already existing huge installed base of the hardware," Iwata told investors recently.
The Nintendo DS, even though it sold a huge amount of units in recent years, is seeing its advantage slipping, as sales have been in decline, alongside Nintendo's Wii home console.
Still, Iwata is confident that with new games and features, the handheld platform will take off in terms of sales and popularity, even with the impending launch of the 3DS.
Do you think the Japanese executive is right? Will new games and continued support keep the DS alive alongside its 3D-enabled version?