14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo is really looking good around this time of the year, as it has experienced some very strong sales across the world, with both the Wii console and the DS handheld. Now, it seems that the company is bent on keeping the same strong momentum, as sources claim that the next version of the DS, the DSi has gotten dated and priced for the North American territory.
Sources “close” to Nintendo have revealed to IGN that the next iteration in the DS series of handheld consoles, the DSi, will be released in April, most probably on April 4, in North America, and will be sold at the retail price of 179.99 dollars. If these claims are true, it seems that the DSi will be 50 dollars more expensive than the DS Lite, which is still selling very strong in the North American territory.
The DSi brings quite a lot of new features to the Japanese series of devices, including a built-in camera, an SD memory card slot, bigger internal memory, a revamped user interface and, most importantly, access to the DSiWare, a service that brings downloadable games and other Nintendo-branded resources to the DSi via its Wi-Fi connection.
The device has been announced in October and went on sale in Nintendo's native Japan in November, for the price of 18,900 yen or 211 US dollars. It quickly went on to become a best seller, with over 500,000 units being moved during the month of December in the Land of the Rising Sun. The launch of the DSi didn't really make a considerable dent in the sales of the DS Lite, which is currently being priced at 16,800 yen or 188 dollars.
Let's not forget that Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata, mentioned after the Japanese launch of the DSi that the product would be launched in North America sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Although these claims seem pretty valid, Nintendo has stated that these things are only rumors and that its policy prevents it from commenting them. It does seem that, in spring, North Americans might get their hands on the DSi – be it April 4 or any other date, the new iteration in the DS lineup will surely attract a lot of people.