According to official news, the much awaited makeover of the Nintendo DS is no longer wishful thinking. A real deal is on the way.
The Nintendo DSi was unveiled on Thursday at a Tokyo press event by the company’s president, Satoru Iwata. This device comes with a larger display than the existing model, a built in camera and a music playback facility.
Cost of the DSi will be $179 and it is expected to be out in the US market in the year 2009. Japan will however see the release of the DSi on November 1st at a cost of 18,900 yen.
This edition of the DSi is the third since its release in the year 2004. Nintendo DS continues to dominate the hand held game market followed closely behind with equally rich features by the iPod touch, Sony PSP and iPhone. DS has made record sales, especially in US, for the Japanese company outplaying even the most popular Wii.
Recently however, there has been an increase in the sales of PSP, especially in Japan. Nintendo in the US market is constantly threatened by the gaining popularity of Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch. In fact, Apple states that it intends to establish a strong presence in the hand held game market.
Apple has even released a software developing kit in the month of March with a view to encourage users to create exciting and innovative games for iPod touch and iPhone. Nintendo DS however is less affected by Apple’s gaining popularity and is more focused on squeezing out Sony.
