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Nintendo’s eagerly awaited new handheld, the DS, is to be released across North America on November 21st. Boasting dual screens, touch-screen and voice-recognition interfaces and two forms of wireless connection, the 1 million Nintendo DS units available in North America already are expected to be depleted by year’s end.
Nintendo DS comes embedded with the PictoChatTM communication feature and bundled with a playable demo of the upcoming Metroid Primeî Hunters. In addition, the system will have a dozen titles available during its launch window, spanning every genre, including Super Mario 64 DS from Nintendo, Madden NFL 2005, Tiger Woods PGA TOURî Golf and The UrbzTM: Sims in the CityTM from EA, Spider-Man 2TM from Activision, Ping PalsTM from THQ, Feel the MagicTM: XY/XX from SEGA, Raymanî DS and Asphalt Urban GTTM from Ubisoft and Ridge Racerî DS and Mr. DRILLERî: Drill SpiritsTM from Namco.
By the end of March, the Nintendo DS game library will include 20 to 25 games. More than 125 games remain in development worldwide, from Nintendo as well as every major third-party developer. And because Nintendo DS is backward compatible with Game Boyî Advance SP games, it already has a library of more than 550 games.
Nintendo DS will sell at an MSRP of $149.99. Its clamshell design protects both screens, and its rechargeable battery allows for six to 10 hours of play on a single charge. The launch is being supported by an aggressive, multifaceted marketing program, which includes the “touching is good” campaign that targets a hip, male demographic in lifestyle magazines and on hot broadcast and cable television programs. Additional information about Nintendo DS is available at www.nintendods.com.
Nintendo DS launches in Japan on Dec. 2. By the end of 2004, Nintendo will ship 2 million units worldwide and another 2 million by the end of March.
