Filed under: Gaming

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with VentureBeat on the heels of last week’s DSi announcement, and while he didn’t drop any major bombshells, he did put the kibosh on those Wii HD rumors, saying that they were “pure rumor and speculation” and that Nintendo wouldn’t show off upcoming models to devs as the rumors claimed. Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty’s always “viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space.” That’s the end of that for now, we suppose — but Reggie didn’t close the door on either rumor entirely, and his closing comment that Nintendo’s good fortunes “makes us the most paranoid people in the world” certainly keeps possibilities open. Hit the read link for the full interview.

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Filed under: Gaming

Hey, remember that odd Nintendo pedometer we spied the other day? Well now we’ve got a possible explanation for its existence. According to our homeboys at Joystiq, the tiny device will be tied to some type of fitness game for the DS (and new DSi, we assume). There’s not a lot known, but they claim that one of the videos shown during the company’s Fall event in Japan indicates the title will be available in November, and will actually require some type of physical movement. Needless to say, the entire Engadget team has begun rigorous training to prepare for the totally raw competition which will commence once this as-yet-unnamed device / game is available.

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Filed under: Gaming

Hey, remember that odd Nintendo pedometer we spied the other day? Well now we’ve got a possible explanation for its existence. According to info from our homeboys at Joystiq and some dirt we’ve dug up, the device — dubbed the Life Rhythm Counter — will be tied to a fitness game for the DS (and new DSi, we assume). The hardware will sell for ¥1800 (or about $17), and the game will be the first title to allow Wii Miis to be transferred to the handheld. Needless to say, the entire Engadget team has begun rigorous training to prepare for the totally raw competition which will commence once this device / game is available.

Update: It turns out the game is called Walking Can Tell Your Life Rhythm DS (translated from Japanese, of course), and we’ve got video after the break showing it (and the hardware) in action.

[Via Joystiq]

Continue reading Nintendo’s mystery pedometer linked to DS “fitness game” (updated)

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

We heard last night that we wouldn’t be seeing the DSi in the States until next year, and now Reggie has confirmed the damage: no DSi until “well into calendar year 2009,” which sounds disturbingly like the holidays to us, but hopefully he’s just implying a few months in. We would hope Nintendo would be following the pattern of the DS Lite, which hit Japan in March of 2006, and made it Stateside in June, but Reggie says DS Lite sales are still strong in the US — which means it’s basically our fault that we don’t get a shiny new toy for Christmas.

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_Announces_DSi’; As expected, Nintendo just announced the DSi at its fall presentation — and it’s got dual touchscreens. The company is calling it a “third platform,” which means it’s complementing the existing DS Lite, not necessarily replacing it. Lookswise there’s not much different, but it’s some 12 percent thinner, partly because it doesn’t have a GBA cartridge slot. The touchscreens are also slightly larger, at 3.25 inches, and there’s an external three megapixel camera as well as a smaller one in the hinge. There’s an SD slot and internal storage — we’re not sure how much at the moment, but photos can be synced with the Wii Photo channel. Nintendo’s also launching an online DSi Shop, which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app — and you’ll be able to get on for free at “Nintendo Zone” hotspots, which’ll be in McDonalds here. The store will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points and content will be priced in 0 / 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. ¥18,900 ($178), launching on November 1st in black and white.

[Image from Impress]

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_Announces_DSi’; As expected, Nintendo just announced the DSi at its fall presentation — and it’s got dual touchscreens. The company is calling it a “third platform,” which means it’s complementing the existing DS Lite, not necessarily replacing it. Lookswise there’s not much different, but it’s some 12 percent thinner, partly because it doesn’t have a GBA cartridge slot. The touchscreens are also slightly larger, at 3.25 inches, and there’s an external three megapixel camera, and a front-facing camera located on the hinge. There’s an SD slot and internal storage — we’re not sure how much at the moment, but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo’s also launching an online DSi Shop, which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and “DS Ware” game — and you’ll be able to get on for free at “Nintendo Zone” hotspots, which will be located in Japanese McDonalds. The store will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points, 1000 of which will come free with the DSi until March 2010 and content will be priced in 0 / 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. ¥18,900 ($178), launching in Japan on November 1st in black and white — the rest of us will have to wait until next year.

Update: We’ve added the official Japanese DSi site link, check it out!

Update 2: We’ve also added a gallery (as you can see below).

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_Announces_DSi’; As expected, Nintendo has announced the new DSi at its Fall presentation in Japan. The device features a dual touchscreen layout almost identical to the DS Lite, though the company is calling it a “third platform,” which means it’s complementing the existing system, not necessarily replacing it. Looks-wise there’s not much different happening, but it’s some 12 percent thinner — partly because it omits the GBA cartridge slot. The touchscreens are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there’s an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage — we’re not sure how much at the moment — but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo’s also launching an online “DSi Shop,” which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and “DS Ware” game — and the company will offer free wireless connectivity at “Nintendo Zone” hotspots located in Japanese McDonalds. The shop will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points), 1000 of which will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. The DSi will come in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st — the rest of us will have to wait until next year.

Update: We’ve added the official Japanese DSi site link, check it out!

Update 2: We’ve also added a gallery (as you can see below).

Update 3: Our brothers at Joystiq have done a comprehensive spec-check of the DSi compared to the PSP-3000 and iPhone / iPod touch. Be sure and take a gander.

Update 4: You can now watch Nintendo’s DSi demo video after the break, and trust us, it rules.

Update 5: Corrected the healine. DSi has only one touch-screen.

Continue reading Nintendo announces DSi with SD slot, “DSi Shop” content store [update]

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Filed under: Gaming

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_Announces_DSi’; As expected, Nintendo has announced the new DSi at its Fall presentation in Japan. The device features a dual touchscreen layout almost identical to the DS Lite, though the company is calling it a “third platform,” which means it’s complementing the existing system, not necessarily replacing it. Looks-wise there’s not much different happening, but it’s some 12 percent thinner — partly because it omits the GBA cartridge slot. The displays are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there’s an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage — we’re not sure how much at the moment — but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo’s also launching an online “DSi Shop,” which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and “DS Ware” game — and the company will offer free wireless connectivity at “Nintendo Zone” hotspots located in Japanese McDonalds. The shop will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points), 1000 of which will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. The DSi will come in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st — the rest of us will have to wait until next year.

Update: We’ve added the official Japanese DSi site link, check it out!

Update 2: We’ve also added a gallery (as you can see below).

Update 3: Our brothers at Joystiq have done a comprehensive spec-check of the DSi compared to the PSP-3000 and iPhone / iPod touch. Be sure and take a gander.

Update 4: You can now watch Nintendo’s DSi demo video after the break, and trust us, it rules.

Update 5: Engadget Japanese tells us that only one display is touch-screen.

Continue reading Nintendo announces DSi with dual cameras, “DSi Shop” content store [update]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

You know how it goes — first comes the far-out rumor, then comes something a touch more believable, and then the company itself issues an all-too-familiar non-denial denial. According to MCV sources, the next step in the process will happen tomorrow, as a revamped DS storms into action at 5:00AM GMT on the 2nd of October. As for specifics, we’ll have to wait for Iwata’s supposed announcement to find out more, but we’d be utterly shocked to see this ship after Christmas. That is, if this isn’t just some elaborate scheme from the Big N to distract us all from realizing that Wiis will still be impossible to find this holiday season two full years after launch.

[Image courtesy of Parade, thanks Michael]

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Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Wearables

Bad / good news, folks: Nintendo is / isn’t working on a pedometer peripheral that will / won’t integrate with its Wii / DS console. The company has famously stated that it doesn’t plan to release “a whole lot more” accessories for the Wii, which means we’ve got at least one or two to look forward to, and this could be one of ‘em. The images surfaced on a European trademark registry site with very little supplemental info, but we do know it’s a pedometer of sorts. If we’re lucky, this is something that’ll integrate into the existing Wii Fit setup, perhaps alongside a software update to manage more info about our unhealthiness than just how far we can jump on a pair of imaginary skis, but it’s probably just as likely that we’re looking at a Wii Fit sequel, or perhaps a DS version (a handy companion to that new DS?) designed to lure us out of the house. No telling, really, but the peripheral does appear to be wireless… and wholly evil.

[Via Joystiq]

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo seems to be tripping all over itself denying the rumors that broke over the weekend of a new camera-packing DS, but it’s not exactly doing the greatest job — “While Nintendo is always working on new hardware, we have not made any announcement about a DS and we cannot comment on the Nikkei story” is exactly the sort of not-quite-a-no that has our new-hardware piggy bank cowering in fear. We’ll see soon, hopefully — Ninty prez Satoru Iwata is scheduled to give his fall presentation on Wednesday.

[Via Joystiq; image courtesy of Techeblog]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

Whoa, whoa — what’s this? A fresh report from Nikkei is pretty confidently talking about a new Nintendo DS destined to hit “within the year,” though we aren’t claiming to be full-fledged believers just yet. To be fair, this isn’t the first we’ve heard of such a beast, though the translated description is pretty far out there. For instance, the new model will reportedly boast a camera that will be used heavily for games and offer a stronger wireless signal. Even crazier is the bit about “competing with cellular phones” and “exceeding the frame of the game industry.” The article mentions that the device will eventually ship for ￥20,000 ($189) or less, though it doesn’t say what kind of sauce the author hit before writing commenced.

[Image courtesy of Techeblog, thanks RS]

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Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo might be cranking out new DS Lite colors left and right, but IGN says something bigger’s brewing in Kyoto — a third iteration of the DS with dual touchscreen displays, one of them widescreen. Those are pretty significant changes, so we’d actually say that sounds more like a second-gen DS rather than another rev of the current hardware, but IGN says the rumored release date of April or May 2009 doesn’t jive with a whole new unit. We’ll see when we see — hopefully we won’t be waiting long.

PS.- That’s just IGN’s mockup, don’t get too excited.

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Filed under: Handhelds

There’s no two ways about it — getting Twitter functionality on your Nintendo DS is pretty difficult. In all seriousness, you should probably remain content with sending tweets from your handset and / or computer, but those who just can’t turn a blind eye to a hack won’t be able to look beyond this one. For starters, the Twitter for DS application is based entirely in Spanish, so unless you’re halfway fluent in the language (or are just really good at deciphering Google’s translations), you’ll likely be baffled. Still, a great reward awaits you if you’re able to pull it off — sending a message to all your devout followers that you just tweeted from a DS.

[Via PMPToday]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

It really does pay to be a foreign minister representing the 8 richest countries in the world. This Japanese-lacquered DS lite is just one of the items presented to the G8 ministers participating in last week’s talks in Kyoto. The other items included a scented perfume ball and manga-styled stickers for each of the participant to attach to their diplomatic tricycles.

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Filed under: Gaming

Not like you really need another excuse to use your DS as a MIDI controller, but the hacking fiends over at Division 6 have just made available the aptly-titled Midify board. The tiny creation enables users to add a MIDI port to just about anything, but it specializes in Midifying Nintendo handhelds. It can be installed directly into a GBA, GBA-SP, DS or DS Lite, though it’ll play nice with other electronics should you procure a few extra parts. We won’t even bother mentioning what all you can do with this, but those already salivating at the thought shouldn’t have too much trouble parting with $34.99.

[Via Hack A Day]

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds, Wireless

It’s a crying shame (okay, not really), but the long-standing availability of free WiFi to Nintendo DS users in Mickey D’s is now over. Apparently the contract that enabled the access has expired, and there’s no signs of a renewal happening in the US or Canada. Of course, if you’re incredibly desperate to kick some tires online while treating yourself to a supersize medium order of fries and a vanilla cone, you can fetch the Nintendo DS web browser add-on or WiFi USB Connector from the second-hand market and carry on. We, however, see this as a perfect excuse to avoid the temptations that lurk underneath the Golden Arches.

[Via DS Fanboy]

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Filed under: Gaming

Stateside DS gamers can already get online using free WiFi at McDonald’s, but now Nintendo’s bringing a slightly different version of the service to Japanese McD’s: customers can log in to get menu information and download free game demos. The service is being rolled out at 21 Tokyo-area restaurants with an assist from NTT, which also provides DS wireless service at Japanese train stations, so things should get lit up fairly smoothly. You’d better hurry if you want to join in on the fun, though: the test program ends on December 28th.

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Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

While Nintendo has yet to confirm its upcoming trio of new DS Lite colors for Europe (and hopefully the rest of us soon after), the much-leaked units have already been spotted in the wild and unboxed for your viewing pleasure. In addition to its regular warnings about getting outside and not hitting people in the face, Nintendo might want to inform consumers on the danger of eating their handheld consoles — we’d hate to see unsuspecting Advance Wars fans succumbing to the incredible temptation these new colors present. Now, how about a little bit of confirmation and release dates for these, Nintendo?

Update: Turns out Nintendo indeed confirmed the new colors — a solid week ago. They’re hitting Europe on June 13th. Still no word on the US, though, unless we missed another memo. [Thanks, Daniel]

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