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Oh, THAT New DS...

Following their strenuous denials, Nintendo has announced the newly updated Nintendo DSi.  It follows much the same line as the DS lite, but incorporates two cameras and an SD card slot.  The GBA slot has been removed.  The screens are also a 'bit bigger'.

Response so far has been a bit mixed.

The book was won by 'RF' from a Dundee company, who's asked to remain anonymous - who correctly guessed 'within the next 48 hours', after our previous post...

Light Sabers At 20 Paces

It's what the Wiimote was invented for.  From Kotaku...

LucasArts today revealed that Star Wars™: The Force Unleashed™ will come to the Wii™ home videogame system from Nintendo next spring, offering owners the unique chance to live out their Jedi fantasies by wielding the Wii Remote™ as a lightsaber while using the Nunchuk™ controller to torment foes with their Force™ powers.

And yes, it has a dual (duel?) mode, where you can take on your friends in a death match.

Oh my.

And as Boing Boing Gadgets points out, who'd have thunk all those words could be trademarked  (including 'Force' with a capital) - apart from lightsaber, which we would have sworn would be.

[picture courtesy (i.e. found on) of thetoque.com]

Happy Birthday Mr President

Nintendo have apparently sent the leader of the free world a Nintendo DS Lite, along with a copy of Brain Age for his 60th birthday today.

There are simply way too many jokes here to even begin to to pick one out, so please insert your favourite here.

(Though I do think Nintendogs might have been a better choice.  It teaches caring and responsibility.)

You can read the nice letter they sent him after the jump...

Nintendo's Low Cost Development Kits Could Encourage Independent Developers

The Guardian is reporting that the developer kit for Nintendo's Wii will come in at under £1,000 which, if true, would open up development for the console to a far wider range of companies and individuals.

While there is no word on how any 'indie' games would reach market, the console's reported online functions, suggest that a system similar to Microsoft's Xbox Arcade may be created, allowing consumers to download games directly to their system and pay for it online.  Nintendo's official Wii press release in May suggested that indie games may well play a part in the console's overall line up.

If all three consoles are going offer similar functionality - and it sounds like they just might - then instead of the next generation of consoles marketing the death of small developers, it might just be the renaissance the industry has been waiting for.

If the manufacturers are offering a way 'around' the major publishers, we may yet see a return to the mid-80's, when technical ability and a good idea were enough to get a game to market.

We can only hope...

Nintendo Confirms European Launch Date For DS Lite

Look, it's tiny!  The games press are reporting that June 23rd is the official launch date for Nintendo's Wii version of their handheld. 

Sorry, couldn't resist...

According to GamesIndustry, we're looking at a £99.99 price point.

According to Next Generation, 4 million of the DS's 16 million global sales came from Europe. 

The new device will be available in white or black when launched.  Though it's odds on a new pink version will hit the shops for Christmas...