Nintendo DS 2? As crazy as that might sound with sales of the DS still selling beyond belief, there are rumors circulating that Nintendo is already quite far along in development on, if not a successor, then at least an updated Nintendo DS unit.
What would an update entail? DUAL TOUCH SCREENS of course! And when will this new system be released you say? Well the rumors say it could be out by early next year.
What makes you scratch your head though is the realization that if Nintendo does release an updated DS (which also reportedly has slightly bigger screens) and it includes extra functionality in the form of dual-touch-screens, then they will effectively be dividing the market. Because the “dual-tough-screen” games would not be playable on a normal DS system.
Then again, Nintendo has done this kind of thing before. Remember Game Boy Color games? Well when the Game Boy Color was released, the system specs were also updated which meant that most of those games could not be played on a normal, colorless Game Boy.
Still, I wonder if Nintendo should not instead opt to ride out the Nintendo DS wave for another year or so and then, instead of this updated DS, release an entirely new DS system that includes dual-touch-screens and updated system specs that are more in-line with those of the PSP. I’d also add in lots of other multimedia features
According to several industry sources outside of Nintendo, the company is working on an updated Nintendo DS. The screens are supposedly slightly bigger, but the biggest change is that the new DS will apparently have two touch screens — so it’s like a dual touch DS. That way, players can interact via the stylus with game play on both screens. Here’s the kicker: Word has it that this announcement, if true, won’t hit until early next year.
Makes sense for Nintendo as the company stated at E3 that it didn’t have any more announcements this year. Though does it make sense for anyone who buys a DS during the holidays? No, no it doesn’t.
Update June 2009: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during E3 2009 that a new handheld system was completed between 2006-2009 and was ready to go after the release of the DS, DS Lite & DSi, but they eventually decided not to release it. The direct quote reads: “In the history of Nintendo, there are several such examples. But when we are launching new hardware, the most important is thing is to sustain the momentum. If introducing new hardware won’t do anything to do that, well…” then a potential DS2 gets cancelled, that’s what. But with the new Nintendo DSi is setting sales records in the millions, it gives them plenty of time to think of more future iterations for a next-gen handheld.