The Nintendo DS

[Dark Samurai]

Source: IGN Cube:
January 20, 2004 - For months Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has been offering Japanese newspapers vague comments about a new mystery hardware that the company would launch in 2004. Nintendo of America today pulled back the curtains on the top-secret device and it looks to be good news for Nintendo fans worldwide.

The company's mystery machine is in fact a dual-screened portable game device that is entirely separate from both the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance. It will be marketed completely free of its sister hardware. It's called Nintendo DS for Nintendo Dual-Screen.

Nintendo DS features two connected 3-inch backlit TFT LCD display panels -- one on top of the other, according to a Reuters report -- and two separate processors. The device features an Arm9 main processor and an Arm7 sub processor.

The portable will not use GameCube optical disc or Game Boy Advance cartridge based media. Instead, it will play software on semiconductor memory of up to 1 Gigabit, according to the manufacturer.

Nintendo explains the importance of the dual-screen setup: "Players can look forward to being able to manage their game progress from two different perspectives, enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge. For example in a soccer game, users can view the whole game on one screen while simultaneously focusing on an individual soccer player's tackle or goal on the other screen.

"Players will no longer be forced to interrupt game play to shift perspective, such as moving from a wide shot to a close up, or alternating between a character's ongoing battle and a map of the environment. Nintendo DS makes it possible to perform the tasks in real time by simply glancing from one screen to the other."

Today's revelation is just the beginning, according to the company. The bulk of information on the machine will be unveiled at May's Electronics Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

"We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century," explained Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president.

"We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now," said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa.

The announcement, seemingly out of nowhere, likely comes in preparation for Nintendo's upcoming financial report. Also, developers have indicated that they will soon receive development hardware for the new system and with that Nintendo wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for very much longer.
There are no photographs of the device available. However, IGN's own Matt Casamassina has created a conceptual drawing of what the Nintendo DS may look like. Very intriguing, for sure. We know one person who will enjoy the dual screens!

The Nintendo DS will be on-hand at E3 2004 in fully playable form, according to the company. It will ship in the last half of 2004.

w000t!!!! cant wait for it. i wonder how it will look feel and taste!! (not the tasting part)

well? speculate

[Dyne]

No.. we've already started speculating.

http://www.gametavern.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7448

[Dark Samurai]

well this is the real one

[GameMaster]

This has been denounced as rumor gone bad. Everyone please return to your cubicle and continue your work.

[thatmariolover]

I swear to God, if this is real, then Nintendo has just handed the portable market to Sony and signed its own death warrent.

I Hate Nintendo. I Hate their Japanese business strategies. I Hate Nintendo.

This was the last straw.

[Jason1]

How is this a rumor gone bad? IGN clearly labels any information that is a rumor to be just that. I dont see RUMOR anywhere in that article. And its way too early to be an april fools joke. Sounds like the real deal to me.

Thatmariolover: Stop your whining. They havent said a thing about specs, the overall design, or anything really. I for one think it could be great. Of course I have no clue how the thing will play, look, feel, or anything. Therefore I will not say much about how much I like/dislike this thing. The rest of you should feel the same way.

[Rndm_Perfection]

Two screens? Hopefully this thing will have two-player games instead of just multiple views.