According to a sales estimate, Nintendo sold over 170,000 units of its new DSi console on just two days when it launched in Japan earlier this month. The new handheld, a replacement for the Nintendo DS and DS Lite, went on sale on the weekend of a Japanese holiday.

Despite the absence of a slot for GBA games, the console was highly sought after by consumers in Japan as it’s the first DS version to be released in two years.

The new console from Nintendo has been released to try to inject more momentum into the sales of the handheld, as sales have dropped in recent months in comparison to the PSP console from rivals Sony. At the end of October, the DS and DS Lite had sold 23.6 million units, which means that 1 in 5 people in Japan have a Nintendo DS of some form.

When the console launched earlier this month many retailers sold out instantly as consumers had battled the queues by pre-ordering their DSi online. This meant that they weren’t disappointed, as ordering online is the best way to ensure that you get a new console when it launches.

According to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, Nintendo plan to launch the new Nintendo DSi, the replacement for the Nintendo DS and DS Lite, in Europe in summer 2009.

The DSi was first shown to the public last month at Nintendo’s Media Summit. The DSi is an improvement over the DS and DS Lite in the following ways:

• The DSi is smaller than the DS Lite by 12%
• It’s screens are larger, 3.25 inches each
• The DSi contains not one, but two cameras. A 0.3 Megapixel camera for taking photos, and a VGA camera that faces the user when playing the console
• Music playback functionality
• An SD memory card slot
• The DSi allows the user to download games from DSWare
• The GBA slot has been removed on the DSi

When Satoru Iwata spoke with journalists last Friday, he stated:

Specific plans will be unveiled by our local subsidiaries, but an autumn or year-end launch would probably be too late.

When asked about the financial crisis affecting sales for Nintendo, Satoru Iwata responded:

With the business environment having changed this much, we of course need to stay alert. But so far I haven’t seen even the slightest sign that overseas DS and Wii demand is being affected by the economy.

It’s official, the Nintendo DS has now become the most successful handheld in history as it has beaten the record set by the Nintendo Game Boy, which sold 81 million units back in its pomp. The Nintendo DS has sold a staggering 84 million consoles worldwide, eclipsing the Game Boy, and the DS still has plenty of life left in its run yet, with a new console released last weekend.

One of the reasons for the success of the Nintendo DS is that it has appealed to a new audience of gamers that previous gaming systems haven’t, such as young children and women. The DS is also targeted at families in the sense that they are encouraged to play the games together with the console’s wireless connectivity.

Nintendo proudly announced that they have sold over 454 million games for the DS, and over 20 million copies of the Nintendogs game alone.

Despite the success of the Nintendo DS and the overwhelming interest in the Nintendo Wii this Christmas, Nintendo are still wary that the financial crisis in the world could put a damper on their profits.

Not letting the grass grow under their feet, Nintendo are pushing forward their dominance in the market place by launching their new handheld console, the Nintendo DSi, in Japan today.

The console is priced at just over £100 in Japan ($192). The US and European release is set for sometime in 2009, but no specific date has been set as of yet.

Nintendo has shipped their new console in large numbers for the launch, with 200,000 units hitting shelves over the weekend and a further 100,000 being shipped from November 4th.

The new DSi console features an added camera that players can capture their own image with, and manipulate it with the software on the console. The new console also has a bigger screen than the Nintendo DS Lite.

The Nintendo DS already outsells the Sony PSP, but the new better console is expected to further cement their position as the top console manufacturer in the world.

With the Wii performing so strongly and the iPod always doing well, Nintendo has announced that it expects its second-quarter earnings to be strong.

We may be in a global recession with consumer confidence low and spending very tight, it doesn’t seem to have affected Nintendo or their profits. Nintendo raised their sales projections in July for the Nintendo Wii console and the Nintendo DS Lite handheld. The Wii Fit has kept interest and demand for the Wii console alive, and the impending launch of the DSi is expected to keep Nintendo at the forefront of the gaming world.

Part of Nintendo’s success lies in their ability to attract the non-typical gamers with their style of party games and family games. The Xbox 360 and the PS3 may be technically superior, and may be the ‘gamer’s choice’ but they can’t compete with the widespread appeal of the Wii.

With Nintendo expected to announce their figures shortly, they’re forecasting a massive 165 billion yen profit (which is about $1.7 billion profit) for their Q2.

Despite the world economy being on a downward spiral, the games industry is riding high on the crest of a wave. GAME Group recently announced huge profits, and Nintendo are equally excited by the demand for their Wii and DS consoles, which is outstripping the supply.

In readiness for the Christmas rush, Nintendo is intending to ship 50% more Wii consoles to stores in the US than it did last year, even though the economy means that spending is reduced on the same period last year.

Nintendo also plans to ship an extra 10% of DS Lite handhelds.

As businesses suffer throughout the US and the UK, Nintendo sold 4.5 million Nintendo Wii consoles in the first 6 months of this year in the US, which was 45% more than it sold in the same period in 2007.

The statistics show Nintendo is ahead of sales forecasts for its Wii and DS units for the year, despite the recession.

Reggie Fils-Aime, the president for Nintendo US stated about the firm’s problems in keeping up with demand last Christmas:

We ran out for North American supply for the DS Lite. Actually we haven’t lasted a holiday season ever for the DS.

When asked about supplying enough consoles for consumers this Christmas, Fils-Aime wasn’t certain of Nintendo’s ability.

I don’t know if we’ll be able to, but were we to get in a car right now and go to 100 retail locations in the San Francisco area, we would not be able to find a Wii in at least 60 of those stores. Our hope is that by next week, the Friday after Thanksgiving, and on Dec. 23, you’ll be able to find a Wii.

The video game industry has weathered recessionary times fairly well. I think a $130 DS as the big holiday gift for a child is something a parent can feel good about.

If we get into unchartered territories with stocks coming severely down and unemployment spikes, then all bets are off.

The same is expected to be true of the UK. If you’re looking to by a Nintendo Wii for Christmas, don’t leave it to the last minute!

The video games development firms in the UK, of which there are many (including Traveller’s Tales in Manchester, who produced the Lego Star Wars games) look to be headed for boom times as news of the UK’s love affair with games consoles grows. GAME Group released figures recently claiming that the installed base for games consoles in the country has increased to 17.3 million, double its figure 12 months ago of just 8.8 million.

GAME also predicts that those numbers will increase to 21 million by Christmas.

According to the Entertainment Leisure & Software Publishers’ Association, the video games industry in the UK is the most important industry in the country’s creative sector.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, stated:

There can be little doubt that video games are now one of the major forms of entertainment in the UK.

Not only that, our industry is proving to be remarkably robust in the credit crunch.

The reason is very simple – games can offer terrific value for money.

I appreciate that it is only violent or controversial games that tend to garner tabloid headlines but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of games sold in this country are for all players of all ages – and that is why the Wii with games such as Wii Sports and Wii Fit are proving to be amongst the nation’s enduring favourites.

The PS3 and the Xbox 360 have sold well in the UK, but the Nintendo Wii has been the biggest winner with an additional 2.5 million consoles in the UK. The DS Lite has also done well, selling an extra 3.3 million units in the last 12 months.

The worst kept secret in video gaming was finally made official today as Nintendo announced a new Nintendo DS model, which will go on sale in Japan in November. The new model will come with features such as a digital camera and photo editing software that players can use to play about with their faces.

Sadly for the rest of the world, the console won’t be available until sometime in 2009.

The plan is for the Nintendo DS to become a the first camera for children so that they can get used to taking photos. Currently the popularity of the Nintendo DS in Japan has led to 1 in 6 people owning one, but Nintendo say they want to better that:

We want to change the DS into something that’s in every household to something that’s for every person.

As well as the camera, the new DS will be thinner and have bigger screens. It will also have MP3 technology so will be a rival for Apple on some fronts.

Expect the new DS to arrive in the UK sometime next year.

All of the signs point to the fact that Nintendo will be announcing a new DS system tomorrow. Although they’ve denied for some time that a new Nintendo DS is on the cards, the games industry has long believed that Nintendo were just delaying the inevitable. Tomorrow sees a press conference called by Nintendo for an unspecified reason, and everyone in the know suspects that now, with the run up to Christmas well under way, is the time for the Japanese games giant to unveil their newest handheld console.

The ‘rumoured’ new console is believed to have all of the great features of the DS Lite, but in addition will have two larger screens, will be able to play MP3 music tracks (so could potentially challenge the iPod), will have a camera on board and will also have better wi-fi capabilities.

If the rumours are true and Nintendo unveils their new super DS tomorrow, we can expect demand for the console to be immense, as it will surely be the must have gadget of the festive season… that is of course, assuming it hits our shores before Christmas!

Nintendo have again played down speculation about the rumoured new DS Lite. One of the rumours of the new DS are that it will contain MP3 player technology, but Nintendo UK has moved to quash these rumours as mere speculation. They say when an announcement is ready, they will make it.

Nintendo UK spoke to the website CVG.co.uk following details that were coming out of Japan about the supposed new DS model. The rumours were that the new DS would contain a large screen and have MP3 functionality.

Nintendo stated:

Nintendo has made no such announcement and will not comment on rumour and speculation.

Nintendo Japan also stated that the rumours were false, when they stated:

We are always developing new products. However, since nothing has been announced officially, we are unable to comment at this time.

This was all following an announcement from a Japanese newspaper called Nikkei that Nintendo would release a new model DS later this year, before Christmas, and it would have features such as MP3, camera, better wi-fi functionality and a larger screen.

Of course, even though Nintendo fervently deny these rumours, the games industry is convinced that there’s no smoke without fire, and the rumours are true. It’s just a matter of time before Nintendo unveils the worst kept secret in gaming.

Nintendo do have a Japanese press conference called for October 2nd, which should, if these rumours are true, see the future of the DS announced.