Nintendo DS redesign on the way?

Mike Bantick
Monday, 19 November 2007 01:59

Your IT - Entertainment

Rumours have been circulating that a redesign for the most popular game console currently available will occur very soon.

It happens all the time in the competitive world of consumer goods.  An incumbent gets harassed by the challenger, and eyes turn back to the current king to see what changes will ensue.

Such a struggle has occurred in the lucrative hand-held gaming market as Sony redesigned and re priced they PlayStation Portable (PSP) recently in a bid to knock off Nintendo’s all conquering DS Lite.

Making the PSP smaller and lighter without compromising the quality screen had an instant positive impact on sales.

From somewhere a rumour emerged that a response, in hardware form, was well underway in the Nintendo citadel.

Not so, says American Senior Vice President of Marketing, George Harrison; “We don’t have any imminent plans for an upgrade for the Nintendo DS,” Harrison told Next-Gen in an interview earlier this week. “The product is still selling extremely well around the world.”

Analyst Even Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities cited unnamed contacts reporting a DS redesign has been completed; “It is thinner (it has no GBA port), has on-board storage, and larger screens,”

Harrison added, “I’m not sure what his source was for it, but it’s not something you’re going to hear about anytime soon.”