Nintendo DS: a New Kind of Game Boy

If you've ever enjoyed video games, you've likely played Mario, Madden or Metroid, The Sims or Spider-Man - but you've never played them like this. The names and characters might be familiar, but now you can interact with them in completely new ways. Now, gamers across North America are snapping up the most innovative game platform in a decade, the Nintendo DS. Boasting dual screens, touch-screen and voice-recognition interfaces and two forms of wireless connection, the 1 million Nintendo DS units available in North America already are expected to be depleted by year's end.

Nintendo DS comes embedded with the PictoChat communication feature and bundled with a playable demo of the upcoming Metroid Prime Hunters. In addition, the system will have a dozen titles available during its launch window, spanning every genre, including Super Mario 64 DS from Nintendo, Madden NFL 2005, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Golf and The Urbz: Sims in the City from EA, Spider-Man 2 from Activision, Ping Pals from THQ, Feel the Magic: XY/XX from SEGA, Rayman DS and Asphalt Urban GT from Ubisoft and Ridge Racer DS and Mr. DRILLER: Drill Spirits from Namco.

By the end of March, the Nintendo DS game library will include 20 to 25 games. More than 125 games remain in development worldwide, from Nintendo as well as every major third-party developer. And because Nintendo DS is backward compatible with Game Boy Advance SP games, it already has a library of more than 550 games.

Nintendo DS is available at an MSRP of $149.99. Its clamshell design protects both screens, and its rechargeable battery allows for six to 10 hours of play on a single charge. www.nintendods.com.

SOURCE Newstream