Topic: Nintendo DS Launch Details

[Jonnyboy117]

$149.99, 11/21/2004, PictoChat!  We've got the official release date and price for the Nintendo DS in North America and Japan. UPDATE: Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt included.

Jump to Japanese launch information!

UPDATE: Nintendo has also revealed that Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt is being bundled with the DS.  First Hunt is a four-player demo, designed to show off the system's wireless multiplayer function.  It's unclear whether there is a single-player mode in the demo, but it is expected in the full version of Metroid Prime Hunters which will be released at a later date.  

NINTENDO DS LAUNCHES ON NOV. 21 IN NORTH AMERICA - AT $149.99!

New System Comes with Embedded PictoChat Feature, Strong Publishers' Support

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 20, 2004 - From the very start, Nintendo DSâ„¢ broke the existing rules of video game play. Two screens, not one. Wireless connection for game play and personal communication for the sheer entertainment of it. Flexible game control by voice and touch, not just with buttons. Nintendo's newest innovation, Nintendo DS, will make its worldwide debut in North American stores on Nov. 21, and then in Japan on Dec. 2. It will sell at an MSRP of $149.99, making it an immediate mass-market attraction. Nintendo DS will become the company's first system ever to make its sales debut outside of Japan.

"Nintendo's mission remains unchanged: expand the game experience," says Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. "Nintendo DS is the road map to the future of video games, and most clearly demonstrates the type of innovation that players demand."

Nintendo DS is the dual-screened, hand-held video game system redefining the idea of interactive entertainment. One screen allows for touch input using a stylus, while the unit includes both voice recognition and multiplayer wireless features. The sleek silver-and-black system sports a sharp, angular design.

Consumers immediately will be able to pick up and play the new system, as it comes with a free software feature, PictoChat, embedded in the system hardware. PictoChat allows DS owners to write messages with an on-screen keyboard or the stylus and send them wirelessly to other DS users nearby. Users can text chat, draw artistic messages or share secrets, all without saying a word. And a Nintendo DS in sleep mode will spring to life if it senses another DS in transmitting range, alerting users to each other's presence and setting the stage for an impromptu conversation or game session.

More than 100 companies have signed on to create games for Nintendo DS, while Nintendo itself is already developing its first 20 titles. Electronic Arts, the world's largest independent software developer and publisher, already has announced that its powerhouse franchises of Madden NFL, The URBZ: Sims in the City, Need for Speed Underground, Tiger Woods and GoldenEye will support Nintendo DS.

"Each time Nintendo creates a hand-held, it introduces new elements of play and sets a new standard for mobile gaming," says Larry Probst, EA's chairman and CEO. "The DS is no exception - Nintendo has another big winner with the DS."

The complete lineup of games planned for the launch of Nintendo DS will be announced in the near future. In effect, Nintendo DS already boasts a library of more than 550 games because it is compatible with single-player modes of games made for the world's best-selling video game system, Game Boy® Advance SP.

Nintendo chose the United States to lead the worldwide launch of Nintendo DS because of overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic reaction from consumers and to take advantage of the holiday sales season. After the subsequent launch in Japan, the system will be available in Europe and Australia in the first quarter of 2005.

Nintendo DS has a flip-top cover that protects both screens. Two speakers on the unit's face let users hear virtual surround sound, while its dual screens open games to a multitude of possibilities. Nintendo DS sits 148.7 millimeters (5.85 inches) wide, 84.7 millimeters (3.33 inches) long and 28.9 millimeters (1.13 inches) tall with the cover closed. The new media format for games means that Nintendo DS has no moving parts that could be misaligned if the unit is dropped or jarred.

According to NCL's official website, the Nintendo DS will launch in Japan on December 2nd for 15,000 yen, or about $136 US dollars.

Keep checking PGC for all the latest details!  As always, we're staying up all night to bring you this information as quickly as possible.

[King of Twitch]

Well done, I eagerly await price, launch games, color details etc

[EricEnder]

i saw the NoA website  and the news was posted a few minutes back...

Nov 21 for the US release for $149.99

it used to be on this URL http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=6a6f583d-1711-47be-b03c-d64d6bdd1d66&page=home

[BlkPaladin]

Oopps I guess I spoke too soon.

[babaloulou]

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[BlkPaladin]

I guess Nintendo is starting to take notice that the US market is starting to mean more than the Japan market, or I'm reading too much into it.

[MysticGohan24]

Awesome news, can't wait to hear more. as I figured, The DS was Cheaper than originally prodicted.

[KDR_11k]

Paladin: I think they're realizing that the japanese market is heading for the crash.

[Rize]

150, perfect.  I was iffy when I thought the price might be as high as 200, but I'm sold now.  I hope there's some good launch software (I hope Castlevania is ready for launch).

So what's the deal with it saying single player GBA games?  This thing has no link cable support for GBA games and the GCN/GBA link?  That's a damned shame.

Hmm.. maybe I won't jump on the DS after all.  What a waste it would be to have that GBA compatible hardware without the GBA link port.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Holy crap.

It senses other DS's nearby.

IT HAS TEH SPIDER SENSES!!!

[ruby_onix]

I fully expected Nintendo to reveal this stuff after the Tokyo Game Show, since the PSP hardware is hella expensive, but nobody really has any idea just how much money Sony intends to lose on it.

But, since the DS was frequently rumored to launch in the $150-200 price range, and Nintendo was able to get the $150 mark, I guess they really don't need to wait and see what cards Sony is holding. And considering how soon the DS is launching, it's much better this way.

One thing I do like is this part:
"According to NCL's official website, the Nintendo DS will launch in Japan on December 2nd for 15,000 yen, or about $136 US dollars."

That means the DS even has room to breathe at the $150 (US) price point, and the Canadian price might be $175 (Canadian), instead of $200.

[PaLaDiN]

Somebody confirm the Metroid Hunters: First Hunt pack-in Steven Kent is talking about.

And quick! The state of my pants depends on your quickness!

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Get ready to call the emergency pants medics!

[MattVDB]

It seems highly likely that MP hunters is a pack in.  Why else would the title of that game be revealed, but no other titles have been revealed for launch.  I see it as being highly possible.  

Indeed Nintendo has secured their portable market, yet again.  Now honestly, who saw this coming, one short year ago?

[WuTangTurtle]

I certainly couldn't have predicted all this but from these new info we have gotten i can assure that nintendo will rock house with the DS, and the emergency pants medics will have alot of work to do!

[BigJim]

$150, picto-chat and Metroid included.... now THAT is the competitive go-for-the-jugular Nintendo I want to see from now on. Nicely done.

And it makes sense. You really need to get software in the gamers' hands so they understand this product, because it's so different. Including pack-ins is the best way to do the talking for you.

 

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

Well played Ninty.  Let's hope they won't overprice it too much in Australia.  I will not buy one for AUD$300.

[ruby_onix]

Quote
In effect, Nintendo DS already boasts a library of more than 550 games because it is compatible with single-player modes of games made for the world's best-selling video game system, Game Boy® Advance SP.

I'm a little bit dissapointed that Nintendo didn't set up a system where the DS can "emulate" the GBA's Link Cable over the wireless connection. Sure, maybe you could never do GBA-to-DS connections without the link port, but if those Warp Pipe guys can emulate the GameCube's System Link LAN connections over the internet, it shouldn't be too hard for Nintendo themselves to do something similar for DS-to-DS GBA-game linking.

And, seeing that Nintendo seems to be saying "30-100 feet" now for the wireless range (as opposed to just "100 feet, or 30 meters"), it's annoying that it's apparently not even compatible with Nintendo's recently-launched "Wireless Adaptors" for the GBA (which themselves are only compatible with select games).

Edit: But I guess combined with it not playing GBC games (which seems to be all-but-confirmed now), we'll just have to live with the DS "not being a perfect GBA replacement". It just seems like a shame to me, since it's so very close. I guess I'll just have to live with my not-yet-portable GameBoy Player.  

[Mario]

I think this pretty much confirms a $199 launch in Australia

[Nephilim]

 awsome
I dont really care about link up for gba
DS multiplayer is were its going to be at

Demo or Full game of metroid is a bonus thu
going to be fun

"30-100 feet" = 30meters in dense building type area's, 100 in plane view
Lets hope that area is true to word, gosh iv used "100 meter" wireless phones that break up 2 meters from the base

[Bill Aurion]

Very awesome news...Not only is it going to be launched on the assumed date, but it'll be at a cheaper price so I can get it as well as Mario Tennis and MP2...God, I love Nintendo... ^_^

[Uncle Rich AiAi]

Quote
Originally posted by: Mario
I think this pretty much confirms a $199 launch in Australia

What's in the drinking water in Sydney?

USD$149.99 = AUD$213.49.  No way it'll be AUD$199.  How much was the GBA SP at launch in the US?  USD$100 IIRC?  Here, it was AUD$200.  That's double without factoring the currency exchange rate.

I'd say the DS will be $249 if we are lucky.

[Mario]

It's $149 with Metroid Hunters. The launch price in Japan is cheaper than the US launch price, for like the first time ever. It doesn't launch here until next year, and NAL just dropped the price of GBA SP to $149, which is a larger drop in price than anywhere else in the world. I expect it to be $199 here

[joshnickerson]

I'm not going to cry over the missing GBA link port.  Quite frankly, we should probably be pleased enough that Nintendo even made this thing backward compatable with the GBA. If they really wanted to be jerks, they could've left the cartridge slot out all together. But honestly, who is going to buy this thing JUST to play GBA games?

Also, Nintendo said before that if someone wanted to build a web browser for the system, they could. So what's to keep some clever little monkeys from creating some sort of link emulation program and downloading it into the DS?

[Spak-Spang]

Just a few things interesting to note.

Nov. 21 Release Date.  That means the Ship Date will probably be Nov. 18th.  So VERY VERY SIMILAR to games and systems prior.  

PictoChat included.  This is big.  Right now in America Instant Messaging on cell phones is becoming pretty big.  You can send messages to people and not have to call them.

PictoChat could take that to the next level, and really help the popularity of this system.

As everyone is saying the price is perfect, because it will allow you for $200 to get a system and potentially 2 games.  Or just for alittle over $200 2 games.  Awesome.

Last, if Nintendo does ship with that Metroid Hunters bonus disc then it is even better.  Personally I think its going to be the entire game.  I think they never meant it to be a single player game, and they are just throwing it in as a gift for the DS buyers.  Hey here is a great multiplayer game for you.  

This move is brilliant because it allows for DS to have a solid multiplayer experience right out of the box and its FREE!!!

GO BIG N!!!