Nintendo Announces New Console

Sticking true to their promise, of a major announcement in January, Nintendo officials have released details of a brand new console, which is neither a successor to the Game Boy Advance or the GameCube. No images of the console have been shown although the description brings to mind dual screen Game & Watch systems such as Donkey Kong. Codenamed Nintendo DS the new portable console will feature “two separate 3" TFT LCD display panels, separate processors and semiconductor memory of up to 1 Gigabit.” The last phrase is ambiguous but seems to imply the use of solid sate cartridges, instead of an optical format. The example given in the press release, for the use of the duals screens is, “in a football game, you can view the whole game on one screen, while simultaneously focusing on an individual footballer'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 their environment.” The console is due to be launched world-wide before the end of 2004 and will see its first public showing at this year’s E3. The company is apparently already in discussions with third party developers around the world, regarding support for the system. Source: Nintendo