E308: New DS rumors abound

by Alisha Karabinus { Jul 14th 2008 at 9:15PM }

Here we go -- with the Nintendo press briefing just hours away, the rumor brigade in Los Angeles is kicking things into high gear, and there are all sorts of rumblings about the DS. According to IGN, a number of things may or may not happen this week, including but not limited to:

Activision (wait, didn't they bail on E3? No matter; they have their own presentation coming up tomorrow night) announcing a(nother) DS peripheral that will add tilt and motion functionality to the handheld via the GBA slot
The next Tony Hawk game is rumored to be the first to use the Activision peripheral
Nintendo is preparing to provide built-in tilt and motion within the carts of some upcoming games

But the most interesting thing from the rumor mill is the big possibility we've been discussing of late: DS Micro ahoy! Word is that Nintendo may be preparing to release that redesigned handheld after all, but per these rumors, it looks like the new design is not meant to supplant the current Lite model -- which explains the color explosion. The slimmed-down DS may sacrifice the GBA slot and could possibly feature that accelerometer functionality built-in. The best part? We may be looking at a drastically-reduced price -- IGN is talking about a DS that's $100 cheaper than the current model.

Our own JC Fletcher is on the ground in LA as we speak, and David Hinkle is en route, so we hope to have more information -- or at least, more rumors -- for you soon. Whatever happens, we'll probably be scratching off a few of our DS predictions very soon.

Gallery: Nintendo DS mockups

Tags: accelerometer, e3-2008, e308, price-drop, redesign, tilt

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

gary yo @ Jul 14th 2008 9:32PM

drastically cheaper means that it will not be a lot or at all better than the dslite

ryan @ Jul 14th 2008 9:35PM

"We may be looking at a drastically-reduced price -- IGN is talking about a DS that's $100 cheaper than the current model."

$29.99? Doubtful.

Homerun @ Jul 14th 2008 9:37PM

Wait....$30 Dollar DS????????????

ramuji @ Jul 14th 2008 9:43PM

The IGN article actually says "sub $100" price tag, not $100 less than the price of the current DS Lite.

Roto13 @ Jul 14th 2008 10:36PM

I was gonna say. xP I don't think a redesigned DS will cost less than a DS game.

greg @ Jul 14th 2008 9:43PM

Someone has probably already said this but it says "sub 100" as in under 100 bucks. Not 100 bucks cheaper. Did you really think they'd sell a DS for 30 bucks?

Phantom @ Jul 14th 2008 9:52PM

I think that the DS Lite is perfect , I'm not sure how they could possibly make it any smaller , and a DS with no GBA slot ? how is GH:On Tour , honestly , these are the kinds of changes that should be used in a completly different system . I'm still hoping Sony makes a PSPhone or 2 or whatever , forcing Nintendo to make a new system with acceptable 3d abilities (IMO if you can only deliver blocky 3d , don't deliver it at all ) better graphics would be nice . And so would the PlaystationPhone :p

ryan @ Jul 14th 2008 10:36PM

I would tend to agree about forgoing 3D if you can only do blocky 3D, but there are some decent uses of it. I think Mario Kart DS, New Super Mario Bros., and Zelda: P.H. used it well, among others. That's not to say it doesn't get used more than it should, but think the good examples outweigh the bad.

Ashley @ Jul 15th 2008 2:35AM

The placement of the D-pad come use some work in L and R button or stylus heavy games, ala action games and shooters.

aj @ Jul 15th 2008 2:58AM

Well I like blocky 3D and older-school graphics.!

I hold to the philosophy that gaming requires imagination, and the new HD graphics and photo-realism only kill the imaginative part of gaming. At which point, I'd rather just go and read a book than battle evil in an epic quest for something or other.

Fiefdom @ Jul 14th 2008 10:01PM

If such a redesign were to come out, I'm not sure I'd want it. I still play GBA games as much as I play DS games (if not more) and my GBA was broken by someone else ages ago. But of course, the DS brought in a lot of new people who have probably never played a GBA game so Nintendo may not be too concerned (they removed GB and GBC compatibility with the DS).

If the rumor is true, I guess Nintendo has learned from the Game Boy Micro that such a redesign should be released before the next generation handheld is released.

Roto13 @ Jul 14th 2008 10:39PM

Well, my husband has been meaning to buy a DS for games like Brain Age. If this is announced tomorrow, it'd be perfect for him.

BlackDS @ Jul 14th 2008 10:41PM

I believe Alisha probably missed the "comma".

She probably meant to post "IGN is talking about a DS that's $100, cheaper than the current model."

The comma is a difference maker. See Penny Arcade's comic for more details on punctuation.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/09/02

Peace.

Eric Jon @ Jul 14th 2008 11:03PM

I hope we don't get a DS refresh. Instead Nintendo should release a new Game Boy device. Make the entire Game Boy catalog available for purchase and wireless download to this new device from the Wii.

It might not be feasible, it probably wouldn't generate enough interest to support development of new games, but it raises the possibility of entire Nintendo catalog being available at some point with the Wii as the gatekeeper.

Niz @ Jul 15th 2008 2:12AM

I hate it that everything happens through the Wii, i expected better from nintendo, what if someone doesn't have the wii, i should be able to download directly to my DS why should i have to go through the Wii? Probably because of unsecur WEP?

Leading on from that most importantly Nintendo should definitely include support for WPA/2 +anything else in the new DS, i have pretty much stopped playing DS online because Nintendo could not be bothered to incorporate WPA support, im am really surprised its not being complained about, they really shot themselves in the foot on that one.

Jacksons @ Jul 14th 2008 11:18PM

I can't imagine them wasting the development costs on another DS when the current one is selling fine, but you never know.

gameyeeeah @ Jul 15th 2008 12:00AM

What a cool NDS!

ecco6t9 @ Jul 15th 2008 12:16AM

Here's to hoping for a DS Micro.

Josh @ Jul 15th 2008 12:12AM

It might not be revealed until TGS, methinks.

iofthestorm @ Jul 15th 2008 12:46AM

That mockup looks slick, but probably not going to happen. I hope Nintendo gets to their next revision handheld soon so we can get non-blocky 3D, maybe PSP level or something. I don't think anything more detailed than PSP level is really useful in a handheld anyway, since you can't see that much.

Zealot @ Jul 15th 2008 1:01AM

I wouldn't mind a tilt peripheral. It would kill any hopes I had of a traditional THPS game on the DS, but it seems like it has the potential for more applications considering this, if real, would seem to have first-party backing.

Either way, if this is real I hope they don't screw over Phat owners. Almost makes me wish this was a third-party Activision peripheral, considering they were nice enough to make the Guitar Grip compatible.