Nintendo Developing New Device

It seems that the folks at Nintendo, despite its persistent and fairly unconvincing dismissal of any rumours until now, could well be working on a new console, something outside of its current lines entirely.

This... is not a GameBoy

Rumours that Nintendo had been working on something new had been floating around for a while, though many indicated that Nintendo would be to build an updated version of its motion-sensitive Wii (with many wondering if it could possibly be capable of high-definition output) while others had pointed to a motion-sensitive version of its by now near ubiquitous DS hardware. Instead, it seems that Nintendo is working on something a little different.

Special Offers – Week of January 18th

Good afternoon all, I hope everyone is well and having an alright (if a little rough) start back to work this week. We’re all doing quite well in the Komplett office, for what it’s worth. Anyway, for those just joining us now, we like to post our special offers for the coming week on a Monday afternoon, just to make sure that you guys have as long as possible to consider them before the offers end.

It’s on of those win-win situations

We won’t get too bogged down in all that for now, this week’s offers are pretty interesting, hopefully you’ll find something you like.

Nintendo DSi:

Nintendo’s DS line broke the record for the highest number of a games consoles sold in a month (it just so happened that in the same month, the Wii broke that record too). Clearly it’s a device that’s not only incredibly popular, but continuing to sell to new customers.

Click through to check out our page for Nintendo's DSi

For those of you who haven’t used a DSi yet, it’s functionally very much like an old Gameboy, though with a clamshell design and two 3.25” screens. The lower screen is touch-sensitive, and there’s a stylus included with the device. It also boasts two cameras, which tie in to various games, as well as Facebook. It’s a relatively simple little machine, but has enough of a range of games to provide some solid entertainment.

We’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Nintendo’s DS line, even if it is based on bitter intra-office rivalries of Mariokart DS and Pokémon… the important thing to remember isn’t that it’s okay to play games as an adult; it’s that Ryan cheats at Mariokart. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, he just does.

Our bitter feuds aside, Nintendo’s DSi is dropped to €147 this week.

The DSi is also available in black, for those who want to have it match their existing bits and pieces or wardrobe.

New DS to Hit Europe in March

Nintendo’s latest addition to the DS line has finally been given a release date in Europe and, surprisingly enough, it looks as though it’ll be before the US release date.

As a rule, games consoles tend to hit Europe last, though after the fairly furious backlash from Sony’s PlayStation Portable launch delay over here, it seems that the effort is being made to ensure that Europe gets hardware in a timelier fashion than once we did. Now, it seems that Nintendo will reverse the trend, offering it’s the new, bigger version of its DS hardware in Europe from March onward, though there’s no real detail on the US release date (which has been tentatively penned in as “Q1.”

Nintendo DS Breaks Console Record

Nintendo’s dual screened handheld, the by now nearly ubiquitous DS, which has morphed into the DS Lite and DSi, has just broken sales records and become the best-selling console in the UK, ever.

Nintendo’s DS has just passed out Sony’s PlayStation 2 as the best selling console and it’s still going strong. Sony’s last-gen console had seemed to be particularly hesitant to die while its successor, the PlayStation 3, had some trouble establishing itself. The fact that the PS2 held on for so very long was a fairly major contributor to the fact that Sony managed to sell 10.02 million units.

Judge Rules DS Flashcarts Legal

Nintendo has lost its long running case against Divineo, one of the bigger companies behind the production and manufacture of so-called “flashcarts” for its DS, DS Lite and DSi range, with a Parisian judge ruling against the gaming giant.

According to a report from MaxConsole, it seems that the judge may well have been swayed in favour of the devices by the argument that they’re particularly useful to homebrew developers, who might normally be excluded from the development process by the expense of a devkit for the handheld devices while some have simply been refused without Nintendo detailing just why they’re not allowed to develop for it.

Wii Production Slows

Production has begun to slow down on Nintendo’s by now practically ubiquitous Wii console. While some have been taking this as an indication that the gaming giant is losing faith in its motion-sensitive console, there’s a lot more to the news than there might first seem.

It’s interesting that this comes so close to Christmas, but it could simply be the case that production had been ramped up gradually in an attempt to meet the increased demand that Nintendo should by now be more than prepared for at Christmas, in which case production slowing down now could be an indication that it feels comfortable about satisfying demand.

Of course, the more outlandish speculation going around is that the reason Nintendo has slowed production of the Wii is because it intends to push out a new version of the console. While rumours of a high-definition capable version of Nintendo’s home console have been flying for months, Nintendo’s Reggie Fils-Aime said of the possibility that it was something that only die-hard rumourmongers cared about, and that Nintendo had no such plans.

Is Microsoft Building a Mobile Xbox?

Reports have been streaming in for a long time now that Microsoft is considering putting together a mobile gaming platform, which we might well expect to imagine the Xbox branding, if only because of the success of the Xbox 360. Finally there’s some official confirmation that the company is investigating the arena.

This is one of the nicer mockups of a handheld Xbox device going around.

The actual word from Microsoft has been a little cloudier than has been suggested, but no less leading. X-bit Labs is reporting that Microsoft’s vice president, Shane Kim, has laid down the law fairly evenly with regard to Microsoft’s interest in mobile gaming platforms. Kim responded to questions about a possible entry to the mobile market fairly succinctly,