From September 12th, Nintendo will slash the prices of the Nintendo DSi and DSi XL in North America.

Following on from a price drop in Japan and Europe, the DSi will be dropped to $149.99, and the monstrously proportioned DSi XL to $169.99 – that’s a $20 cut from each. You should already own some version of the Nintendo DS, because it’s an awesome little console with some majestic games. If you do have a DS of some description, I would resist this. And here’s why:

Seventeen days after the price drop, on September 29th, somebody from Nintendo will stand on a stage and tell us what they expect us to pay for a Nintendo 3DS. They’ll also tell us when we’ll get the 3DS, which has already been guaranteed a release in all major regions before March 31st, 2011.

Call me Mr. McCynicalPants, but I’m going to hold out for my shiny new 3DS, rather than grab a handheld which will be old news six months after purchase.

[Via press release]

Price drop coming for Nintendo DSi and DSi XL is a post from: The Inquisitr

To help promote its DSiWare application Art Academy in Spain, Nintendo sent a chap into a Madrid gallery with a Nintendo DSi XL to copy a few of the old Masters. It’s a cute marketing trick (it’s just nice to see any marketing for Nintendo DSiWare content), and the results aren’t so bad, as this video of him recreating a Van Gogh shows:

You can catch the other paintings our artist friend imitates at Nintendo’s Vimeo channel.

While this guy does a pretty good job – certainly better than I could manage – his final work can’t hold a candle to some of the stuff created by the users of Colors!, a Nintendo DS homebrew app that came out in 2007. Hard to believe stuff like this was created on Nintendo’s little handheld with naught but a stubby stylus:

[Via Go Nintendo]

[VIDEO] Recreating works of art on a Nintendo DSi is a post from: The Inquisitr

Looks like Nintendo is preparing for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, with prices of older Nintendo DSi models being chopped in Japan. Could a U.S. price drop follow soon? Let’s hope so! As much as I wuv Nintendo’s handhelds, I always reckoned the DSi and DSi XL were a smidge too pricey.

Nintendo Japan has announced that from June 19th, the DS Lite will drop from 16,800 yen (about $182) to “open pricing,” which allows retailers to name their price. On the same day, its immediate successor, the Nintendo DSi, goes from ¥18,900 to ¥15,000 (about $165).

The newest member of the family, the DSi LL (or DSi XL as it’s known in the west) falls from 20,000 yen to 18,000 ($196) too.

NOT ONLY THAT, but Nintendo’s releasing a bunch of shmexy new colors in Japan’s face, with yellow, green and blue consoles launching there on June 19th. And here probably never. *Sob*

[Via Destructoid]

Japan getting Nintendo DSi price drops, new colors is a post from: The Inquisitr

The European version will come bundled with free DSiWare software like Dr Kawashima’s: Little Bit of Brain Training: Arts Edition, Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function, the Nintendo DSi Browser, and the brilliant Flipnote Studio. From day one, it’ll be available in Polar White, Dark Brown, and the delicious “Wine Red” (above).

The console boasts “93% larger screens than the current Nintendo DS Lite,” and an additional longer touch screen stylus. It also that awesomely chunky stylus at the top of the picture, ideal for men with gigantic dinner plates of meat for hands (me).

No news yet on price – though it’s the equivalent of $220 in Japan – or a North American date. We’ll be hearing details from Ninty soon enough, though it’s certain to be a pretty similar launch date to Europe’s.

[Via press release]

Nintendo DSi XL gets first western release date is a post from: The Inquisitr

A new and very meta Nintendo DSi commercial really shows off the little handheld’s capabilities … because it was made on a Nintendo DSi.

Specifically, it was made on Flipnote Studio, a completely free downloadable application for the DSi that has been called “freakin’ awesome” (by me, just then). The app allows users to draw pictures with the stylus, add their own sound through the DSi’s microphone, and piece them together to create frame-by-frame flipbook-style animations.

It’s simple, but horribly addictive, and you can even upload your animations to the interweb.

Most Flipnote animations, alas, end up looking like this, so to highlight the potential of this wonderful little program, Nintendo turned to the big guns of animation, and hired Aardman Animations to make the Christmassy TV spot you see below:

[YouTube, via Go Nintendo]

[VIDEO] A Nintendo DSi commercial, as made on a Nintendo DSi is a post from: The Inquisitr

Japanese site Game Watch took a closer look at how the Nintendo DSi LL sizes up against the competition, namely the PSP-3000. As it happens, the newest member of the Nintendo handheld family holds its own.

Whereas once PSP owners could brag about bigger screens, there’s now little difference between the two – the PSP-3000′s single screen is 4.3 inches diagonal, against the DSi LL’s 4.2 inch screens. The PSP does still have a much higher resolution (480 x 272 against the DSi LL’s 256 x 192), yet I’d personally argue the Nintendo console has the better library of games, but let’s not go there, eh?

If you fancy one of the new LLs, and can’t wait for its western launch next year (where it will be known as the XL), then expect to pay a fair whack: Play-Asia currently has these for $270.

Incidentally, the new console hit Japan over the weekend, and Famitsu was present to snap happy new owners:

Awww.

[Via Game Watch]

Size battle! Nintendo DSi LL vs. PSP-3000 is a post from: The Inquisitr

An eagle-eyed Siliconera reader spotted something neat on Best Buy’s Black Friday 2009 ad – a brand new Nintendo DSi bundle! For the first time ever, the Japanese gaming giant will be releasing one of its famous handhelds with preloaded games. It’s sort of a landmark!

The two DSi bundles will come loaded with DSiWare games, with one of the consoles directed at Brain Age fans, and the other targeting fans of Mario games (so, everybody):

Bundle 1: White Nintendo DSi with Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Sudoku, Brain Age Express: Math, Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics, Photo Clock.
Bundle 2: Metallic Blue Nintendo DSi with Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!, WarioWare Snapped!, Dr. Mario Express, Mario Calculator, and Mario Clock are loaded on that DSi.

Siliconera’s Spencer notes that this equates to $28 and $22 worth of DSiWare respectively – when the handheld first launched, users got a free 1,000 DSiWare Points (or $10) to spend, once they connected to the online shop through their console.

[GearLive, via Siliconera]

Best Buy Black Friday 2009 ad contains surprise for Nintendo fans is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nintendo has confirmed that it will bring a new version of its DSi handheld to North America and Europe next year. This latest model, which I posted about just the other day, boasts bigger screens (4.2″ across the diagonal, though the same number of pixels will be present), and will be known as the Nintendo DSi XL in North America and Europe in extra regions.

Here’s Nintendo with the lowdown on what we can expect:

“The Nintendo DSi XL [...] will offer a screen 93% larger than the current Nintendo DS Lite with a better view angle, an additional longer touch screen stylus, and preinstalled Nintendo DSiWare software.”

The pre-installed DSiWare bundled with this will include a pair of Brain Training games and DS Easy Dictionary. When it hits Japan, it will come in three colors: Dark Brown, Natural White, and the rather lovely Wine Red (above).

While nothing has been said about pricing outside Japan, we do know it’ll cost a cool ¥20,000 (US$220) in Nintendo’s homeland, when it releases November 21.

Interestingly, this is aimed at DSi users who want to use their handheld for internet and as a music player. Seriously? Look, I love my DSi to death for its games, but isn’t there about a hojillion portable gadgets that handle internet and music better?

[Via Kotaku]

New, larger Nintendo DSi confirmed for North America and Europe is a post from: The Inquisitr

That’s right, folks: the Nintendo DSi is getting an increase in size that will make it almost as big as the Eiffel Tower.

Okay, that’s a fabrication. I hold my hands up. Sorry. However, it is definitely getting a bigger screen. According to Japanese newspaper Nikkei Post, Nintendo plans to release a new version of its DSi handheld with a 4″ top screen in Japan later this year. That’s an increase of 0.75″ on the DSi’s 3.25″ display. The first DS, meanwhile, had tiddly 3″ screens.

All other functionality will remain the same, says the paper, as will the price: ¥18,900 (about $205 at current rates, though this is not yet confirmed for a release outside Japan).

I’d question why they’re doing this, but then everybody knows new Nintendo DS/DSi iterations sell like tickets to an afternoon of naked trampolining with Scarlett Johansson. Personally, I think 3.25″ is fine (for a portable screen), so if Nintendo doesn’t throw a few more features on this thing, I’ll probably stick with my current model.

How about you, reader?

[Livedoor, via NeoGAF, via Destructoid]

Size matters: Nintendo DSi with bigger screen on the way is a post from: The Inquisitr

We already know about the Twilight MMO, but now the franchise will be bringing its tweeny vampires and well-defined cheekbones to the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Scene It? Twilight is a quiz game containing over 500 multiple choice questions about the Twilight movies. Sorry, movie. Yeah, that’s right: there’s only been one Twilight film, so developer Screenlife will be trying to squeeze 500 questions from a single two-hour flick. Expect things to get pretty obscure.

Before the game arrives on Nintendo’s consoles (on the Wii in Fall 2009, and on the DS in early 2010), there will also be a DVD trivia boardgame released. This will feature on-screen puzzles, movie clips, sound bytes, music and trivia questions about the film, and bonus activities such as “Which Cullen are You?”. It’s a question that has kept us all awake.

If the Scene It? brand name sounds familiar, that’s because it’s already an established series of DVD trivia games, and has appeared on the Xbox 360 twice before. Those were actually reasonably polished releases, so maybe there’s hope for this.

[Via press release]

OMG OMG OMG! Twilight quiz game coming to Wii, Nintendo DS, DVD players is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nintendo has plans to release its DSi handheld in a further three colors next month in Europe. As you can see above, Red, Metallic Blue, and Light Blue are the chosen hues, and in other news, I am slightly in love with that Red model. These all release on October 23.

Neatly, they also come with Facebook and Flipnote Studio pre-installed. For those unfamiliar with the latter, Flipnote is an incredibly fun application that lets you create frame-by-frame flipbook-style animations – you can see what people have designed with this by going here.

On top of that, you can get a free 1000 DSi Points if you take your handheld online via Wi-Fi before March 2010.

[Via Tiny Cartridge]

Yum: Europe to get new Nintendo DSi colors is a post from: The Inquisitr

As the successor to the DS Lite, the Nintendo DSi differs quite a bit from its predecessor. As well as sporting two cameras (which can be incorporated into gameplay) and greater online connectivity, it also boasts improved technical specs.

To take advantage of this expanded feature-set, Nintendo is planning a number of games designed solely for use with the DSi. According to sources close to Kotaku, those titles may be just months away, with the blog informing readers that the first DSi-specific games will release this fall. Eep.

Kotaku’s sources also revealed these will be packaged in swish, all-white game cases – as opposed to the dark gray boxes of standard DS Lite games – and that DSi-only game cards will also be white, creating a mismatching NIGHTMARE for black DSi owners. There’ll also be some REALLY SIMPLE, PLAIN TEXT on the boxes to point out the hardware requirements, so everything’s easy for soccer moms.

This is still only rumor, though perfectly plausible. Nintendo itself confirmed the development of DSi-only software earlier this year, while the DSi’s extra features (cameras, etc.) should offer new options for game developers.

It is also plausible because Nintendo loves money.

[Via Kotaku]

[RUMOR] First Nintendo DSi-only games due this fall is a post from: The Inquisitr

You remember the first Professor Layton game, right? Full of ace puzzles and some gorgeous animations, it sold a ton on the Nintendo DS, and I was one of the millions who loved it. To my immense pleasure, the sequel hits the U.S. on August 24th. “Wooo,” and indeed, “hooo.”

Anyhow, to get the hype cogs a-turning, Nintendo sent out promotional copies of Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box to a handful of sites, including MTV Multiplayer. It wasn’t going to be that easy for lucky previewers, however. Along with the game’s standard DS case, journalists also received a mysterious wooden box – a Diabolical Box, no less – that contained the all-important game cart.

Brilliantly, this box itself was a puzzle, so if the journos wanted to play Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, they’d have to crack a Layton-esque puzzle. Excellent idea, and I’m delighted to report that it took most of them hours. Russ Frushtick at MTV eventually gave up, handing the task to his interns and filming their struggle. Check it out below:

[Via MTV Multiplayer; image via Joystiq]

[VIDEO] Professor Layton and the Diabolical Promotional Packaging is a post from: The Inquisitr

Japan and Europe have enjoyed this feature for a few days, but from tonight North Americans will also be able to upload photos direct from a Nintendo DSi to Facebook. A free downloadable system update will be made available from tonight after 5 p.m. Pacific (though only if it’s connected to the interwebz, silly).

Once installed, said update will cause a small Facebook icon to pop up by each of the pictures in your Nintendo DSi Camera album; tapping this will make the dark magic work.

Facebook and Nintendo make quite a nice match. The DSi’s cameras hardly pack a punch (with a maximum resolution of 640 x 480), but then again Facebook is hardly the place to show off super-high resolution photos anyway.

We’re guessing most of the photos uploaded will not look like that nice flower above. Most will look like this.

[Via Nintendo]

Facebook and Nintendo DSi combine forces tonight in North America is a post from: The Inquisitr