After a banner year of unprecedented sales performance in Japan, the DS had gone into the new year simultaneously "Sold Out" and the subject of heavy speculation regarding a slimmer redesign of the unit. Finally laying weeks of rumour to rest, Nintendo of Japan today made a quiet announcement on their website revealing to the world their redesigned DS portable.
Dubbed the "DS Lite", this sleek new portable sports rather Apple-inspired design cues that the company has been trending towards in their recent Gameboy Micro and their bombshell Revolution controller concept. Noticeably smaller and lighter, the system will retain every ounce of functionality (including GBA compatibility) from the original design while providing a handful of key improvements. The system's name is in fact derived from the primary enhancements: "Lite" indicating the unit's 4 levels of selectable screen brightness (think Micro) and slimmer form factor (the screens remain the same size however).
From the picture below it can also be seen that the button arrangement has gone through a change with the d-pad and face buttons becoming thicker (squishier) while the start and select buttons change shape and position. Addressing a minor concern, the power button has been moved while the microphone has been repositioned on the upper portion of the new DS (hopefully the latter will improve the DS' ability to pickup voice cues). The power button is now a flick switch on the side of the unit, much like the SP. Meanwhile, the stylus is now inserted from the side rather than the top.
As for the size comparison:
DS Lite Original DS
Length 133 mm 148.7 mm
Width 73.9 mm 84.7 mm
Height 21.5 mm 28.9 mm
Weight 218 grams 275 grams
(DS Lite approximately 60% the volume of the original at about 80% the weight.)
The DS Lite is slated for a starved Japanese market on March 2nd of this year for 16,800 yen (about $145). It will be available in three colors (though they have yet to be revealed, white would seem a pretty strong possibility.) Perhaps the DS shortages in the first weeks of 2006 are in some way related to this redesign? Hard to say...Nintendo has also confirmed that the original model will continue to sell alongside the Lite, albeit for a lower price. Whatever the answer, the foremost question on the lips of most westerners is undoubtedly when the unit is scheduled for release in their particular region. Unfortuneately, those details are forthcoming. Stay tuned portable gaming fans.
Ign.com
gamespot.com
revo-europe.com
Source: Nintendo.jp, translation from Yamakiyo
