Rumor: Novels on their way to European DSes

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 3rd 2008 at 4:30PM }

The techno-literary world is abuzz over Kindle, Amazon's handheld electronic reading device which is quickly gaining popularity in the small circle of people who love books, aren't afraid of computers, and have $400 in disposable income. According to a recent Nintendo investor report, European DS owners might be able to ride the e-book wave this coming winter -- the tentative release date for the tentatively titled DS Novel.

Details about the game are non-existent, though DS Fanboy speculates that it's an English language version of a Japanese title which allows the user to peruse over 100 complete books. We hope to hear more about this later in the year -- the thought of being able to sit down with our favorite editions of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" without all the fuss and muss of ink and pulp fills us with anticipation.

Tags: book, DS, handheld, kindle, Nintendo DS, NintendoDs, reading

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ThornedVenom @ Feb 3rd 2008 4:33PM

Longest gameplay ever.

Moofree @ Feb 3rd 2008 4:44PM

Of course the box will have "Basic reading ability is needed to read this book" in big yellow letters.

InspectorDim @ Feb 3rd 2008 4:46PM

I was just thinking how I need to do more squinting at tiny print on my DS.

BigD145 @ Feb 3rd 2008 4:53PM

My eves are bleeding already.

Joenz @ Feb 3rd 2008 4:55PM

Funny, I've been using my PSP for ebooks and audio books since I first got it. Nice of Nintendo to finally get a slice of the action, though I still doubt that the parents paying for these books will be able to convince the children that reading is more fun without graphics. It was not until the advent of voice overs that the 'basic reading ability' has been squashed from the gaming community. As a long time RPG fan I really never understood the difference between the book and the game other than the games having built in play breaks between chapters. When my nephew actually learned to read so he could play Final Fantasy VII, and has since begun writing fan fiction from it. It's always funny to watch the light slowly flicker on for those 'educated' people who have spent their time shunning the gaming community when television without captions is their primary source of information.

fischju @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:56PM

Any flashcart + moonbooks.net = DS Ebook

ill trooper @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:04PM

"100 books" is like saying "14 word vocabulary" or "10 movies available," it's that little of a drop in a huge pool of what's out there... But it's a start, so I like it. The 'books' are 100 Japanese classic stories, likely older than copyright ownership, so I don't really know how interested I am in it. But hopefully I'm wrong and this one more direction the DS can move into (web browsing, travel guides, language tools, etc.).

The difference in the DS and the Sony/Amazon book readers is that the book readers use a type of display that comes as close to mimicking paper as it can; there's no backlight unless you turn it on. It's also much higher resolution. This is to reduce eyestrain from long usage. So I think if I was gonna go electronic, I'd probably opt for one of those specialized devices, although they're more expensive and don't support gaming.

But paperback books are still pretty affordable compared to all of these devices, especially used. I usually only read one or two at a time (so I personally don't need to carry hundreds in an electronic device) and of course, you don't need batteries to read a book. So in a (rare) smart move, I'll avoid being an early adopter.

Lone Starr @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:04PM

Gamers don't read.

Batzarro @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:19PM

Yo mama don't read!
I've read a couple of books myself. Then again, I was a "library" kind of kid. Good to know kids won't have to carry a 100+ bag full of books to get their "vitamin L".

Fernando Rocker @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:20PM

So, you hear Joystiq comments?

Tim @ Feb 3rd 2008 6:05PM

good one.

Lone Starr @ Feb 3rd 2008 6:10PM

@ Fernando,

You got it! Here's a cookie.

Dig @ Feb 3rd 2008 6:13PM

Apparently Lone Starr has never played a Phoenix Wright game.

Geist @ Feb 4th 2008 1:12AM

I worry things are turning out that way, the way some gamers bitch about the amount of text they must read in games.

Superstar90 @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:18PM

How many books can you read before Smash Bros comes out in Europe? How many before FF13?

HOW MANY BEFORE DUKE NUKEM FOREVER!

Admiral_Mike @ Feb 3rd 2008 5:23PM

"The inspector was behind his desk smoking a cigar as poirot came in. As he sat down, the inspector asked 'So it was the wife that killed him, How did you work it out?'. Poirot looked at him and replied 'How I solved the case is not important, what is important are my pokemans. Let me show you them.'"