Nintendo planning huge DSi marketing campaign, giving away 1,000 DSi Points

Rather than hoping that the merits of its soon-to-be-released handheld will sell themselves (a strategy commonly referred to as the "Game Boy Micro Maneuver"), Nintendo is apparently plotting a huge North American marketing campaign for the DSi. The company has already developed a schedule of television, online and in-store advertisements for the shutterbugged device from now until Christmas, making it Nintendo's biggest ad campaign of the year.

Step one in this campaign is already in action to ensure early adoption of the revamped handheld -- anyone who purchases a DSi and signs on to the Nintendo DSi Shop by October 5 will receive 1,000 free DSi Points. It's a succesful promotion that also accompanied the system's Japanese launch -- not that Japanese game consumers needed additional incentive to purchase yet another DS.