EEDAR predicts DS2 will be announced this year

DS²

4 screens would probably be a bit much :p

That's pretty much exactly what I predicted a few weeks ago. Pokemon seems to be confiriming this too, because it looks like the next generation will be following a similar release schedule (and theres only one generation of Pokemon per handheld generation.)

Im guessing it will be pretty much the same as the DS is right now. Improved graphics, multi touch, and then that motion control thing they were talking about. And maybe both screens will be touch screens?

I hope they listen to my suggestions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYPRLIoa7oY

I bet they will announce it this time next january, they will tell 3rd party about it this summer and have games ready to show off for E3 '11 that way it won't interfere with sales of DSiXL

Don't forget the XL

I felt bad when they announced the DS lite, i looked at my fat DS with disappointment and shouted at it.. "look what you could have been"

I completely agree with you. It seems too soon but as the article says maybe Nintendo knows what they're doing by not giving potential competitors a chance to get into the market.

I wonder what the DS2 will do for Nintendo in terms of third party handheld support..

I don't think so.

E3 2010 will be Zelda, Mario and Metroid with no need to overshadow that killer 3.

That'll leave E3 2011 wide open for a major announcement, with release in October or November 2012 (assuming we're still alive - damn Mayans!) and the following year would then seem an appropriate time to announce 3DHDWii.

As you said, its been 6 years, this November, since the DS came out. Thats a hell of a run. GBA was only out for around 3 years before the DS came out. Pretty much the perfect time for a DS 2 to come out.

Well glad i stuck with my lite this whole time.

They keep selling the DS by the millions why mess with it?

The GB Micro was actually released after the DS, so I don't think it really matters.

I agree that it seems a bit too soon after the DSi. Technically, the DSi is almost like a GBA vs GBC to the DS, because it does have a faster CPU and more RAM. But they aren't selling it as such yet and there aren't any DSi only games to take advantage of the added horsepower (besides DSiWare, but I don't expect a downloadable game to push the limits of hardware). If you consider the DSi as a half-step between generations, then it hasn't been that long since the last Nintendo handheld. As an owner of a DSi, I would probably be annoyed if they replaced it within a year, but I would not hesitate to buy a new handheld because the DSi still doesn't have capable 3D hardware so despite the CPU bump graphics are still pretty limited.

There's only one thing to really support this, and that's the relative paucity of announced 1st-party DS games (long-term, all i can think of is Golden Sun. We've heard rumors of others, but not much substantial). The system just had its best year so far, which probably means the best year for any device ever (not sure though).

Next year, i think. They would want to get more life out of the DSi, considering its a roaring success.

I really would love a new Handheld. The current generation of handhelds just isn't doing it for me. Both the DSi and the PSP are really nice, but they still seem somewhat lacking, as well as bulky.

I kind of doubt they're really launching a new handheld though, seeing as though the DS is still selling pretty well.

I like the DS game-wise, and when developers use the touch screen properly (a la Mario Party DS), it works.

But I'd like something slightly less cramped, better resolution screens, and more 'clicky' buttons like the GBA SP.

At this point, I really don't care if it has a GBA port. That's why I still have my SP and Micro.

As a 2005 DS owner, I fully support a true sequel to the DS.

Still waiting for a VC for GB to GBA.

Maybe they should start another "Third pillar" and release a system without the D pad and face bottoms. Two touch screens that span the entire opening - tilt senors - microphone.. seems like it would be sorta fun and not entirely trample over the market that is DSi and DSlite.

@ Ridgecity
I can explain why in 2 letters: R4.

I hope it's true just in spite of DSi owners. If the DS2 has a camera and access to DSiWare, it'll make the DSi the equivalent of the Gameboy Light.

Oh wait, I take that back. The Gameboy Light had a Backlight. This made the device more useful than it's predecessors, and is a feature the Color didn't have all while being unnecessary, so it wasn't a forced upgrade unlike the DSi where if you want the new games but don't want to waste $180 on a useless device, tough crap.

The only real downside is that I'm going to have to wait a to upgrade to the DS2 if at all because this 'early release' means the device is going to have it's 'real' release when the DS2Lite comes out a year later. Quite an advantage over the PSP, indeed.

While I agree that a new Nintendo handheld is probably due in 2011. I think that the reason the DS triumphed over the PSP had less to do, with Nintendo's first mover advantage and more to do, with Sony's failure to produce enough compelling software.

gamers don't want an HD portable with insane graphics and multimedia functions!!!!

What DS2 really needs is a THIRD SCREEN!!! w00000ttt!!!
Oh, and you thought the stylus pen was cool!?!?!?!?!????
BAM!! Introducing the Nintendo PROTRACTOR!!! now that's L337 (kids still type it like that right?)

If they did that then it would have better graphics than the wii

I honestly thought a new DS announcement was obvious to everyone.

On the other hand, some people still think the current DS has 'great' graphics.

@Esposch:

Technically that was one letter, but I agree.

Flash carts are hurting nintendo's bottom line, a new console is really the only way to stop them at this point.

...hnngggggGRRAAAGGGHHHH!!!

I JUST FUCKING BOUGHT A NINTENDO DSi!

GOD HELP ME NINTENDO, IF YOU DO THIS, I... I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'LL DO!!!!

Seriously... If this is true, I'm going to do something drastic...

I might actually write a letter of complaint... I mean jesus fucking christ Nintendo! You're not apple! Stop putting out revisions of your products! I mean fuck, you're gonna release a DSi remodel this year AND fucking announce a fully new unit?! WHAT THE FUCK!

...Is what I would have said, if I took this seriously. Come the fuck on, like Nintendo is really gonna do that. Yes the Wii and DS PRINT MONEY but I think they'd like to spend some of the money on things besides developing ANOTHER device.

On the flip side... Nintendo cannot seem to learn some self control for not making new shit so, it's a 50/50 on it happening.

Nintendo once again ensures its triumph.

They won't let Sony or Microsoft to get into the gaming economy by any means. They are not giving chances to.

I'm not sure what to make of this.
On the one hand, I don't expect a DS successor until the DSi is down to at least $99. I expect a DSi price drop to $129 in the second half of the year. The DSi itself is so successful that there's still no reason to release a new system.
There are a lot of rumors about the DS using the Tegra chip and Iwata is talking about it, but that doesn't really mean this year. Typically when you start hearing new console rumors, it's about 18-24 months before it actually releases and we're JUST now starting to hear solid info on a DS successor.
So yeah...I really don't see how they announce a new system this year, especially in light of the DSi's success and the upcoming DSiXL.


I'm kind of almost expecting at this point to see announcements for the Wii AND DS successors NEXT year at E3 '11 with extremely integrated features. It'd be neat if they could somehow sell them together, even.

The new one shown off at CES was Tegra 2, which is insanely powerful (it's based on a dual-core ARM Cortex A9, which means at the higher clock speeds - a DS version would obviously be at the bottom end, but still - it competes with Intel Atom netbook chips - i.e. it has the processing power of a real computer - and contains video decoder for full 1080p output). It would be great if they used that chip for DS2, but I wonder if it's a bit too powerful for Nintendo's liking. (Certainly I don't think DS2 will have an HDMI port so you can plug it into a TV and watch 1080p videos...) Initial devices with this chip seem to be larger ones, such as smartbooks, ebook readers, etc which may indicate that it requires a bit more power than suitable for a DS-sized device, I dunno.

The current Tegra chip uses a comparably crappy ARM11 CPU (still much faster than current DS CPU) and of course has a nice graphics processor too. It's used in some phones and Zune HD.

The rumours (which did specify an announcement late 2010, just like this analyst) weren't specific about which version would be used. Either would be a big upgrade over current DS, but Tegra 2 would probably still be extremely impressive (when running relatively small screens) even in 2011. And yes it's certainly more powerful than Wii...

Quite probably the whole rumour is just a rumour - or based on an option Nintendo are currently testing which might or might not end up in a real product.

IMO this is the one that had better be beefed up in the horsepower department. It's going to have to be at least over half the power of the Wii to have any kind of legs to it.

Have access to the VC store, come with two touch screens, multi touch, tilt sensors, dpad, buttons and analog nub and use the same cart for the games so as to give backwards compatibility to the unit.

And I want it to wash my clothes.....while cooking me a pot pie. A turkey pot pie.

The Tegra is like the new frontier of Nvidia, if it will be a success -- their earnings could already retire them from manufacturing PC VGA cards for good. lol

As far as piracy goes, just from observing the various kids my kids play with, it's virtually 100% for the DS now. Everyone has a MicroSD reading chip.

All the while we already have a new Nintendo DSi XL up for grabs to UK as early as March this year, don't we? More Details: http://bit.ly/nintendo-dsi-xl-uk-details

The Tegra is like the new frontier of Nvidia, if it will be a success -- their earnings could already retire them from manufacturing PC VGA cards for good. lol..

As far as piracy goes, just from observing the various kids my kids play with, it's virtually 100% for the DS now. Everyone has a MicroSD reading chip.

All the while we already have a new Nintendo DSi XL up for grabs to UK as early as March this year, don't we? More Details: http://bit.ly/nintendo-dsi-xl-uk-details

Nintendo will most likely NOT release information on the new platform any time soon. I'm guessing their first announcement and then the release won't be far apart, otherwise it'll just hurt the DS sales far too much.

After this gen Nintendo would have learned to protect themselves as much as possible, expect complex architecture on their new platforms. Also hoping they will take 'portable' to heart, so while still making games have physical media (because that is what people want) the physical media will not be needed to be carried around everywhere. Maybe a system where you install a game FROM the card, then that card becomes locked until you put the game back (e.g. you could have ten games on your DS2 at one time, and if a friend wants to borrow one you put in the game card into your console and the card takes it again).

I don't know... But I do know that one reason r4 is popular is because people don't have to carry around their game collection.