It seems that Black Friday was very, very, very good to Nintendo, as both the DS Lite and the Wii performed quite impressively in the U.S. over the holiday week.

Nintendo has announced that it sold 653,000 DS Lites over the week of November 18-24, setting a new record for the portable, for Nintendo, and for the entire industry. The number of units moved is record-breaking, exceeding the industry's previous record, also held by Nintendo with the Game Boy Advance's sales during Thanksgiving 2005.

The Wii also performed quite admirably, selling 350,000 units, a number topped only by the console's launch week. No word on how these sales figures compare to Sony or Microsoft's, but it's not like it's a competition or anything, right?

Update: Specified sales figures as pertaining to the U.S., and clarified the record as industry-wide.

Read -- Nintendo Sales Go Through the Roof During Thanksgiving Week [GameDaily]
Read -- Nintendo Has Its Biggest Week Of Sales... Ever [Game|Life]

Hideous name, and less-than-hideous hardware. CYBER Gadget's "Familator Lite" plugs into a DS Lite's GBA slot, allowing users to insert their Famicom cartridges and re-live their favorite Nintendo classics in portable form.

Would rather re-live the classics on television? The device allows for TV out. Would rather play with the original Famicom controllers? Well... the device doesn't do that, actually. But it does that other stuff!

The Familator Lite is due out in Japan in December, but no price has been set. Sadly, the device's form factor means it's only compatible with the DS Lite, and not its phatter older brother.

[Via DS Fanboy]

As we all know, in the video game industry, one day you're in -- and the next you're out. Now Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson reports that their contacts say the Nintendo DS is out. He says their contacts say there is a new DS redesign that is "already done"; it's thinner, has no GBA port, has "on-board" storage, and larger screens. He also says that they don't expect the new design to be revealed until sales start falling off on the handheld that is dominating the globe.

We'd ask Nintendo directly about this, but last time they denied the DS Lite and then announced it soon after. There could very well be a new DS on the way, but what will it look like?

Nintendo's making a final push to indoctrinate the rest of the world's pet-deprived tweens and twenty-something geeks, according to a new Sears ad. Come "Black Friday," two more DS Lite models will hit retail ($150 ea.), each branded and bundled with a corresponding game.

There's the metallic pink Pound Puppies Nintendogs case, complete with (bloody?) paw print and game -- which reminds us, our lil' pixelated Shih Tzu hasn't been fed in about two years ... Anyways, moving on: there's also the gold-sprayed Zelda unit, (spotted a few weeks ago and) bundled with Phantom Hourglass, featuring the Triforce logo for those of us not quite ready for the more-permanent expression of our faith.

[Via DS Fanboy]

Who says there's no karma in the video game industry? On the very same day that Europeans learned that the United States would be getting the demo for FIFA 08 before they would, they learn that they'll be getting a new color of DS, silver, on Oct. 12. See, doesn't that more than make up for it?

Here in America, we don't have that fancy color, so we're pretty jealous of you. But you may remember that in Japan, they not only have silver, they have "Metallic Rose." ... Come to think of it, they also have the FIFA 08 demo. Maybe you've been angry with the wrong country all along.

Do people exist somewhere that don't own this system? If the Japanese sales charts are to be believed, then there have been enough Nintendo DS systems sold so that every man, woman, child, and dog on the planet could have one of these. And a spare.

However, if you are DS-less and have a hankering to get onboard with the action, and you have some rudimentary photochopping skills, then try your hand at the Nintendo DS/DK contest at SmugMug. All you have to do is paste the little guy climbing to the top of pretty much anything, and then submit it. Keep in mind though, images must be under 12 mb in size (good gawd).

It's a pretty easy contest to enter, and the swag is well worth the time, so why not whip something up and get in? We made one in just a few seconds (hint, it's the image for this post) so you should trump our skillz easily and submit it to them.

Check out the rules on their site. Also, the comment on the first (and only) entry that's up so far is ... priceless. Ahh, the internets.

Last week, forum members at RedFlagDeals stumbled upon a listing on Canadian retailer Future Shop for a two-toned, Crimson and Black Nintendo DS Lite bundled with a matching carrying case and Brain Age 2. The entire set was priced at $159.99 Canadian dollars (approx. US $153). It was to ship on August 20 alongside the brain trainer's release date.

Unfortunately, the listing has since gone missing. We really dig the new colors and the deal. Here's hoping it comes back up close to Brain Age 2's launch, either on Future Shop or another retailer site.

Update: Though it hasn't returned to Future Shop yet, Gamestop has a listing for the bundle, priced at $149.99, with no image available and no mention of a bonus carrying case.

[Via Engadget]

Got an old Pokemon Pinball cart laying around? Then you, friend, have a one-way ticket to frugal gaming fun ... with rumble! Xyzzy has just posted a tutorial on Instructables on how to build a rumble pak that fits smoothly into your DS lite GBA slot. Yes, Nintendo released a smaller version of the pak for the Lite, but you'd have to spend money and be like a normal consumer if you did that. With Xyzzy's plans, you can make a mess, destroy a game cart, and probably injure yourself too!

[Via Infendo]

According to a tipster gobo_4227, the following images are from an unannounced Nintendo DS debut of the GBA's RPG series, Golden Sun. The legitimacy of the images is obviously in doubt, but it does realize some of our far-fetched dreams. Make it happen, developers!

A forum member at NeoGAF recently posted impressions of the Opera DS browser just released in the US. Some early rumors suggested this version would support both Flash and Java, features missing in the Japanese and European releases. Unfortunately the rumors turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking and the U.S. browser is just as crippled as the others.

The browsing interface is intuitive (and snazzy if you ask us), with handwriting recognition, bookmarks, and excellent use of both screens. With image loading turned on it takes upwards of a minute to load most web pages. Not exactly our idea of a good time. The verdict: excellent for quick on-the-go info-checks, but with so many other devices offering web access these days, the DS browser doesn't offer anything revolutionary.

Nerfing usually has a negative connotation in gamer society; however, this is one nerfing we'd be happy to take. Unlike the utterly useless Wii peripherals created by Nerf, this DS Lite case is pure squishy goodness. Sister-site DSFanboy brings us the details on this case that you just want to fit your DS snugly into and drop on the ground to see if it breaks (but seriously, don't do that). The case retails for $12.99 and gives some extra girth to the DS allowing gamers with big hands to reduce those lovely hand cramps some experience.

PDP, the company that makes the product, says that the cases are available in most major electronic store outlets -- including Wal-Mart. If you're a commuter this may be a great case to have when dropping your DS into your bag. It's also probably good for you gamer parents that just can't trust your kid not to break your toy.

If you have a DS Phat but not a DS Lite, you probably won't mind the news that the $35 Opera-based DS Web browser hitting June 4 for your system won't be available in stores. You're probably just the sort of rebellious, go-it-alone type that will get what you want by any means necessary, even if that means purchasing online. But you're probably also the sort of mind-bogglingly cheap skinflint that would sooner flush their sister's asthma inhaler down the toilet before spending money on shipping. So we find ourselves at an impasse.

Nintendo isn't releasing names of all the online shops that will carry the Phat browser, but did point out that it will be available on its own Web site. We don't know if many Phat owners will be willing to part with the cash, but those who will probably appreciate being able to do so in the privacy of their own home, far from the whispers and quiet giggles of the Lite enthusiasts. Do they not realize that their stares are daggers?

A new set of screenshots from The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass show off some great-looking new areas of the game, including 3D conversations and a little chicken torture to boot. The cel-shaded visuals look even better than before, so if you're one of those anti-Celda people, slam your head against the monitor and pretend it was us hitting you with these screenshots.

Phantom Hourglass lands in Japan on June 23, while the rest of the world has to wait until the still-vague "Holiday 2007".