We imagine that you, like us, have a cupboard in your dwelling that contains a dozen or so different models and hues of Nintendo's latest handheld. Every morning, you peruse your collection, trying to decide which DS suits your mood for that day -- perhaps the triforce-branded DS Lite, or the classic gray brick? As your ponder, you realize your collection is incomplete without the Poké-flavored handheld that reared its head in Japan nearly two years ago. You then consider selling your kidneys on the black market to afford a plane ticket to Tokyo, until your pushy physician informs you that you might need those.

Good news -- your precious organs can remain part of your body, as North American Gamestops recently began promoting the special edition DS Lite, branded with the critters on Pokémon Diamond and Pearl's box art -- Dialga and Palkia. The paltry sum of $129.99 will net you the system, a matching case, a 22-minute Pokémon Dungeon DVD, a poster featuring fellow pocket-sized monster Grovyle, and a T-shirt. No release date was announced for the bundle, but if Nintendo wishes for the new model to be truly relevant, we suggest launching it sometime last year.

In anticipation of next week's E3 Media and Business Summit, we've prepared bingo cards for each of the big press conferences, filled with some likely (and some not-so-likely) predictions for what each of the big three console makers intends to announce at arguably the biggest trade shows of the year.

Today's card is for Nintendo (special thanks to Wii and DS Fanboy). Our fingers are crossed twice over (trust us, it's painful) for the no-brainer Pikmin sequel. Click on each of the slides above for more information about our predictions. The folks at NWF and DSF got a little carried away, so check out their full predictions (Wii, DS).

Nintendo's E3 2008 press conference begins Tuesday, July 15, at 9:00am PT (that's 12:00 pm Joystiq Time / ET). As always, we'll be liveblogging the event, so you can play along in real-time with us. (Also: check out all our press conference bingo cards, including some for Microsoft and Sony!)

Download a copy (PNG file) and play along!

Sure, it's sad to see all those beautiful, Special Edition DS models in Japan never reach US or European soil. Fortunately for those with a bottomless wallet, the DS is region-free. If you're the kind to covet DS units like Pokemon, here's a collection of some of the best colors and designs from around the world.

We've had many Game Boy Pockets, GBA SPs and other portable devices snatched up by certain agitated educators during our formative years, which is why the recent news of a new program to teach English to Japanese students using the Nintendo DS fills us with unbridled, elderly bitterness. Think of the things our generation of handheld companions could have taught us! Geometry from Tetris! Microbiology from Dr. Mario! Animal husbandry from Pokémon!

To be fair, the program (which was recently examined in a Reuters write-up) requires students at Japan's Joshi Gakuen all-girl junior high school to use special English-instructing software with the handhelds, which are collected at the end of each class to prevent any unsavory Pokédueling during recess. The program is just barely into its one-year trial period, though the school's vice principal is very optimistic -- if only he knew he was actually transforming his pupils into rot-brained, knife-wielding miscreants!

Don't worry if you don't find the headline funny right away. Some puns take time to take root and mature, like a fine vine.

Okay, but seriously, the news: Nintendo has announced that the "Metallic Rose" DS Lite, a pinkish sort of model that many may feel compelled to bury in the garden, will become available at retailers "later this month." The model was previously attainable only as part of a Nintendogs bundle.

As of May 19th, you'll be able to see the Rose shown off in commercials which star "celebrity spokespeople" like Carrie Underwood and America Ferrera. Another commercial will feature Liv Tyler, the odd one out with a Crimson/Black DS and a name that doesn't sound completely made up.

[Via DS Fanboy]

All you jerks out there who are used to lording your shiny new DS Lites over Phat-owning early-adopters might have to get used to playing second fiddle soon. In the latest issue of Japanese gaming rag Famitsu, publisher Hirokazu Hamamura speculates that a new version of Nintendo's best-selling handheld may be revealed at this summer's E3 trade show.

As detailed in a Bloomberg Japan report (sketchy machine translation), Hamamura's comments seem based on nothing more than industry chatter and pure conjecture on his part -- Nintendo predictably offered up a no comment. The timing does seem about right, though -- going back to the Game Boy days, Nintendo has released a new portable hardware revision roughly every two years since 1996's Game Boy Pocket (1998: Game Boy Color; 2001: Game Boy Advance; 2003: GBASP; 2004: Nintendo DS; 2005: Game Boy Micro; 2006: DS Lite). What would you like to see on a potential DS upgrade? Let us know in the comments.

[Via DSFanboy; picture source]

We have to admit that the first time we saw the elegant, though not particularly guitar-like peripheral Activision had created for the DS' Guitar Hero: On Tour, we were concerned. It wasn't the missing orange button (we're fans of anything getting easier, whether it's fake guitar playing or cutting things), no, we were more worried that owners of the original DS (the DS Phat, on the streets) would be excluded from the fun by their system's girth.

But now, Activision has dispelled our fears with the announcement that the Guitar Grip will work with both of the models. Now, Phatties, as for actually being able to see the notes in anything but perfect lighting, we're afraid you're on your own on that one.

[Thanks, Kaelora]

It's probably news to nobody at this point that during this past year, Nintendo fever swept through Japan like the Great Chicago Fire. Just by looking at a handful of recent hardware sales charts, the Big N's dominance over the land of the rising sun is explicitly clear -- the Wii always sold like hotcakes, and the DS Lite consistently took the top spot on the list. Over the holiday sales season, however, the DS earned its most notable bragging right to date, breaking the PS2 Japanese lifetime sales record by the skin of its teeth.

According to recent Media Create sales numbers (as crunched and compiled by NeoGAF), the DS has sold 20,954,157 units to date in Japan, compared to the PS2's 20,901,468. Though Nintendo's touchable handheld hasn't yet approached the worldwide console sales record (an honor which the PS2 still holds by a considerable margin), being the highest selling console in one of the most-gaming centric nations in the world is still a pretty sizable victory. Grats, little guy.

[Via DS Fanboy]

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]

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]