Nintendo Media Summit Roundup: DS

October 3, 2008

The biggest news from Thursday’s Nintendo Media Summit came for the DS. The rumors were true, and the company unveiled the DSi, a new model of the system with two cameras, larger screens and no GBA slot. It also has built-in memory, a SD card slot and the ability to download DSWare, cheap downloadable titles much like on the Wii.

That wasn’t the only announcement, though:

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon: The remake of the original Famicom Fire Emblem is coming to the U.S. early next year. Among the new features is the ability to loan out characters to friends and have them returned retaining the extra experience.

Mario and Luigi RPG 3: It looks like this next entry in the series is leaving behind Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, returning to the dynamic of the original title. Both were brilliant, so we’re excited to learn more about this one when it hits in 2009.


Rhythm Heaven:
The game known as Rhythm Tengoku in Japan was an import favorite for the GBA, and now the DS sequel is given the full treatment here. The title has a Wario Ware-like feel, but requires a keen sense of timing. This is also expected to release early 2009.

Personal Trainer: Cooking: The start of a new series of games, the Personal Trainer line will include walking and math installments early next year. Cooking seems to be the rebranding of Cooking Navi (known as Cooking Guide in Europe).

Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia: The touch-screen-centric series sees a sequel, releasing Nov. 10.

Nintendo also mentioned that the Club Nintendo customer rewards program is coming stateside. We’ll tell you more about that when details are available.