DSi launches in Europe, DSi Store now live
DSi launched in Europe today, to a fairly muted fanfare. Just so you know, it is actually here.
The new handheld adds a camera and fresh general design to the 100-million selling DS.
Five DSiWare launch titles were confirmed yesterday, and the DSi Shop is now live in both the US and Europe.
And that's kind of it. Mike's gone to buy one. We didn't get sent one. People are updating Twitter on them, according to IMs this morning.
It's a new dawn. Press release after the break.
NINTENDO DSi BRINGS MORE ENTERTAINMENT ON THE MOVE
1st April 2009 – Nintendo launches its new handheld console, the Nintendo DSi, in Europe on 3rd April 2009 and it’s packed with new features that will excite fans of, and newcomers to, the Nintendo DS range. The new Nintendo DSi enables you to create, customise and share photos with friends & family, listen to and play with your favourite music and sounds, play over 1000 existing Nintendo DS games and download new games directly to the console.
Nintendo DSi is the third iteration in the range of Nintendo DS consoles which are currently enjoyed by over 100 million people around the world. It features the trademark dual screens and the simple-to-use controls that players have come to love. It has the Nintendo touch screen, now bigger and brighter than ever before, which makes playing software and navigating the controls simple and intuitive.
However, for the first time, with the Nintendo DSi users can download and save games they have purchased from the Nintendo DSi Shop directly to their Nintendo DSi.. Picture and music files can also stored directly the Nintendo DSi ensuring true entertainment on the go. The Nintendo DSi also features internet capabilities meaning users can easily be connected whilst on the move!
Take and play with pictures
The Nintendo DSi has two cameras: one facing inside and one outside, so, users can snap themselves or their friends and families.
What sets the Nintendo DSi’s cameras apart, however, is that the Nintendo DSi Camera software comes fully loaded with 11 special camera effects so that users can take shots using a range of special effects: a distortion tool to create caricatures of friends and family (that you can then share with them), as well as adding comical features like moustaches and cartoon features. Digital photography will never be as much fun as it is with Nintendo DSi.
The Camera software can be used to create photo diaries, so families can store their memories. The console can then be used as a digital photo frame, so those pictures can be viewed and shared.
What’s more, the Nintendo DSi camera can be used to play games, as it comes with motion-detection. That means players can use hand and head movements to play games, bringing a new dimension to Nintendo DSi titles.
Download games direct to your console
For the first time, a Nintendo DS console comes with its own built in memory, so owners can add their music and photos and take them wherever they go. What’s more, owners will be able to download new games directly to their Nintendo DSi (wireless broadband access required) from the Nintendo DSi Shop and store the new software directly onto their console.
This range of software will be called Nintendo DSiWare and will offer an ever-expanding range of fun games and tools for the Nintendo DSi. Just some of the exciting software that will be available on Nintendo DSiWare include:
· Nintendo DSi Browser: a free download that means Nintendo DSi users will be able to browse the internet to their heart’s content
· Paper Plane: a simple – but utterly addictive – action game in which players have to guide their paper aircraft through mazes that get ever-harder to navigate
· Pyoro: take control of Pyoro – a cute bird – as he tries to catch the fruit that falls from the top of the screen with his tongue! Player’s find that if fruit hits the ground, a hole is made and Pyoro has an ever-shrinking area in which to move. But be careful … a piece of fruit landing on Pyoro’s head will mean that your game is over!
· WarioWare: Snapped!: WarioWare: Snapped! games use the Nintendo DSi’s inner camera to add to the gameplay. Using the camera’s ability to detect motion, players must complete wacky and fun tasks within a set time limit by moving their hands and faces in front of the screen. Players have to work out the tasks they must complete based on clues at the start of each game.
· Art Style: AQUITE - fun & challenging mini game that is perfect to play on the go, your aim is to help a little diver reach the bottom of the ocean, but getting to the bottom is more challenging tha you may think!
· Art Style: CODE – holding the Nintendo DSi sideways, like an open book the goal is to switch around and rearrange digits, then to add digits together so that they add up to 10. Once selected, the digits adding up to 10 will all disappear. Different modes play variations on this simple, yet addictive rule to ensure hours of number crunching fun!
Users earn Nintendo Stars every time they buy a new game (either for Wii or Nintendo DSi) and these can be exchanged for Nintendo Points which can be used to download new Nintendo DSiWare titles from the Nintendo DSi Shop. Users can also purchase Nintendo Points in the Nintendo DSi Shop or purchase Nintendo Points Cards at retail locations.* Everybody who registers their Nintendo DSi at the Nintendo DSi Shop will receive 1,000 Nintendo points for free to spend on new software.**
Play with Sound
As well as bringing portable music to the Nintendo DSi (as players will be able to play AAC-encoded music files on their console), Nintendo DSi Sound introduces new ways for Nintendo DSi users to experiment and play with sound and music – changing the pitch, speed and even apply effects to sound files that are played on the console.
The Nintendo DSi launches in Europe on 3rd April in a matt black or white finish and is the thinnest and lightest member of the Nintendo DS family.
Nintendo Points
*Consumers can purchase Nintendo DSi Points in the Nintendo DSi Shop with a credit card or by purchasing a Nintendo Points Card™ at retail locations for redemption in the Nintendo DSi Shop. All points from one Nintendo Points Card will need to be redeemed at the Nintendo DSi Shop. Nintendo Points Cards are now available at retail locations.
Games and applications will be available at four different price categories: free, 200 points 500 points and 800+ points.
** For a limited time only, after launch, everybody who buys Nintendo DSi and connects to the Nintendo DSi Shop will automatically receive 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points, which can be redeemed for downloadable Nintendo DSiWare games and applications through the Nintendo DSi Shop.
About Nintendo
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 2.8 billion video games and more than 485 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii and Nintendo DS, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe."