Nintendo Confirms April 5 as DSi Release Date

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Nintendo Confirms April 5 as DSi Release Date

Nintendo confirmed that the DSi gaming console would hit the United States market on April 4 and would be available for $170, thus putting an end to all the rumors that have been recently circulating in the media.

Initially, the DSi gaming machine would come in blue and black models, yet more models are likely to follow.

The DSi has already been made available in Japan as an update to Nintendo's DS Lite, featuring larger screens, 2 cameras and a SD slot that has replaced the Game Boy cartridge slot with which previous and current models are fitted.

The screens are 3.25" instead of 3", while the DSi is also slimmer than the Lite model, with 18.9 mm, compared to the latter's 21.9 mm.

As for the two cameras, one is located on the external body of the console, whereas the other points at the user when the gadget is flipped open. According to Nintendo, the cameras are aimed at enabling gamers to interact with each other and also to introduce applications such as photo sharing.

The dual-camera setup has a screen of 640 x 480 resolution and features basic image editing tools, along with the possibility to merge and distort pictures.

Recently, Nintendo has launched a new store application called DSi Ware, which will enable users to download software that makes use of DSi Points onto their gaming consoles.

The company has informed that DSi Ware games would be made available at prices starting at 200 points, which is the equivalent of $20, and it has also promised that the initial library would comprise 850 games.

Moreover, Nintendo stated that the launch title for its DSi would be Rhythm Heaven, which managed to sell 1.6 million copies since it was released back in July in Japan.

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Nintendo Wii Still Unstoppable. 731 k Units Sold

It seems like Microsoft and Sony have failed again to find the right strategy to counter the little console that could from Nintendo.According to the latest figures released by the NPD Group, the company which tracks the gaming sales in the United States, during last month, Nintendo Wii was the best selling console.

The Wii sold 753.000 units, almost double compared to Microsoft's Xbox 360, which shifted only 391.000 units during the same period. As usual, Sony's PS3 has landed on the third place with only 276.000 units sold, proving once again that the pricey consoles doesn't fit in the current economic environment.

Nintendo has managed to beat is competition in the handheld consoles segment as well. While PSP sold 199.000 units, Nintendo DS is the undisputable champ with 588.000 units sold.

Not surprisingly, the PS2 sales are still strong, and in February the older brother of PS3 sold 131.000 units.Overall, as NPD noted, hardware sales rose 11 percent compared to the same period of the past year to $532.7 million.

On the software front the sales climbed 9 percent in the month to $733.5 million, with Nintendo on top due to its Wii Fit title. During February 644.000 customers have bought a copy of Wii Fit, while only 446.000 have chosen to go with Capcom's Street Fighter IV.However, putting together the sales for Xbox 360 and PS3, Street Fighter was winning title, with 403.000 units sold on PS3.

The official figures released by the NPD Group can be found below:

February 2009 hardware game sales (units):
Wii - 753k
DS - 588k
Xbox 360 - 391k
PLAYSTATION 3 - 276k
PSP - 199k
PlayStation 2 - 131k