New Nintendo DS Design

In June 2001, Nintendo launched the Game Boy Advance – and gamers cheered. Twenty-one months later, the company rolled out the Game Boy Advance SP – and that cheering turned into an ovation.

Now we're just shy of 21 months since the GBA SP's launch. And the company has yet another handheld gaming system - the Nintendo DS - hitting shelves.

Gamers are still cheering, to be sure, but the landscape is changing. When the Game Boy Advance cousins came out, Nintendo didn't have a serious competitor for the handheld market. Today, Sony's PSP is hiding in the shadows – and 2005 could see a fierce battle for portable gaming dollars.

The PSP is positioning itself as a mobile media device as much as a game machine. And it won't hit U. S. shores until at least next March. That means the DS, which will retail for a consumer-friendly $150, has the chance to build momentum through the holiday season.

So far, Nintendo appears to be doing that. The company will ship 2 million units worldwide this year – and said it expects to quickly sell out of the 1 million being launched in the U.S. To meet higher-than-expect ed demand Nintendo has brought in a third factory to help with manufacturing. The company also recently raised its sales estimates for the DS to 4 million (from 3.5 million) by the end of its fiscal year (March 31, 2005).

more: money.cnn.com/2004/11/19/commentary/game_over/colu (126)

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