NINTENDO
ANNOUNCES DUAL-SCREENED PORTABLE GAME SYSTEM
"Mystery
Product" to Launch Later this Year
An unprecedented
approach to video game play - holding two separate game
screens in the palm of your hands - hits the scene later
this year when Nintendo introduces a new portable game
system, Nintendo DS (temporary name).
Today's announcement is just a glimpse of the additional
features and benefits that will be shown in full at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles in May.
Once fully revealed, players will see the innovative
advance in game interaction.
From information made available today, players can look
forward to being able to manage their game progress from
two different perspectives, enhancing both the speed and
strategy of the challenge. For example in a football
game, you can view the whole game on one screen, while
simultaneously focusing on an individual footballer's
tackle or goal on the other screen. Players will no
longer be forced to interrupt game play to shift
perspective, such as moving from a wide shot to a close
up, or alternating between a character's ongoing battle
and a map of their environment. Nintendo DS makes it
possible to perform the tasks in real time by simply
glancing from one screen to the other.
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, explains: "We have
developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different
concept from existing game devices in order to provide
players with a unique entertainment experience for the
21st century"
Nintendo DS features two separate 3" TFT LCD display
panels, separate processors, and semiconductor memory of
up to 1 Gigabit. It is scheduled to launch worldwide
before the end of 2004. In addition to Nintendo developed
software, the company is in discussions with third party
game developers around the world.
Nintendo DS will be marketed separately from the existing
Nintendo Game Boy Advance portable system and Nintendo
GameCube home console.
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