Zhu Zhu Pets are, apparently, one of the hottest toys of the holiday season, and I should probably count myself fortunate that I was unaware of their existence. These tiny electronic replica hamsters have been flying off the shelves, regularly marked up 200-400% above their $10 retail price as parents struggle to get them under the tree for today's children, who'd off a real hamster in seconds flat if left unattended.

Activision Publishing and GameMill Publishing have entered into an agreement with toy company Cepia, LLC to produce games based on the adorable little androids, with the first Zhu Zhu Pets title coming to the Nintendo DS in spring 2010. I'm sure Ubisoft's Hamsterz team will be monitoring things closely.

"Zhu Zhu Pets(TM) success in 2009 speaks for itself and we're confident it will be even bigger in 2010," said David Oxford at Activision Publishing. Gary Miller, President, GameMill Publishing, stated, "It is our goal to expand this proven franchise in a way that fans of the wildly popular hamster toy line and video gamers alike will embrace and love to play."

I guess I'm just going to have to have children soon, if only to stay on the cutting edge of hamster robotics.

It's rumored that Nvidia has won a contract to supply Nintendo with Tegra chips for the next generation DS. The specific chip Nintendo plans on using is unknown, so we don't know exactly how powerful the next model could be. Considering the current DS runs on two incredibly slow processors, any Tegra would be a huge boost in power.

As a bonus, the source reports that the new hardware should allow backwards compatibility. Hopefully not à la PSP Go, where backwards compatibility really means you have to buy all the games you already own again. [Bright Side of the News via Electronista]

Priced at $27 and available now, we know you've seen Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa a million times by now. But this time it's different. It's on your DSi (or DS, or PSP). And no one else with a print or reinterpretation of Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa can take that away from you. Unless they steal your DSi (or DS, or PSP). Then they'll have a piece of your art collection and your portable console. And there's no coming back from that. [WaSaBi via TinyCartridge via GoNintendo]

While the latest DSi firmware 1.4 tempted users with social networking on Facebook, it also blocked infamous R4 cartridges, a popular way to load pirated software on the DS/DSi. But according to this clip, Nintendo's efforts were again futile, as pirates have already circumvented new security measures.

The moral of the story: The DSi, even with its aggressive PSP-style updates, has no more chance of preventing piracy than the DS. [Kotaku]

The Selector features three slots for games and an indicator light to show which game is in play. A cable runs between the attachment and the DS's card slot, and it looks like the Selector is easily removable, as it just clips on. It's mildly useful, especially if you own exactly three games, but it really ruins the sleek lines of the DS Lite, and, of course, it's vastly inferior in utility (though not in legality, heh) to one card with boatloads of ROMs. The reviews are glowing but we're not sure they're trustworthy, especially the one saying, "I really enjoy it and look forward to doing it over and over. Well worth it."

The Blaze NDS Game Selector is available now for around $13, which is a totally fair price if you're not as superficial as we are. [SuperUFO via Kotaku]

Pokémon "Heart" Gold and Poké "Soul" Silver will be bundled with the new Poké Walker peripheral, a pedometer that can hold one deadly but cute Pokémon at a time. As the player walks, the Pokémon gains XP and pedometer earns extra watts, the game's currency. All of this data is fed back into the DS game through the IR port (integrated into the games' cartridges) so that the newly fit child can continue his underground animal fight club.

The new Pokémon titles will be around this fall in Japan before hopefully making their way to the DS. [Kotaku]

When Dean Takahashi asked about the potential threat of free games, Iwata responded, "Because of this?" as he pulled out his iPhone.

Talking about the overlap between it and the DSi, he said, "The features of the iPhone and the DSi may overlap. But if we look at our differences, the areas of overlap are small. If, in the future, this overlap becomes bigger to the extent we should call it direct competition, I have to be more careful. I can't bring out the iPhone during an interview anymore. Today, I don't worry about it."

Man that's hardcore, like Bill Gates banning iPods from his house.

So if he couldn't use a Mac or Windows PC, what kind of computer would he use then? Linux? [VentureBeat]

Asked about Sony and Microsoft's motion controls revealed earlier this week, through a translator he said that Nintendo's policy is to actually do development and figure out how the hardware is going to be used with software before making an announcement.

Oooo smack talk. But he admitted it took them a while to finish Wii MotionPlus. He also said that until it reaches that level of completion it's impossible to make any sort of judgment about them.

Talking about the vitality sensor, he said it's a device he's interested in because it's a different kind of interface, versus something you do with your own will—you step on to a Balance Board, but can you control your own pulse? He's thinking of something like that, that's hard to control, controlling it through something like yoga.

And what about Wii Speak? If they have a game that lends itself to using Wii Speak, that's something they're always looking for. Translated from PR speak that means approximately nothing.

Though, what the hell does that lead to? About 10 years ago, he used one of those gimmick gadgets that lets you control a robot with your brain waves. So he and Iwata put it on and put this on and were thinking about how to use it—like a new Pokemon game. "New devices open doors to new creativity." In other words, the Wii peripheral parade won't ever stop. Ever.

Archive below:

7:47 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Testing testing. We're live t the Nokia theater with about an hour to kill before the Nintendo press conference.

7:50 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The smell: cold steel and coffee.

7:56 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
So, the Nokia Theater is nice, but it's no Kodak Theater – the location of their e3 press conference last year. Feeling the sting of weak yen, Nintendo?

8:01 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
We were up late at a Microsoft party last night. Lots of free booze and Beatles Rock Band. Matt Buchanan threw back more than his fair share of water before not taking the stage and not humiliating himself.

8:06 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Bowie is playing, Young American.

8:06 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:16 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:
MGMT is playing. I feel so cool now.

8:17 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:22 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:23 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:
Guesses? Anyone? Drop your answers over on our liveblog post.

8:34 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:34 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
30 minutes until showtime. I've been playing Nintendo trivia on their big screen. Remember back when Coke sponsored that find the bottles pre-show stuff at movie theaters? I was SO good at spotting those inconspicuous red bottles on a white backdrop. So good.

8:38 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:
That was my brief experiment shooting behind my head with 5D Mark II's Live View. The 5D made our Microsoft liveblog yesterday magically easy to shoot–I can't wait 'til that kind of low-light power reaches entry-level cameras.

8:40 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
So what will we see from Nintendo? Wii Fit Plus seems like an absolute sure thing, along with a possible showing from Art Academy (a recent trademark Nintendo filed). Other than that? I'm guessing we'll see some pretty big pimping of Wii MotionPlus. Nintendo announced the peripheral at least year's E3, and now they need to sell the thing for $20 a pop.

8:41 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:45 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The answer to the question below? Mario. What did you win? Nothing. But the other big announcement we may see today is a new Mario title.

8:47 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
OMG, WIIMOTE SPOTTED ON STAGE!! WHAT COULD THIS MEAN????????

8:47 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:49 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, and in case you like to watch two or more liveblogs at once (what, you don't trust us?), check out the Kotaku liveblog. They're good people.

8:49 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:
It kinda makes me sad that the best-selling DS game ever is Nintendogs.

8:55 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
I will say, Nintendo's (LCD?) light strips are not so horrible looking. I mean, I wouldn't want to decorate my house with them or anything. But for a techie press conference? Martha Stewart would approve.

8:57 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

8:58 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
5 minutes to takeoff. This must be what it feels like to await a space shuttle launch. Lotsa dudes. Weird smells. General discomfort. Top 40 pop music playing in the background. I don't know where I'm going with this.

8:59 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
ARE YOU READY TO RUUUUMMMMBBBBLLLLEEEEEEE? Great. But be careful, Immersion might sue your ass.

9:02 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Nintendo is busting out the U2. What would Bono do if he were here? Get shown up my John Mayer if John Maysr were here, that's what.

9:03 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt

9:03 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Nintendo has just put up their logo on every screen they've got on the stage. That's…SIX NINTENDO LOGOS. Booya. Show is starting.

9:04 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Nintendo messages: "Everyone's Game" "Connection" "Every Culture" "Every Contact" "Every Generation"

9:04 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
In other words, she has no motive to tell you the truth.

9:05 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
She's talking sales, citing NPD and explaining why video games are the top dog. She's using words like "consumers" and "industry."

9:06 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
"Maybe you've noticed a woman on the plane playing a DS system."

9:06 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Nintendo's goal? "Create, surprise."

9:07AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
She's promising more innovation in game control, and innovation where "we thought there might not be any left."

9:07 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
She's teasing an icon in games now, probably Mario

9:08 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Yes, it was Mario. Montage of Mario.

9:08 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
They never figured out how to move Mario into the 4th dimension. That's Nintendo's surprise. Miyamoto has invented a new way to play Mario. New Super Mario Bros for Wii.

9:08 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:09 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Bill Trinen comes onstage. Senior Manager of Product Marketing.

9:09 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Ohh…and he's promising more PLAYERS. Four people at once!

9:10 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wow, this is neat. It's like New Super Mario Bros, with Mario, Luigi and two Toads.

9:10 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
All the Wiimotes are being held like an NES controller, btw. There's some waggling involved.

9:10 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:11 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oooohh, helicopter hat! Oh, it's called a propeller suit. Work on that name, Nintendo.

9:11 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The propeller suit makes sense because it launches players vertically, which allows players to stay on the same screen while flying. Remember raccoon Mario? He wouldn't work for this.

9:12 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
All four players need to hop on the flagpole within three seconds. The game is competitive, with players trying to score the most points.

9:13 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
New Super Mario Bros Wii is on the show floor, will launch Holiday 2009.

9:13 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:13 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
"While Mario may be a big draw, he wasn't big enough to pull all consumers…" Nope, for that, Nintendo had to appeal to fat people.

9:14 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Cammie is talking about changing Wii Fit. The result? Wii Fit Plus.

9:15 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
It seeks out a specific workout routine that's "just right for you." Six new strength and yoga routines. Gaps between exercises can be removed.

9:16 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:16 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The screens she's showing look just like Wii Fit

9:17 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, though they just showed a level in which you can hop over hurdles while dodging giant bullets, just like Mario. They showed that clip for roughly 5 seconds, sadly. Now they're cutting to a montage of Wii stuff.

9:18 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Reggie Fils-Aime comes onstage. Nice cheers for Reggie.

9:18 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:18 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The vernacular of Nintendo is just so business minded. "Virally," "mainstream culture." It just feels so cold and calculated. Where is Miyamoto's smiling face?

9:19 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Reggie is giving us a look at Wii game control options. Today, he wants to fully explain the "next advance" in game control. He's talking about Wii MotionPlus.

9:19 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:20 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's showing a side by side of the Wiimote and the Wiimote with the MotionPlus dongle. He's explaining how different this little dongle feels.

9:20 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:21 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Reggie cued a demo reel of Wii MotionPlus. And…we see a closeup of someone playing ping pong in slow mo over a 3D matrix. So futuristic!

9:21 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Holy crap, now a samurai! Samurais like Wii MotionPlus!

9:21 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now a guy pulled a bow and arrow? Wii MotionPlus might be dangerous!

9:22 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
OK, now just a golfer and some basketball. My kids can play with Wii MotionPlus after all.

9:23 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The video is over. "That's how it works on video," Reggie explains. But now they're gonna demo it in real time.

9:24 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're pushing "precision and depth" pretty hard. They want the mainstream to understand that Wii MotionPlus is BETTER than the Wiimote alone. So Nintendo is going to show up Wii Sports Resort, like they did last year, but focusing on precision controls.

9:24 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The Wiimote (with MotionPlus) represents a skydiver. The Wiimote is being rotated. The skydiver is being rotated. It works!

9:25 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:25 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now the skydivers pull their chutes. There are no tragic accidents. The world is safe again. Phew.

9:26 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Read more on these games over at Kotaku, too.

9:26 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:27 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're in an archery range. It's archery rangey.

9:27 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:27 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
It's tough to tell how much accuracy come into play here, since not many of us are archery experts. Nintendo just missed the target onstage. Ha. OK, archery demo over.

9:29 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now it's time for some 1 on 1. Bill Trinen and Reggie share some awkwardly staged banter.

9:30 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
They're having a 3-point contest. It really looks like they're shooting baskets with the Wiimote, but it's a one-handed experience. So the guiding hand isn't part of the Wii Motion.

9:30 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
I bet this will drive the kids crazy though.

9:30 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:32 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The pace of this press conference is just so much slower than Microsoft's two-hour announcement extravaganza.

9:32 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Red Steel 2 will only be playable on Wii MotionPlus. That will be a trend across a lot of the Wii, if MotionPlus can reach a decent install base.

9:33 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
(Note: that point on the install base was my point, not Reggie's)

9:34 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now we're looking at Square's contribution to the Wii, the upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers. That was a brief clip.

9:34 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
I'm sorry, I don't get paid enough to cover Square Enix. Read more at Kotaku.

9:35 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:38 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Nintendo just called the DS line "the most lucrative" of Nintendo's offerings. Great!

9:40 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
James Patterson Women's Muder Club Games of Passion promises to bring pretty much everything in the game's title to the DS. We're watching a clip about it now. It looks like a series of minigames like Bejeweled mixed with snapshots of bad guys.

9:41 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
New clip: COP The Recruit. It looks like Grand Theft Auto, but you're a good guy.

9:41 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:43 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
New clip: Style Savvy is intended for female "preteens and 20 somethings." Models try on clothes and walk a runway. Suck on this Natal! Can you fit in these designer jeans?

9:44 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:44 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Now Cammie is talking about the Nintendo DSi, how it's great, for everyone, yada yada. She plays a clip of people on the street, mostly women, talking about how great the platform is. This is just grueling.

9:45 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Total Nintendo DSi sales have surpassed 1 million units in the US since launch. Just so you know.

9:46 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
FlipNotes Studio, a neat sketching animation program, is coming to the platform this summer. It looked pretty neat, but they're already on to something else.

9:47 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:48 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Nintendo is skimming through various DSi titles quickly now. The audience is asleep. Literally, I see two people in the audience who might be asleep.

9:49 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Beginning this summer, you will be able to take photos on the DSi and upload them to Facebook.

9:49 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:49 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Whoa, that announcement was out of nowhere. And now we're gone from Facebook. We didn't get any real look at the UI.

9:50 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:51 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Satoru Iwata comes to the stage! The crowd awakens!

9:52 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
BTW, I can almost promise that Sony's press conference won't be this boring. At least I'll have some great zingers about the lack of dual analogs on the PSP Go!

9:52 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:52 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Iwata is explaining how Nintendo divides gamers into three groups: those who game, those who don't and those who might.

9:54 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Between Japan, Europe and America there are 149 potential gamers. That's like 149 million potential DS sales which would equate to enough money for Nintendo to buy the entire world and "win." (Iwata didn't explain the winning strategy with as much depth as I did. But my extrapolation is usually pretty accurate.)

9:55 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:55 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oops, 149 million players.

9:56 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Iwata explains to us that veteran players and newcomer players are different, but we were all newcomers at some time in our life. We've heard Nintendo say this before. It's actually a very wise outlook on gaming, imho.

9:56 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Oh, and read more on Iwata's global conquest over at Kotaku.

9:58 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
So what's next for Nintendo and the mainstream? Iwata is showing us an "entirely different way" of looking at games. Wake up, people. We're cooking again.

9:58 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wii Vitality Sensor

9:58 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
It tracks your pulse.

9:59 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The retirement homes are gonna love this, until the first Wii Vitality Sensor goes flatline.

9:59 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

9:59 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
The intent of the WVS is that you can see the "inner world" of your body, to "achieve greater relaxation." NOTE: IT WON'T CURE CANCER!

10:00 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Wo while most games are meant to stimulate you, the Wii Vitality Sensor could be part of a game that helps you fall asleep.

10:00 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
I could win that sleeping game right now, without any fancy peripheral.

10:01 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And Iwata leaves the stage. Cammie is back and she promises us "stimulation." But I think she's just recapping what we've already seen, stuff like the new Mario title.

10:01 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
"But, if you think that's all the Mario news you can handle, you might want to think again."

10:01 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
A second full 3D mario title is coming!

10:01 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
It looks like Super Mario Galazy 2. WITH YOSHI!!!

10:02 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
OK, Yoshi has saved this press conference. We're talking dinosaurs. You can ride. In space.

10:02 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Otherwise, it's just like Galaxy. The worlds and graphics could be an expansion pack they are so similar. Ooh, but now Mario sprouts flowers on some planets.

10:03 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
OK, we haven't seen much more Yoshi since those first shots. I'm hoping for like, one of those levels like in Super Mario World where you can get Yoshi again and again.

10:03 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And yes, it's Super Mario Galaxy 2.

10:04 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

10:04 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Reggie takes the stage to bring it all home. He admits "I read the blogs, too…I know there are still people out there listening who are like, ok, great, but I want more."

10:04 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And he points out that, usually, it's the third parties who are dropping the ball for hardcore gamers.

10:05 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
He's showing a clip of The Conduit, which is a sci fi FPS. Ugh, I hate SD graphics mixed with Hollywood soundtracks. Just play MIDI.

10:07 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Reggie moves on to Capcom's Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles. There's a lot of CGI in this clip, but the moments of gameplay are basically like RE4. Actually, it looks fantastic for a Wii title. Very sharp.

10:08 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And last, he's showing us Dead Space Extraction, the Dead Space rails shooter. I'm sure Kotaku is riffing on the game pretty hard. I'll play this.

10:09 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And with the third party games shown off, Reggie asks, "what about Nintendo itself? Could a new, edgier game be coming also from us?" "Absolutely."

10:09 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
What is it? We're watching a clip of an ocean, it goes to clouds. And….mountains…Team Ninja and Nintendo!

10:10 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And it's in space. METROID.

10:10 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Lots of prerender, but it's a third person title. Fast action. Giant monsters. Grappling. Loud soundtrack.

10:11 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
Metroid Other M.

10:11 AM ON JUN 2 2009
matt:

10:12 AM ON JUN 2 2009
Mark Wilson:
And with that, Reggie wraps it up. We'll be back in under an hour to blog Sony. See you then!

Nicking a bright idea from Brando, Nyko's Zoom Case utterly obliterates portability and reason in exchange for 8x of zoomglory—because we all know zoom is what's missing from the DSi's 640x460 camera.

You can detach the lens from the Zoom Case. You know, if for some reason you wanted to. Sadly, Nyko hasn't given us a price or date for this marvelous kit of awesome, but whenever it comes out, it's not soon enough—there are celebrities to be stalked, upskirts to be snapped, out there, waiting. [Nyko]

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser."99 Dodgy Slips" is the lovechild of Weta artists Greg Broadmore and Christian Pearce. Using a Nintendo DS homebrew app called Colors, they depicted 99 nudes slipping on bananas with a rare and stunning accuracy. In this clip, we just get a taste of unadulterated estrogen losing its balance on the most comedic of fruits, and the taste is sweet. [99DS via Kotaku]

I do not imagine that iPhone will dominate the Nintendo DS market at once. My impression as the person who has used iPhone is, it is very attractive but, frankly, I did not feel that it was designed to be appreciated by a wide variety of people like how Nintendo has been designing its products.

The DS had an incredible run, and the DSi has shown some impressive initial sales. But with the rise of the smartphone (which obviously includes the iPhone), Nintendo will need to move beyond corporate trash talk and figure out how they'll survive in the mobile gaming marketplace when consumers refuse to carry two devices. You know, a plan that doesn't include going the way of Sega on mobiles.

The company will never have more momentum than they have now. So if anyone could launch a crazy new product and find mass acceptance right now, it's Nintendo. But unfortunately for Nintendo, Apple meets that criteria, too. [Nintendo via Kotaku and image]

If one were so inclined anyway.

The setup features various music apps (like the quirky Elektroplankton) playing on a Nintendo DS, DSi, iPhone, iPod Touch and a Kaossilator.

The beat begins with some tribal drum action, before what sounds like the NBC theme kicks in alongside some spacey beeps and bloops. Soothing holiday-esque bells take us out, and the whole thing is played by what appears to be the giant hand final boss from Super Smash Bros. Did I mention I play video games? [YouTube via Gearcrave via Wired]

The package includes a lime green—which is my favorite—, a nice case, and the game Personal Trainer: Cooking. I won't be using any of them, but it's a good way to get people into cooking that otherwise won't touch a pan with a ten-foot long spork. Yes, that's most of you. [Geeksugar]

Click on this image to access the full high definition timeline

[Data from various sources]

Skype's been on cellphones and portable devices for a while, but it wasn't until recently that they included video. Problem is, Nintendo's DSi—although equipped with a front camera that captures video—only has a 133MHz CPU. The weak processor is enough for games, but is it enough for video chat? Perhaps Skype only meant that it could support audio chats, which would be disappointing, what with that camera always staring you in face while you talk. [TechRadar]

The downside, and it is a big one, is that the device will not be DSi compatible. Still, if you have no plans on upgrading this might be of some interest—although a release date and a price have not been announced. [ds-gps via Maxconsole]

The DSi has been out in Japan since November, and it comes to US stores this Sunday for $170. It still plays the normal DS games, plus it supports new iPhone-app-like DSiWare titles, captures digital pictures/audio and utilizes SD storage.

Build and Feel
We really, really liked the DSi when we held it for the first time. It's 12% thinner and ever so wider than the DS Lite, plus it feels more solid and features a grippy matte finish. All these tiny details translate to a device that feels infinitely more comfortable in adult hands. Even after hours upon hours of play, we always felt on the verge of dropping the DS Lite. Not so with the DSi.

The buttons are mostly the same to the naked eye, but they're coated with a new texture we could appreciate, and both the D-Pad and XYAB face buttons are less mushy than the DS Lite. The Start and Select buttons are bigger and easier to press, plus the L and R shoulders click with all the obviousness you want in a button, even though they're no longer flush with the body.
In terms of hardware specs, there are a few notable upgrades. The screens are 17% bigger than the last DS, each measuring 3.25-inches across (up from 3-inches flat), but their resolution is still a measly 256 x192. You get two .3MP cameras (one facing front, one back) that take shots to internal memory or newly-supported SD cards. (Note: SD cards work for media and game storage, but you can't play games without copying them to internal memory first. Also, the cap on the SD slot feels like it might break off if opened too frequently.)

The biggest upgrade, however, is one that few people will see. The console now boasts an ARM9E CPU clocked at 133 MHz (in place of the original ARM9/66MHz) and has 16 MB of RAM. The biggest downgrade? Other than the missing GBA slot, the DSi uses a different charger than the DS Lite. Ugh, not again!

OS/Interface
Aside from a new body, the DSi's interface has been redesigned for the better. It's actually a bit like Sony's XMB, with navigation occurring through a single row of icons. Moving between programs is fairly snappy, and most icons are big enough on the new touchscreen to allow for stylus-less navigation. In other words, we used our fingers most of the time.

The first time you load the DSi, it snaps a shot of your face. Your face then fills the entire top screen whenever you're in the main menu screen. If you are pretty, this is an obvious plus. If you are not, maybe you know someone attractive who might fill in for you.
From the mainscreen, you can take a picture at any time by pressing the L or R shoulder buttons. You can toggle which camera you'd like to use, too. From within programs, the power button doubles as a Home button, bringing you back to the mainscreen with a soft reset. (It's useful, until you realize that this poorly-placed button can be hit easily mid-game, resetting the system without saving.)

DSi Camera
If you want to do more than just snap shots, you go into DSi Camera. It has all sorts of zany, realtime filters for you to put on photos to squish heads or whatever the kids are into these days (Jason Chen is serving as our freakishly mutated model here). Sadly, the .3MP camera limitation means that you'll never want to see these images anywhere other than on the DSi's low rez screen. Additionally, the program cannot recognize shots you've taken on other digital cameras for editing.

DSi Sound
DSi Sound is thematically similar to DSi Camera, serving as a sound recorder and editor (along with an low bitrate AAC music player). There are some clever ideas here, like Excitebike and Starfox-themed equalizers, and modulators that make your voice sound like a robot or parakeet.

Neither DSi Sound or Camera is at all bad. It's just that this is cutesy stuff that will probably only be appealing for 5 minutes or so to anyone over 10. We could see children loving these apps, but everyone else will probably grow bored quickly.

DSi Shop
All those fancy new DSiWare titles are purchasable through the (now WPA2 Wi-Fi accessible) DSi shop. If you've used the Wii, the cute music and blocky interface will be at least thematically familiar. Everything works, and we appreciated that you can permanently login with your Club Nintendo account to track purchase rewards. But the DSi has not escaped Nintendo's typically sluggish online implementation. It's just too damn slow. Another point for improvement is that the shop mostly utilizes the bottom screen for information, making the experience needlessly cramped. We'd love to scroll through selections with both screens firing away, providing a medieval scroll's worth of content to view at once.

Opera Browser
Browsing the web on the DS or PSP has never been a pleasant experience, and the DSi's new (free!) Opera browser doesn't manage to break this trend. There are a slew of reasons why, of course. The DSi adopts the DS's browser interface, giving you a wide view on the top screen and a zoomed view on the bottom. But due to the low rez screen, neither view is very readable with pixelated font. (Really, what's the last device you've seen NOT made by Nintendo in the last 10 years with pixelated fonts? It screams early 90s electronics.) There's no Flash support, but that's basically expected. Even ignoring these issues, scrolling down Gizmodo quickly depletes the system's memory. You're left with a blank webpage and an error screen, the browser rendered unusable.

But you know the real crime of the DSi's Opera browser? Some kid will have his first foray with internet porn on this thing. And the experience will be far more traumatizing than the day he loses his virginity.

Oh Right, Playing VIDEO GAMES
As for the DSi's actual gaming experience, loading DS titles is not noticeably faster, despite an internal processor that's almost twice as fast.

We tried out two DSiWare titles, however, and there's at least a bit of promise in the new platform.

WarioWare: Snapped! ($5) is a like any typical WarioWare game (meaning that it's really a collection of frantically paced minigames) but you use the DSi's camera for motion control. When things worked, it was fun to reposition your head to catch a dropping hat, or grab at coins before the buzzer ran out. But it also stresses the limitations of the DSi camera. Often, in a variety of lighting situations, we simply could not get the camera/game to recognize faces/hands. And in these cases, the game is nothing more than contortionist torture as you try to line yourself up with the DSi's camera and a lighting source. Spoiler: The game does use a trick that we're positive others will follow. It takes shots of you midgame and replays them upon completion. The idea is both brilliant and funny, and we're guessing it's too resource intensive to be possible on the old DS, even if it had a camera. Oh, and you can play through much of the game in a few minutes.

Brain Age Express: Math ($8) is essentially the math sections of Brain Age 1 and Brain Age 2 broken out into its own game. A good deal if you were only looking to improve on the math section of your Brain without regard to your ling...ui...stic...areas. There are also mini-games inside this that have you act and make faces for the DSi's camera. We have no idea what part of your brain this trains.

There's nothing inherently wrong with either of these games, but keep in mind that these are essentially mini games within a system that's already founded on mini games. The DSi could could make DS gaming into something frighteningly granular. Then again, $2-$5 DSiWare quality already looks to outpace the games you get on the iPhone for the same amount.

Why You'd Want to Upgrade

• You want access to DSiWare (downloadable mini games/apps)
• The DS Lite feels too narrow for your hands
• You're a screen real estate whore
• Nintendo will release full games that have DSi-specific functionality
• You like new things

Why You'd Want to Stick with the DS Lite

• The DS Lite is $130 ($40 cheaper than the DSi)
• It accepts old R4 cards and other ROM loaders
• Longer battery life (19 hour max vs. 14 hour max)
• You're racist and only want to play on a white console

Even without a GBA slot and a few inconveniences regarding our "backup" collection of ROMs, we undoubtedly prefer the DSi over the DS. The OS is less confined visually and functionally, and the hardware just feels better in your hands. But we wouldn't fork over $170 for the upgrade.

The DSi is a DS that's just a little nicer, a moderate upgrade that's more Sony's style than Nintendo's. This isn't the jump you saw from the original DS to the DS Lite, but something more akin to the PSP 2000 to 3000, or the GBA to the GBA SP.

The DSi could be renamed the DS Slightly Liter.

The build alone cannot possibly justify the $170 pricetag—there's no way this system costs Nintendo $40 more per unit to build than the DS Lite did when it was released. What you're really doing by purchasing the DSi is subsidizing Nintendo's costs launching and running DSiWare in the US (once again, a cost that shouldn't approach $40).

There's little doubt that DSiWare will become a serious platform all its own. The question is, how long will that development take, and what is that platform worth to you?

At the moment, it's got a handful of games and apps. So our answer would be, not much.

The HCGT does two things: beep when your face gets too close to the screen and beep when you reached the 30/60/90/120 minute game timer limit. This is essentially what my parents nagged me about when I was playing my Game Boy in 1989—get your face further away from the screen and stop playing so much. So thanks, Health Control Game Timer, for bringing back those wonderful memories for $40. [Game Timer via Impress Watch via Kotaku via Dvice]

These games would still be cross-compatible, playable on both the DS and DSi. But these games would take advantage of a few special DSi functions not available to DS players. One example given was the ability to take a picture on the DSi and map it as a texture into the game (face mapping comes to mind.)

Sounds fine to us, though only time will tell whether or not DSi "Enhanced" ever becomes DSi "Required." [Kotaku]

Coming in two models (SmartStylus 1 & 2), the stylus is designed to add vibration feedback "based on movements and commands in the game." The SmartStylus 2 adds the possible integration of LEDs, sound and even motion (imagine swinging your stylus like a baseball bat).

We're a little confused as to exactly how the SmartStylus will integrate with games not specifically designed for the device (if it will at all), but those questions should be answered when it launches for an undisclosed price this fall. [Maxconsole]

In short, it looks nice. The DSi hardware itself is no longer glossy or plasticky. Instead, its matte finish gives it a feel that is ever-so-slightly rubbery, which sits nice in the hand. The thinner physique and bigger screens of the DSi are noticeable, but not necessarily drastic. And of course the inclusion of the non-proprietary SD card slot is welcome, if a bit foreign at first.

I ran through about 30 minutes of various DSi audio and camera demos (no web browser demo, hrm), and from what I saw, I'm intrigued. While the camera and audio apps are essentially tech demos that, in my opinion, won't get much play from users after about a month, they show off what these new hardware features are capable of.

With the audio suite of apps you can take an mp3 AAC file (or create your own recording), and manipulate both speed and/or pitch using a two-axis coordinate system on the touchscreen. Voice warping seems relatively intuitive, and just briefly listening using the DSi speakers, it didn't sound half bad either. There's even a neat feature where there are various Nintendo-themed visualizers and you can use the L/R bumpers to add your own sound effects on top of songs.

The camera software was also fun to play with, as there are effects that let you warp and distort images on the fly, add graphics on top or use the emoter—and automatically contort faces into specific expressions (my favorite). The use of the L/R bumpers as the shutter also gives the feature a nice feel. Essentially, the Game Boy Camera has been reborn.

Nintendo demoed Warioware Snapped, which makes considerable use of the camera (something available to all developers), and shows how creative software could make the DSi more than just a light hardware refresh. With Warioware, you set the DSi on the table, and let the front side camera detect your face and hand. After that, your silhouette appears on screen while you're directed to move your head and hands in various manners. And it didn't seem at all like it was a gimmicky feature making use of inadequate hardware.

I only spent a short amount of time with the DSi, so I can't make any judgments. But I can say that I'm looking forward to its release and how games will take advantage of these new features. [Nintendo DSi]

[Opera via Joystiq]

In a session of "Iwata Asks," the DSi's design team reveals how the DSi we know and meh came to be. Originally, they want a swivel camera, but it was too complicated, as was a higher resolution shooter, so we get dual VGA resolution cams.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the DS slot design, but here's how Nintendo CEO Iwata explains it:

There were a lot of requests among gamers, of course, and from in house as well, for two slots. We also thought that would be good, and, even though we were aware of the drawback of increased size, we decided to proceed with two slots. But when you and your team made an actual model and I held it in my hands, all I could think was, "It's so big!"

They almost made it, too, is the really scary part. They cut the extra DS slot and redesigned it to be slimmer just before it went to manufacturing.

I think that the current DSi is pretty bleh, I can only imagine the disdain I'd have for one that was even fatter and more useless. [Nintendo via Kotaku]

While the DSi is available in Japan in white and black, it will come to the States in black and blue. And at first glance, that blue is fairly nauseating. So as far as I'm concerned, the DSi is coming to the US in black (and blue at launch only if you don't pre-order it.)

Also of note, an American version of DSi's DSiWare (think WiiWare downloadable games but for the DSi) will be available for $2 at launch. [Kotaku]

About the size of a chunky iPod, the Vision is an MP4/MP3 player, radio/TV tuner, voice recorder, eBook reader and camera. OK, not games, but not bad, right? That's until you realize that it's only got 2GB of storage, that TV tuner is analog (soon obsolete) and the camera is a measly 1.3MP.

The Vision was once going to play simple flash games, but Sega didn't want people to think they were trying to compete with Sony and Nintendo. So now it's just an overpriced European PMP (expected to go for $100 or more) and a novelty prize for Sega's UFO catcher arcade machines.

Remember, these are the same guys who once released the Genesis and the Dreamcast. [Sega Nerds via Kotaku]

Kotaku notes that the reason for the wider price divide in the US—it's about $25 more than the DS Lite in Japan—is probably to keep it from harcore cannibalizing the current DS, which still sold about 1.5 million units in November.

$180 is pretty steep. I mean, we are in a recession. So I guess it will stop cannibalization by making people buy the cheaper one. [IGN via Kotaku]

Hot!

Sure, this cable is from Brando, and could very well toast all your handhelds with questionable craftsmanship, but just think of the tag team fun you'll grant your Game Boy and PSP on their way out.

Seven bucks to make a handheld's day. What's to lose? Oh, it's Brando. Might 'splode [Brando via DSFanboy]

You can sign up for free over at the Club Nintendo site, and we warn you, while we signed up for an account without a hitch, when we actually tried to do anything (like register our games for those precious coins that will buy your rewards), the site got very slow, and even logged us out randomly more than once.
Apparently all of the good stuff runs 800 coins. If anyone has been able to register their games, please leave a comment as to how many coins you per each game. We've bought so much Nintendo crap that we're bound to have something free waiting...we'd hope. [Club Nintendo via Kotaku]

Multiple:Option's middleware for the DS lets you create a custom puzzle game that ends with a marriage proposal. Simply give the game to your romance target, hope they don't totally suck at puzzle games and then see if your bet on them tolerating your insufferable nerdiness for the rest of their lives pays off. [Offworld via New Launches]

A company named Handheld Games Corp developed a tennis game named TouchSports Tennis for the iPhone/iPod touch and it runs at completely different resolutions based upon the product:

Where we can easily display two 1500 polygon tennis players with 32 bones each on the iPod touch 2G and maintain fast and fluid game play, the original iPod touch just chokes, and in some instances so do the iPhones. To speed up the touch, we reduced the players to 800 polygons in farther away moments of gameplay, and are now using 1000 polygon models for close ups, bringing the original iPod touch game play performance level close to that of the iPhone 3G.

According to the company, the platform rendering power goes in this order (from best to worst):

• iPod Touch 2nd Generation
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone (original)
• iPod Touch 1st Generation

Since the iPhone 3G, first gen iPhone and first gen touch all have the same processor, where is this performance gap coming from? It's tough to know exactly, though there is obviously some hardware differentiation between each generation of these products beyond the processor.

More importantly, whatever the exact reason behind said performance gaps, these findings indicate that Apple is simply not providing a consistent development platform for applications. Nintendo and Sony purposefully and vocally limit clock speeds during reiterations of the DS and PSP, guaranteeing a certain quality control and universal experience on the platform. Obviously, the iPhone/iPod touch are not seeing any such limitations or guidelines.

And while it's technically good news that the new iPhone is a more powerful gaming machine than the old iPhone, it's an unsettling proposition when you consider that there's only one store for the entire iPhone/iPod touch platform. And if this performance trend continues, which we expect it will, consumers will either be forced to upgrade for an optimum gaming experience or have their smarter, newer hardware dumbed down. Honestly, neither scenario sounds all that wonderful at the moment. [Touch Arcade via MacRumors]

More Advice for the Black Friday Fray:
• The aforementioned Ultimate Survival Guide.
• 5 Gadgets You Can't Skimp On (And How to Save Money Buying Them)
• Best of Black Friday Deals Complete Roundup">All the best deals in one place
• Plus these late breaking ones from Cupertino: Apple Black Friday Deals Include Some Decent Third-Party Discounts
• Warnings: 7 Crappy Black Friday "Deals" That Aren't Really
• How To Choose an HDTV on Black Friday (or Any Day)
• How to set up that new HDTV you just got.

Photochop Contest:
• Brutally Honest Black Friday Ads Showcase Retailers on the Brink

Why You Might Want to Avoid Shopping on Black Friday, altogether:
• 10 Reasons We're Doomed: Black Friday Edition
• WalMart Worker Trampled to Death by Deal-Crazed Black Friday Shoppers

[Complete Black Friday Gadget Coverage at Giz]

The beefing up arrives, apparently, because of Nintendo's multimedia plans concerning the portable—mainly the new sound, video and photo manipulation features.

"The markings on the CPU package yield no clues about its performance, but my guess is that any ARM9 or ARM11 CPU manufactured in 2007 would have a performance around the 266-533 MHz range," Bunnie says, adding that Linux could have a field day playing around on this system. Hackers, get going! [Bunnie's Blog via MAKE]