| Back in 1994, Nintendo wowed us by releasing a | | | | edition versions, including the Mario Red (in the |
| revolutionary handheld console called the DS. It | | | | same shade of red as Mario's shirt and cap, with |
| featured two screens; one of which was a touch | | | | an M on the top cover), the Final Fantasy III |
| screen that incorporated "touch" capabilities to the | | | | edition (with FFIII artwork by Akihiko Yoshida on |
| console's video games. So far, there are four | | | | a Crystal White DS Lite), and several |
| models of the Nintendo DS in the market: the | | | | Pokemon-themed limited releases. |
| original DS, DS Lite, DSi, and DSi XL. This seventh | | | | The DSi was the next redesign for Nintendo's |
| generation handheld game console also has a | | | | handheld line, adding features like two cameras, |
| successor coming up in the form of the Nintendo | | | | bigger screens, an online store called the DSi |
| 3DS. | | | | Shop, plus internal and external content storage |
| The original DS, lovingly dubbed the DS Phat by | | | | support, among other features. Roughly a year |
| fans, was first considered to be a novelty | | | | after the DSi first hit the shelves another |
| console; its detractors adding that it was inferior | | | | redesign came fresh off the factory line in the |
| to Sony's seventh gen handheld, PlayStation | | | | form of the DSi XL. The DSi has the largest |
| Portable. Representatives from both companies | | | | screen in the entire line, adding nearly a full inch |
| have stated that the DS and the PSP target | | | | from the DSi's 3.25-inch screens. |
| different target audiences. | | | | So far, the Nintendo DS series is the top-selling |
| DS Phat's first redesign was called the DS Lite. As | | | | handheld of all time. Nintendo has something new |
| the name suggests, the Lite is basically a lighter, | | | | cooking in the form of the 3DS, which can |
| sleeker version of the handheld. In comparison to | | | | reportedly output 3D effects without use of the |
| the original, the DS Lite has a brighter display and | | | | special glasses. Among the features we'll probably |
| slightly bigger screen size though it still features | | | | see on the 3DS are "a 3-D joystick and a force |
| backwards compatibility to GBA cartridges. | | | | feedback system" and probably an accelerometer |
| Among all the DS incarnations, the DS Lite has | | | | for tilt control too. We'll just have to wait for the |
| the longest battery life at 15 to 19 hours. The Lite | | | | gaming giant to release its next handheld console |
| model was released in several different limited | | | | in 2011. |