Soft Launch for DS Lite

Nintendo's new portable fends off the World Cup and other distractions as it inches into the marketplace.

There are signs that things are starting to come together for the DS in the UK. The best evidence of this is the number of games only available on DS that are on the weekly UK sales chart. Nintendo released a new version of the DS hardware last week, but, for whatever reason, people didn't immediately rush out to buy one.

The new DS Lite, which is sleeker and brighter, hit stores on Friday and people snapped up around 35,000 of them through the weekend, according to tracking firm Chart Track's Dorian Bloch, who spoke to GamesIndustry.biz. The original DS sold around 87,000 units at its opening early in 2005.

Cost could be a factor. The DS now sells for around £90 while the DS Lite is £100. According to the Bloch, people are still buying just as many regular DSs and PSPs too.

And then there's the World Cup, which is making things hard on retailers who are already up against end-of-year exams and the occasionally fantastic British summer weather.

That's not to say that the DS isn't doing well, though. DS games are on the rise, and there are now eight of them in the weekly Top 40 charts. This is in large part thanks to Nintendo reaching out to new audiences with games such as Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? and Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Nintendo will be hoping for a good bump in hardware sales when New Super Mario Bros, the plumber's first 2D platforming game in over a decade, arrives in the UK this Friday.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games