I am Joe's utter lack of surprise

In the pre-Tokyo Gamehow press hype it is probably all over the internet by now but Nintendo have finally announced a new DS iteration, this time with larger screens, a thinner design, no GBA port, a camera and whatnot. Aside from the fact I had picked up this rumour a while back through some trusted sources*, this should really not come as any great surprise to anybody; it's the classic Nintendo Way(tm).

Looking at the new features, especially the camera and the funky software with which to manipulate your photographs, it seems to be aimed quite squarely at the DS's biggest market; Japanese women. It seems like a lot of fluffy fun and though technically not on par with other alternatives on the market, it does seem to get the "gee, this is fun" element right; Nintendo have long since given up on the specs race and have focused mainly on functionality and low manufacturing costs. And so far it's been a winning strategy. To this day the number of DSs I see in the wild outnumber the PSPs by a huge margin.

So if the DS follows the GBA redesign route we can see one more iteration of the DS before its demise, possibly a novelty version (GBA Micro?), and onto the DS2, whatever that may be. I expect the DS to survive for quite a while yet, and sales figures are still good. I still think they should release a Louis Vuitton themed DS. Personally I still like to see more Wii/DS connectivity and who knows, with this new version's better Wifi this may be on the cards. Being able to see my DS on my large TV would be great; it's the only way I ended up playing GBA games on the GBA Player for the Gamecube. Control will be an issue, though, but I'm sure some boffin somewhere will sort that out.

Obviously I don't need a DSi, but as a free agent it's more important than ever that I keep up to date with progress. That is, at least, the excuse I'll tell my wife, along with the promise she can take over my DS Lite, as she took over my DS when I bought that. It won't work, of course, but I can handle a few days of grumbling and exasperated head shaking . I mean, I can't buy every GBA iteration and then not buy every DS one, can I? That's not the mentality that made me a Club Nintendo platinum member.

* Sorry, I have no desire to be the new Surfergirl.