Nintendo Dismisses DS Redesign Rumours

GamesIndustry.biz reports that despite rumours to the contrary there are no immediate plans to redesign the Nintendo DS. From the article: "Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed late last year that a redesign was in the pipeline, and it's thought that there are low levels of DS stock remaining - the handheld has proved a huge hit in Japan, the US and Europe and more than 13 million units have been sold worldwide." IE: There will be a redesign for the handheld console, but not any time real soon.

I was hoping there would be one

[rednalb]

I was hoping there would be a redesign. The buttons on the DS are pretty uncomfortable to use. I'm still using the original Gameboy Advance to play GBA games on. The only games that I like on the DS are ones that don't need the buttons, like Trauma Center.

GBA2?

[mrgreen4242]

So whatever happened to the GBA2? Nintendo always said the the DS WASN'T the new GameBoy and that they were working on one... so where is it? Any rumours even? Perhaps the GBA2 will be the DS redesign? Make a new handheld that is backwards compatible with the DS and GBA?

As far as design goes, I was somehting that is like a T Mobile Sidekick [t-mobile.com]. The "basic" buttons (d-pad, 4 face and should buttons) on the outside with a screen in the middle. The screen would be a pivoting/rotating/flipping deal so that the touchscreen below it could be exposed for DS play, or covered for other games that don't need it. You could alos rotate it out and then flip it down so the LCDs were facing each other, potecting them from damage. I think it would be a cool design at least.

Re:Wireless capabilities

[goodenoughnickname]

WPA encryption was added to the PSP in Firmware v2.0. Why doesn't Nintendo offer downloadable firmware upgrades? I searched around for an answer, but this is all I found:

We have no plans for WPA at this time.

If your concerned about WEP, turn your computers are OFF after you've switch to WEP for the DS. I don't care if The Lone Gunmen are parked outside your door with a van full of equipment trying to bust in your computer files, they can't do it if your computers are off. And, yes, your wireless router will still work if your computer is off. Um, unless it's plugged into the same power strip and you power the whole strip off.

If that's not an option for you, you may want to get the Nintendo USB WiFi Connector, as it works ONLY with the Nintendo DS, and you can leave your other WiFi router with WPA.

NOTE: The reason the Nintendo DS is compatible with WEP, and not WPA, is that we found WEP to be the most prevalent standard for securing wi-fi connections.

"NOA_GREG" in the Nintendo Forums

And that's dated November 15, 2005. You can read more here [missig.org]. Basically, get a $35 DS Wifi USB key to share the connection, and leave your computer on all the time. Thanks, Nintendo.

Re:Wireless capabilities

[FriedTurkey]

I got the USB adapter [nintendo.com]. It was easy to setup and works well. It doesn't leave a hole in the network because only an authorized DS works.

Re:A shame

[BenjyD]

I have one of those soft DS cases - it stops the DS getting scratched in my bag, and it has a little zip compartment that fits maybe five DS games.