Nintendo Announces New Portable Game Unit

Nintendo Co. Ltd., after months of hinting it would roll out a new game product in 2004, on Wednesday announced Nintendo DS, a portable video game system with two screens.

Nintendo had been expected by industry players to offer some sort of new handheld product this year to compete with Sony Corp’s PSP, an advanced handheld gaming device set for launch by the end of the year. Sony already dominates the console games market with its PlayStation 2.

The company said it would hold back most details on the new product until the games industry’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles this May, but said it has already begun talks with game publishers around the world about developing software for the new device.

The new Nintendo unit will feature two three-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, dual processors and up to one gigabit of semiconductor memory.

It is scheduled for launch by the end of this year and will be marketed alongside the company’s GameCube home gaming console and Game Boy Advance handheld device, Nintendo said.

Read the whole story at Reuters.