Andre Yoskowitz
3 Oct 2008 18:47
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has noted that American fans hoping to get their hands on the newly released Nintendo DSi will have to wait until at least April 2009.
Fils-Aime also said he expect consumers to continue buying up DS Lite handhelds and hopes that they will choose to upgrade later.
"All through the Americas we continue to have great momentum on DS Lite and so for us we have a huge opportunity, much more consumers who want the original DS Lite, and so it will be for us a fantastic opportunity in our next fiscal," noted Fils-Aime.
"The critical decision for those consumers is how long do you wait? We haven't announced a launch date, and really for us it's going to be in our next fiscal, so certainly, after April – that's a long time to wait for a consumer who will be bypassing new titles like Chrono Trigger.
"We think most consumers are going to opt to jump into DS Lite now, enjoy all of the great games and then at some future point upgrade to the DSi."
The president also added that DS Lite hardware sales had slowed in Japan and that the new launch should help boost lagging sales.
"It's critically important in our Japanese home market that we announce and launch the new DSi.
"That's because they're reached such a huge level of penetration that this is a great way to keep driving momentum in their market."
There was no word on a European release.