Nintendo unveils new handheld game system

Nintendo announced its long-awaited new game device today—the Nintendo DS, a handheld console featuring two screens stacked on top of each other.

The dual 3-inch LCD displays will allow players to view a game from multiple perspectives simultaneously, the company said.

"We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now," said Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa. (Though since the PSP doesn’t technically exist yet, its features and capabilities are likely still in flux.)

Nintendo will remain coy on most product details until a formally announcement at E3 in May, though it did say that in addition to the dual screens, the device will feature dual processors from ARM and 128 MB of memory.

Nintendo says the DS is not a replacement for the GameBoy Advance and will be marketed alongside it and the GameCube.

Given the presence of two displays, the DS is likely to be larger, heavier, and more power-hungry than the GameBoy Advance.

The Nintendo DS is due to launch worldwide by the end of the year, and the company says it’s already working with third-party game publishers.

-gamesmarketwatch.com