Nintendo DS

Description

The Nintendo DS released in late 2004 as Nintendo’s bold entry into dual‑screen handheld gaming. Nintendo positioned the DS as a “third pillar” alongside the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, but its backward compatibility with GBA games and innovative features quickly made it the de facto successor to the GBA line.

Development began in the early 2000s under tight secrecy, with the concept of two screens, one of them touch‑sensitive. This was partly inspired in part by Nintendo’s own dual‑screen Game & Watch units from the 1980s. Internally codenamed “Nitro”, the hardware codes carried the model designation prefix NTR, while the public name remained simply Nintendo DS. The DS also introduced built‑in wireless multiplayer, a microphone, and support for both DS game cards and GBA cartridges.

The Nintendo DS went on to become one of the most successful video game systems in history, selling over 154 million units worldwide across all models in the DS family. Its flexible interface and strong library of both innovative new titles and beloved franchises helped it appeal to a broad audience. It dominated the handheld market through the mid‑to‑late 2000s, outselling its competitors by a wide margin and cementing Nintendo’s leadership in portable gaming. The backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance software, robust third‑party support, and frequent hardware refreshes kept it relevant for years, ultimately making it the best‑selling handheld console of all time and only just short of the PlayStation 2 overall. Although at this rate it is likely to be overtaken by the Nintendo Switch.