Nintendo DSi to Hit U.S., Europe in 2009

As it does every fall, Nintendo held a U.S. press event in San Francisco today. The DSi was on everyone’s mind, and will stay that way for the foreseeable future as the handheld won’t hit the west until next year.

The DSi, while available in Japan starting November 1, will not be available in the U.S. and Europe until well into 2009." The rationale for this, according to Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aime, is that the DS Lite is still selling well in the States, and will continue to do so through the holidays. Also, since some DS titles, like Guitar Hero : On Tour, utilize the Game Boy Advance slot for peripherals, bringing the GBA slot-less DSi may hinder both hardware and software sales.

Fils-Aime also touched on holiday hardware sales, saying that the number of Wii’s shipped to retailers this season will be significantly more than last year. How many exactly ? "Ask me in January," said Reggie. Along with a boost in Wii’s, consumers can expect the newest peripheral, Wii Speak, on November 18th. The Wii Speak Channel and the microphone itself will be launched in tandem, with the latter going for $30 in the U.S.

As for the plethora of software Nintendo announced last night in Japan, Nintendo America did little to fill in the gaps regarding U.S. release dates, leaving many of the titles as 2009 releases with no specific day/month. Only two titles that were talked about were given concrete release dates, Pokemon Ranger : Shadows of Almia and Personal Trainer : Cooking, will be available on November 10th and 24th, respectively. Other titles, like Sin and Punishment 2 (Wii), Punch-Out (Wii), Fire Emblem : Fire Dragon (DS), and Mario and Luigi RPG (DS) will be out sometime in 2009.

The "Wii de Asobu Selection", or "Play on Wii Selection" announced by Nintendo Japan last night is shortened to "Play on Wii" for the U.S. Play on Wii will bring heralded GameCube titles to the Wii, including games like Pikmin. This service goes live in Japan in December, and is TBA (2009 ?) for everyone else. Nintendo also confirmed that the first two titles for the DSi Shop, which allows DSi owners to download games and store them on the handheld, will be Brain Age 1 and 2.