As Nintendo DS owners already know, the first several months since the handheld's launch in November have produced an unsatisfying library of titles. The majority of the releases have been either quick conversions of Game Boy Advance and Nintendo 64 titles, or games with short and simple concepts that are initially engaging, but lose their charm over time. Players have also had to endure long gaps of time between new releases, leaving them little use for the system except for its GBA compatibility and built-in PictoChat program.

However, this year's E3 indicated a big turnaround for Nintendo's touch screen handheld is on the horizon. Literally dozens of DS games were on display, and online-compatible software will finally be available by the end of the year. The first wave of great games is hitting stores this month, and we've gathered a variety of great picks for the rest of 2005.

Nintendo WiFi Connection

Nintendo is taking a slightly different approach with their online service, powered by GameSpy Technology. Labeled Nintendo WiFi Connection, the service will be completely free to consumers, and should be easy to connect to from any WiFi hotspot. The company also hopes to make online gaming more inviting to casual players by offering several types of community connections. Players will be able to choose to play only with people they know, or if they do wish to compete against strangers, the technology will match players according to their skill level, so that no one feels like they're out of their league. The service will also include high score postings, and an option for online storage space for game saves. Nintendo even showed a demonstration of Voice Over IP, which may be implemented later on.

Mario Kart and Animal Crossing (see below) will launch the service later this year, and twenty-five companies have online compatible games in development. Nintendo is betting big on the service, anticipating that ninety percent of DS owners will take advantage of it in the future.