Nintendo DS
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Production
- 2004–2014
- Generation
- Gen 7
- Type
- Handheld
- Launch price
- $149
- Units sold
- 154.0M
About Nintendo DS
The Nintendo DS is a foldable handheld game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in 2004 and 2005. The "DS" in the name is an initialism for "Dual Screen", reflecting the system's most distinctive feature: two LCD screens working in tandem, with the lower screen functioning as a touchscreen. Both screens are housed in a clamshell design similar to that of the Game Boy Advance SP and some models of the Game & Watch series. The DS was among the first portable consoles to support wireless connectivity for local multiplayer over short distances, as well as online play through the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its primary competitor during the seventh generation of video game consoles was Sony's PlayStation Portable.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
1,879licensed games
- North America: 1,014
- Japan: 1,100
- PAL: 1,080
Lineage
Release timeline
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- December 2, 2004
- 🇺🇸 North America
- November 21, 2004
- 🇪🇺 Europe / PAL
- March 11, 2005
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- February 24, 2005
- Lifespan
- 10 years on market
Pricing
Launch price (2004)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $149
- 🇬🇧 GBP
- £99
Launch titles & exclusives
Super Mario 64 DS · Madden NFL 2005 · Asphalt: Urban GT · Feel the Magic: XY/XX · Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits · Ping Pals · Polarium · The Urbz: Sims in the City · Spider-Man 2
None standard; some bundles included Nintendogs (DS Lite era)
Mario Kart DS · New Super Mario Bros. · Nintendogs · Brain Age · Animal Crossing: Wild World · Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver/Black/White · The World Ends With You · Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow / Portrait of Ruin / Order of Ecclesia · Advance Wars: Dual Strike / Days of Ruin · Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time / Bowser's Inside Story · Phoenix Wright series · Professor Layton series · Ghost Trick · Dragon Quest IX · Etrian Odyssey series · 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay (2014, NA) was among the very last releases
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter (~$200+ CIB); Commando: Steel Disaster sealed; Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver with Pokewalker CIB (~$200+); Nintendo World Championships demo carts
Variants of Nintendo DS
Hardware specs
- Cpu
- 67 MHz ARM946E-S, 33 MHz ARM7TDMI
- Ram
- 4 MB RAM
- Weight
- {{Indented plainlist| * DS: * DS Lite: }}
- Dimensions
- {{Indented plainlist| * DS: * DS Lite: }}
- Display Output
- Two 3" TFT LCDs, 256 × 192 pixels
- Storage Internal
- Cartridge save, 256 MB flash memory
Hardware revisions
- Original DS NTR-001(2004)
the 'phat' DS, GBA slot, lower-quality screens, removable stylus
- DS Lite USG-001(2006)
brighter screens, smaller form factor, retained GBA slot — the platform's mainstream best-seller
- DSi TWL-001(2008)
cameras, SD slot, DSi Shop, GBA slot removed, region-locked (DSi-enhanced and DSi-exclusive titles)
- DSi XL UTL-001(2009)
larger 4.2" screens, marketed at older audiences
Launch colorways & special editions
- Pokemon Center JP variants
- Mario Kart Edition
- Pokemon Diamond/Pearl Limited
- Final Fantasy III Edition
- Zelda Phantom Hourglass Gold (JP)
- Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver Limited
- Crimson/Black Mario 25th Anniversary DSi XL
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- soft-mod
- Custom firmware
- R4 / Acekard / SuperCard DSTwo (flashcards); Unlaunch (DSi softmod)
Reception & legacy
Phenomenal — launched alongside PSP and surprised analysts with massive sales despite the PSP's more powerful hardware
R4 flashcard piracy spawned lawsuits worldwide (R4 banned in JP, UK courts); DSi region lock annoyed enthusiasts after DS/DS Lite were region-free
Second best-selling video game console of all time (~154M); dual-screen + touch + microphone created entirely new game-design vocabularies; pulled Nintendo back into handheld dominance during a generation where Sony's PSP threatened seriously
References
More from Nintendo
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Nintendo DS in the news
Recent coverage mentioning the Nintendo DS, gathered from 80+ gaming-news sources.
A Sega Rally Nintendo DS Prototype Has Been Discovered
Created by DC Studios as a pitch demo. A game preservation group has published footage of a Sega Rally prototype. Developed by DC Studios, the game was apparently created to pitch to Sega. Alongside the footage, Prototopia (formerly known as Obscure Gamers) has also shared footage of another pitch...
Review: DSpico - This Insanely Cheap Open-Source Nintendo DS Flash Cart Is Utterly Essential
A next-gen flash cart for your dependable dual-screen device. Even during its active years, the Nintendo DS was home to a range of flash carts which allowed users to play ROMs they'd downloaded from the internet rather than actually buying them with their hard-earned cash. The proliferation of...
Hidden Nintendo DS JRPGs From Famous Developers You Probably Missed
From BioWare making a Sonic RPG to Monolith Soft making a Japanese Diablo, the DS hid some remarkable games from studios you'd never expect.
Why Are We Going Back to The Nintendo DS?
Despite a new console on store shelves, players are picking up the Nintendo DS and 3DS in droves. Is there a reason to go back in 2026? Why are decade old games getting attention again? Here's why dual screen nostalgia is having a moment in 2026.
Anniversary: Super Mario First Went 'New' 20 Years Ago On The DS
And it really felt 'New' back then. 20 years ago today, something New was on the horizon. Yes, it's time to feel extremely old, as New Super Mario Bros. launched for the Nintendo DS on this very day in the US in 2006. Back then, New Super Mario Bros. was a big deal; it was the first new...