Will our next handheld companion look like this? Only time will tell!

With the Wii smashing sales last month, it is no surprise to hear that Nintendo is planning on revamping its handheld market. According to EEDAR, a new version of the DS could be available by April 2011.

Jesse Divinch, who is the director of the analyst service at EEDAR, had this to say:

Even though the Nintendo DS posted a record year in 2009, EEDAR expects Nintendo to make an official announcement on the DS2 within the next eight months. Many publishers including Sega, Capcom, and now Ubisoft have all expressed that they may be reducing their exposure to Nintendo’s consoles, which will likely lead to heavy declines in both hardware and software sales for the Nintendo DS.

Thus, it seems we may know more about Nintendo’s plans regarding the DS2 by November. One thing is for sure however, with gadgets such as the iPhone taking up a large sector of the handheld market – especially as the new 3GS is capable of running a ported version of the Unreal engine – Nintendo definitely need to revamp the DS. Furthermore, although only speculation at this moment in time, according to president Satoru Iwata the successor to the DS will have “highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing.”

We can all agree this brings exciting prospects to the DS2. It will be interesting to see what Nintendo announces in the months to come.

[source geek.com]