Earlier this morning Nintendo’s official Japanese website revealed the first redesign for the Nintendo DS, which has been officially dubbed "DS Lite." For months now, it has speculated that Nintendo would unveil a redesign of the dual-screened handheld for early 2006. In the past, Nintendo officials such as Reggie Fils-Aime have expressed that Nintendo isn’t necessarily pleased with the current look of the handheld and had been in the works with a new stylistic design for it. Whenever asked about when the handheld would be unveiled and released, other company officials had denied its existence and just yesterday Nintendo UK Boss David Yarnton stated that the company had no plans for a redesign for the handheld. Apparently, we were being lied to since just 24 hours after this statement was made, Nintendo posted an image of the redesign on its official website.

Well, to say the least, this new version of the handheld is quite the looker. It shares an eerie resemblance to the glossy white version of the Nintendo Revolution game console and controller Nintendo President Satoru Iwata showcased at the Tokyo Game Show last September and is much improved over the bulky version of the DS millions of gamers are now so familiar with. This redesign will now make the handheld and even more attractive purchase aesthetically, giving potential owners more of a reason to pick up the DS Lite, aside from its already impressive line-up of software.

A DS redesign had been first spoken of by Japanese game retailers in late December of last year, when retailers began to suffer from a DS shortage, due to the incredible popularity of the portable during the holiday season (which it still suffers from currently). It was believed that Nintendo would roll out a new revision of the hardware before having to re-supply retailers with new stock, but due to the incredible holiday season Nintendo had with the handheld in Japan, things didn’t go as smoothly as planned.

To say the least, the DS is a phenomenon overseas. While it has been very successful in all territories, the popularity of the Brain Training games have made the DS the fastest selling game platform ever in Japan. Nintendo fans observing game hardware and software sales should expect to see a slight drop in DS sales prior to the release of the new handheld revision on March 2nd, as this always occurs on the eve of a new hardware redesign. However, once it is released, expect the DS to pull in some huge numbers, numbers which should be further inflated by the release of the highly anticipated Children of Mana, the newest game in Square Enix’s beloved "Mana" adventure RPG series, which launches on that same day.

So how will Sony counter the release of this DS redesign? Well, it’s likely they won’t counter at all. This DS hardware revision had obviously been prompted by PSP’s superior design aesthetic and now the dual-screened game machine finally has a chance to compete with Sony’s pricey handheld when it comes to looks. Unless, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and third party publishers begin to pump out some must buy "killer apps" for the handheld, the Nintendo DS domination of both hardware and software on Japanese sales charts will continue to ensue throughout the rest of the year. Though, it should be noted that the PSP has slightly outsold the DS over the past two weeks, due to hardware shortages of the handheld which have even caused Japanese consumers to import DS units from North America and Europe. However, even with this hardware shortage, eight out of the top ten best selling games in Japan are DS titles, five of which have already sold through one million units each.

This new redesign of the Nintendo DS hardware is good news for Nintendo fans. It shows fans that Nintendo’s approach to the gaming industry in the modern day has changed for the better, as it now has a better understanding of what the common consumer is attracted to. This new approach bodes well for the company’s forthcoming revolution.