A lot has happened in the three and half years since the Nintendo DS made its UK debut. We've seen a whole new generation of home consoles in the shape of the Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Then there was the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) - a handheld that teamed superior on-the-go gaming performance with the ability to playback audio and video files too. And now we have game-toting multi-tasking iPhone and iPod touch. So where does that leave the Nintendo DS? The good stuff At its UK launch in March 2005, the Nintendo DS had three great strengths: 1) It was truly portable. Its 133mm x 73.9mm x 21.5mm dimensions and light 218g weight meant you really could stick it in your shirt pocket. 2) It had some brilliantly innovative games and gaming features - the mind-melting tasks found in Professor Kawashima's Brain Training, or innovative use of the built-in microphone or Hotel Dusk: Room 215, for example. 3) Long playing times - up to 19 hours at minimum brightness setting. Nintendo cleverly also made a virtue of the DS's compact size, with two colour displays - one in the lid, flanked by stereo speakers, for the visuals; and a second touchscreen in the base for certain gameplay controls which could be accessed using a stylus, or a finger.
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