DSi dated for April 5 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on February 18, 2009

News: Nintendo plans to release Rhythm Heaven on that day as well.

After announcing at E3 that the DSi, the third revamp of the DS hardware, wouldn't be released in America until "well into 2009", most gamers were worried that meant August or September or later. Nope, apparently it means April 5. That's right, on April 5, Nintendo will launch the DSi, a DS with a built-in digital camera and MP3 player for a price of $170. It will be available in two colors: black and blue.

The DSi will also include access to the DSiWare Shop. Like the Wii Shop Channel, the DSiWare Shop will allow players to download exclusive games to their DSi. The games will be priced as low as $2 apiece.

The DSi will not include the familiar Game Boy Advance slot, so DS games like Guitar Hero: On Tour and Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades will not be playable on the DSi.

While the lack of a GBA slot is a bit disappointing, the digitial cameras and music playback capabilities of the DSi sound like great extras. And according to Nintendo, they'll do more than just snap pictures and play music:

The most noticeable feature of the slim Nintendo DSi system is its two cameras Ц one camera is on the external body, and the second one points at the user when the device is flipped open. As the first truly interactive digital camera in a video game system with 10 different interactive "lenses" that can manipulate your photos, the Nintendo DSi Camera offers an easy way to take and share your photos with family and friends. The cameras also present people with unprecedented ways to interact with their games while giving developers a new tool to devise creative games and experiences. If the touch screen gave Nintendo DS a sense of feel and the microphone allowed it to hear, the two cameras give Nintendo DSi the sense of sight.

Another enhanced feature is the Nintendo DSi Sound application, which serves as both an interactive voice recorder and music player that allows users to play with their music while they listen to it. Users can access different audio filters or control the pitch and speed of recorded voice or music files to alter voices or change the tempo of a song. The mic is located between the two screens when the device is flipped open, and there is also a stereo headphone output that lets users listen to music saved on an SD card, even with the screen shut.

Finally, Nintendo has announced that Rhythm Heaven, a rhythm game for the DS that asks players to tap and slide the stylus in time with the music, will also be released on April 5.