Industry sources are leaking what could be very big news if true: that Nintendo is planning on launching the Nintendo DSi in the US on April 4th, at a $179.99 price point. This would be much earlier than the Q3 or Q4 launch many were anticipating after Nintendo of America allowed the DSi to launch in Japan only last November. The price point is roughly consistent with expectations based on the Japanese price (18,900 yen or $211).
The DSi is a Nintendo DS Lite system refresh that's slimmer, features a built-in SD card slot and camera, and also supports direct downloads from the DSiWare service. While there's no word yet on when the US version of DSiWare goes live, it's not inconceivable that the DSi itself could beat the service to market. Japan's DSiWare didn't go live until the end of December. IGN claims to have verified this story through "three independent sources", so we should know in a month or so at most if this rumor pans out.
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