Quote:Several major American e-tailers including EBgames are all taking pre-orders on the Nintendo DS, giving the console an end-November 2004 launch date and a price tag of just under $200.
GameStop and EBgames both state a November 29 shipping date with a $199.99 price-tag, while Wal-Mart reckons it will launch a day later and is charging potential consumers a bizarre $199.82 for the privilege.

The former two sites are also taking orders on a selection of titles, with the likes of Animal Crossing, Egg Monster Hero, Final Fantasy Chronicles and Metroid Prime: Hunters mooted by GameStop as potential launch titles with a December 7 release date. EBGames, however, appears to list all titles at March 1 - a slightly dated estimate, perhaps?

While there has been no confirmation from Nintendo of America on the matter, the consistency amongst American release dates does suggest there could be some possible 'insider/retailer' knowledge at work - after all, end-November was always anticipated for those territories. We shall have to wait and see.

However, what Nintendo has definitely confirmed (at the Tokyo Games Show, that is) is a Nintendo Japanese DS tour for November, which will enable the public to enjoy a hands-on with the console and various titles ahead of its release. Five cities have been confirmed as destinations thus far - Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo, Sapporo and Fukuoka (try saying that last one after a few beers).

Interestingly, some reports have translated the tour name to read as the Nintendo World Touch! DS tour, suggesting that various other cities will soon be getting a taste of the DS. However, a Nintendo UK spokesperson said that "nothing had yet been announced" when asked about forthcoming public UK appearances, which left us none the wiser at just what the manufacturer has up its sleeve.

Quote:Seriously, what do they have planned for launch? Wario Ware (I'll get that), multi-only Metroid game (no online = no sale), Mario 64 port (if the controls aren't ass I'll get it), and a bunch of tech demos? Come on, Nintendo. Yes you're proven time and time again that you're great at keeping secrets! But this isn't something you want to keep secret!!