Nintendo UK Confirms DS Lite Europe Launch Details

Officials from Nintendo UK have announced that the DS Lite handheld console will launch in the UK and Europe on June 23rd for an “estimated” price of £99.99 ($187) - £10 ($19) more than the current iteration of the hardware. The DS Lite is scheduled for a North American release on June 11th for $129.99 (the same price as the original hardware), with an Australian launch scheduled for July 1st. As a result of the extraordinary demand for the console in Japan, the North American launch will consist of only a white colored console, while the European launch will have both white and an all new black colored unit. Although functionally identical to the original, the DS Lite is smaller and lighter than before and with a much more powerful backlit screen. The redesign also shares some of the same aesthetics as the Wii console, including an apparently identical D-pad. At the same time as the DS Lite announcement, Nintendo UK also revealed plans to release a new edition of Nintendogs subtitled Dalmatian & Friends on June 16th. Although a Dalmatian puppy was available as an unlockable extra in the original versions, it is included here as a selectable breed from the very start - although it is not implied that the game contains any other new features. Europe has proven to be the most successful market worldwide for Nintendogs, with 2.5 million copies sold out of a global total of 6 million. As a result, there currently appears to be no plans to release the Dalmatian version of the game in other territories.