According to a recent study by Game Developer Research, the iPhone OS has surpassed both the Nintendo DS and the PSP as a handheld gaming development platform. The study showed that 19 percent of all developers are coding for the iPhone/iPod Touch, which is more than double the stats for both Nintendo and Sony.

If you think this isn’t a big deal, consider the following: handheld games are now 25 percent of the total gaming market, up from just 12 percent before the iPhone came on the scene. That’s some huge growth, even if you figure most iPhone gamers are playing simple things like Bejeweled 2 and Tap Tap Revenge. Sure, there’s no Scribblenauts, not yet anyway, but the platform has enough support from both gamers and developers that I’m sure we’ll see more serious titles in the future.

The problem for me is still the lack of physical controls. I know the touch thing is cool, but it’s also completely frustrating to cover your game screen with your thumbs. That’s not enjoyable. I’m still waiting for that universal controller add-on to launch.

Source: Electronista

The DSi LL launched in Japan two days ago and is already reporting strong sales. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the plus-size version of the Nintendo DSi moved more than 103,000 units on the first day.

Those aren’t incredible sales, but they’re good for a cosmetic update of the popular handheld. The DSi’s original launch sold 170,000 units in the same amount of time in Japan. The PSPgo, which like the DSi LL is more of a cosmetic update, sold just 28,000 units in that same amount of time in Japan.

There’s still no word on the DSi XL launch date for the US (first quarter 2010 is all I’ve heard), but I’d imagine sales here will remain strong. The fact that the system comes with three games pre-installed is nice, and in the case of handhelds, most people prefer a larger screen.

At a press event in Tokyo today, Nintendo confirmed rumors of a new Nintendo DS, called the DSi LL in Japan, DSi XL in Europe. The “LL/XL” in the name signifies the larger screen size, up to 4.25 inches, which is a whopping 93% increase in screen size (pixel count remains the same). It’s a strange update – the screen size increase is nice for games and internet browsing, but it bumps the device up to an awkward, less pocketable size.

The new model also comes in some odd colors. There’s the standard white, but you can also get Wine Red and Dark Brown. The DSi LL/XL will also come bundled with 3 DSiWare titles pre-installed – a couple brain games and the DSi Easy Dictionary. Again, it’s sort of a confusing mix of features. If anything, it seems like the new model is being marketed at an older crowd, not exactly the hottest market around.

The big DSi will cost approximately $220, though there’s no word on a North American release just yet.

I tried to find a bigger picture of what you see at right, but there just wasn’t much out there so it’ll have to do. That’s a picture of the newest poster up on Club Nintendo, which features Link’s many faces over his 20-year history. The poster is one in a set of three, the other two of which are promos for Phantom Hourglass and Twilight Princess.

For 350 coins you’ll get this great piece of memorabilia along with the other two posters. To be honest, I don’t even care about the other two posters. This one is good enough by itself. The prom posters measure 22 in x 28 in while the “History of Link” poster comes 16.5 in x 28.7 in.

Over the weekend an intrepid hacker supposedly dug his way into the heart of 5th Cell’s Scribblenauts and dug out the complete word list. The list, which contained 22,802 words, was then leaked all over the web. It seemed everywhere I looked at least someone had a spoiler alert for the list. Well as it turns out, that list was wrong.

Speaking to Fast Company, the Scribblenauts lead designer Jeremiah Slackza said the hacker didn’t get things right. “That was leaked by a hacker who does not know anything,” he said. “It’s more than that.” Slackza also revealed the last word added to the game, “Low Rider.”

I still haven’t played the game, and I’ll admit, it’s driving me a little insane. Knowing that the word count is even higher than that already astronomical 22,802 figure is making things worse. I’m going to go play that other game where you type things in and they show up on screen.

Remember that neat little DS look alike app that appeared on the App Store not too long ago? Well it got pulled, and fairly quickly, and it turns out Nintendo is to blame.

The news came in the form of an email to CNet columnist Don Reisinger. According to Charlie Scibetta, a spokesman for Nintendo, the company felt it needed to protect its IP rights. “Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies, and in turn expects others to respect ours as well. Nintendo did seek the removal of this application as we vigorously protect against infringement of our intellectual property rights.”

Nintendo did more than just pull the app. They’ve also pulled a video from YouTube that displayed the app being used. Apparently they didn’t want anyone else getting any smart ideas.

If you’re a serious sociophobe when it comes to renting video games you have reason to rejoice today. Redbox, maker of those red…boxes that allow you to be the subject of much animosity as you slowly browse for your DVD of choice, has added video game kiosks to its manless rental station armada.

For now the selection is pretty slim, and the prices are a little steep. Games will run you $2 a night (by comparison, Blockbuster gives you 5 nights for $9 – then again, they’ll also make you talk to someone; is it just me or have Blockbuster employees gotten ridiculously annoying?) for Wii, DS, 360, PS2, and PS3 titles. Of course they did just launch the service, so selection is likely to improve, but price probably won’t. The stations are available now in the Reno, Nevada area.

In a recent investor Q&A, Satoru Iwata was confident in the continued success of Nintendo’s Wii and DS, pretty much as they exist now. Yes, just as they exist now. No Wii HD. No serious DS makeover. Just the consoles we know and millions love.

According to Iwata, some 209 million people are actively using Nintendo’s current generation of hardware. He believes there is real potential for that number to double. “Numerically there is still a possibility to even double the current user population of Wii and DS,” he said. Sounds crazy, but to be honest, who thought the Wii would do what it has done so far? The MotionPlus is blowing up and the DS has consistently done well in every market.

As a word of comfort to investors and gamers alike, Iwata confirmed that the company is not stagnant. He blew the usual huff and puff about hardware development, hinting at the idea that the market just isn’t ready for another console. “When our internal ideas and trend in the world match up, and when it’s clear that we would be able to manufacture an abundant amount at an affordable price, we will be able to publicly speak about next hardware.”

Source: Nintendo

Nintendo has announced that tonight’s DSi firmware update will finally allow uploads of your DSi photos directly to Facebook. The update will be available starting at 8PM EST.

The update is a long time coming, and this new feature has been live in other countries for a bit now. It will be nice, though, for those of you with a DSi to be able to use your images, and from either camera no less. Users can manipulate the photos prior to uploading, which should work like most other mobile uploads.

Not sure how to get the update? Just navigate to your “Settings” menu and look for the system update. It should download fairly quickly.

That’s according to a TellTale Games developer by the forum name “Yare,” anyway. He said as much while addressing user concerns about the performance of Tales of Monkey Island on Nintendo’s Wii.

Here are a few of his more interesting thoughts on Wii development:

The voices and textures are the way they are because we’re limited to 40 megs for WiiWare titles. The PC versions of our games are usually 150+ megs, and most modern games range anywhere from one to ten gigabytes or more. Talk to Nintendo about this one.

Frame rate issues will probably get sorted out eventually, but keep in mind that the Wii is just not a powerful console. An iPhone is much more powerful than a Wii, even. The Wii and DS are extremely underpowered and their popularity doesn’t remove the hardware limitations.

He definitely makes a good point regarding the popularity of Nintendo’s devices. Just because they’re popular doesn’t mean they don’t have limitations.

Source: Examiner