Nintendo rumored to be updating DS with camera and MP3

The hot news over the weekend: The infinitely popular Nintendo DS Lite may be getting an upgrade, soon to be including MP3 playback capabilities and a camera. Officially Nintendo says it has no comment, though it has not denied the rumor.

But Nikkei Net has lots of details on the supposed product, including a price (16,800 yen, or $158), and availability set for 2008. The report, which has been cited on gaming sites across the Web, even says that you'll be able to use photos you snap in new kinds of games, and music and photos will be accessible via wireless connection and SD card. (That would also suggest that the DS would add a new storage slot to the mix.) The screen is rumored to be larger, too.

The launch is said to be set for Japan first and only with a few hundred thousand units, which is typical for Nintendo, so even if the rumor pans out, it's unlikely we'll see units on our shores before 2009. (And even then we'll undoubtedly be in another Wii/PS3 situation with shortages, long lines, and gunfire.) To put that in perspective, the company plans to sell 28 million DS units this year worldwide.

The move would be an interesting, and probably successful one, for Nintendo. The DS is a phenomenon that's far larger than almost any other gadget (only the iPod is really competitive), and it makes sense for Nintendo to upgrade its game device to grow along with its young customer base. As kids stop playing cake-baking games, they start snapping pictures and listening to music... so why not give them everything in one package, right? Especially one they're already intimately familiar with....

Now all Nintendo needs to do is add a cell phone to the DS and they'll have a lock on tweens for life.