No DS redesign, says Nintendo

Nintendo of Europe has told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz, that there are no plans to unveil a redesigned version of the Nintendo DS this week - despite rumours to the contrary.

Reports of a redesign began to emerge after online retailer Lik-Sang said Nintendo was planning to unveil the new unit at a press conference in Japan today. Lik-Sang's claims were backed up by Japanese retail sources.

But a Nintendo spokesperson has dismissed the reports, describing them as "pure rumour and speculation." However, although a redesign will not be revealed as soon as has been rumoured, it seems highly likely that Nintendo will unveil a new, more compact DS at some point in the near future.

Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed late last year that a redesign was in the pipeline, for starters. Plus, Nintendo has used the redesign strategy before, and made a big fat bundle of money in the process - both the GBA SP and Game Boy Micro have sold very well indeed.

All things considered, it's more a question of when rather than if as far as a DS redesign is concerned - and although Nintendo has ruled out this week, it's unlikely that the wait will be too long.