Nintendo to skip Japan's autumn game shows

Japanese console giant Nintendo will not be exhibiting at the Tokyo Game Show this September, and its former annual SpaceWorld show will remain on hiatus for another year, a company spokesperson has confirmed.

The news comes as little surprise, since Nintendo has skipped both SpaceWorld and TGS for several years running - but it does raise questions about how the company will promote the Nintendo DS in the run up to its Japanese launch in November.

"We want as many of our fans in the country as possible to experience the DS before it goes on sale," according to Nintendo spokesperson Mitsuaki Hagishima. "So instead, we're currently planning an effective event that can be expanded to a nationwide scale."

Sony's PlayStation Portable is expected to be publicly playable for the first time at the Tokyo Game Show, which runs on the 25th and 26th of September; Nintendo is likely to try and get the DS into consumer's hands around the same time, but no further details of the company's plans have been revealed as yet.

Interestingly, Hagishima also denied that the company has completely abandoned the SpaceWorld event - which was last held in autumn 2001. "It's not like we won't ever open a SpaceWorld event again," he told Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream. "But we aren't going to hold one this summer."

Last week, reports from Japanese retailers indicated that Nintendo is planning to launch the DS on November 4th at a price of 19,000 Yen (around 140 Euro). An American launch is thought to be on track for November 11th, priced at $179.95 (145 Euro).