Nintendo DS (Dual Screen) is a handheld console from Nintendo, released November 21st 2004 in North America at a price of US$149 followed by a Japanese release of 2nd December 2004 at a price of 15 000 Yen, a UK release on 19th March 2005, and an Australian release on March 24th 2005. It features a number of groundbreaking innovations such as dual 3 inch screens and voice recognition capabilities.
This isn't the first time Nintendo has used dual screens in a handheld. Some of their Game & Watch releases came with dual screens. But back in the 1980s, when they were released, no-one could have imagined how far technology would advance over the next 20 years. The second of the two screens on the DS provides a means of displaying additional information about a game (such as map data, similar to the way the Dreamcast VMU would display information about games on the Dreamcast) and may also be used as a touch screen which means players will no longer have to rely solely on buttons for controlling game play. The touch screen can be operated using fingertips or the provided stylus (like a PDA).
Voice recognition capabilities allow another new method of input using voice commands rather than the traditional button controls. It also would allow players to chat to one another if connected to the Internet using the Nintendo DS's LAN connection, which also allows for an infinite number of players to connect at a hot spot and compete at a central game hub.
The above snippet of information was written by Console Database
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