Nintendo DSi Arrives in Summer '09

The Nintendo DSi, basically a slimmer Nintendo DS Lite with a camera, launched in Japan at the beginning of this month and quickly sold just over 170,000 units.

Despite handheld gaming systems being a popular item throughout the holiday buying season, Nintendo is set to keep the DSi away from the western market until as late as mid-2009.

"Specific plans will be unveiled by our local subsidiaries, but an autumn or year-end launch would probably be too late," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata last Friday in a Reuters report.

Nintendo shipped 200,000 DSi handhelds to Japanese retailers at launch, selling 170,779 of them according to PC World’s use of Enterbrain data.

While it’s unclear if Nintendo is hitting limits on DSi production, the handheld’s delay in North America and Europe could mean that those who acquire a new DS Lite this holiday could feel a slight burn when the newer version already exists but just isn’t readily available.