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Japan-only device lets DS and DS Lite owners watch TV on the go

Nintendo's plucky little handheld, the Nintendo DS, and its smaller sibling, the DS Lite, have the lion's share of the mobile gaming market, with over 54 million units sold worldwide since the initial launch. But rather than rest on their laurels and be content with dominating the portable gaming sector, Nintendo recently announced the "DS-TV" on their Japanese site, a cartridge with an attached antenna that would allow DS and DS Lite owners to watch their favourite programs on the go.

Unfortunately Nintendo underestimated the demand for TV on the go -- and shortly after beginning to accept pre-orders, the site was crushed under the inbound traffic from eager buyers.

A Nintendo Japan representative stated that the company expected a quiet launch of the DS-TV, and rather minimal turnout for a piece of non-gaming hardware.
 
While there is no English page available, some information can be gleaned from the site, such as the price of the unit at 6,800 yen (approximately US$63) and estimated battery life of between 3.5-5 hours, depending on the brightness of the DS screen.
 
Unfortunately for hopeful importers, the question of "Can the DS-TV be used in foreign countries?" is answered with a firm "No." Nintendo currently has no plans to launch the DS-TV outside Japan.

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Morning commute?
By Spartan Niner on 11/22/2007 1:19:59 PM , Rating: 2
Hmm, let's see.

Long morning commute? Check.
Already have a DS? Check.
Want to see the latest news? Check.

TV on my DS for so few yen? Nintendo has a winner on their hands.




RE: Morning commute?
By Chris Peredun on 11/22/2007 1:29:59 PM , Rating: 1
Judging by the lack of interest and commentary on this article, you appear to be the only one who thinks so. :(


RE: Morning commute?
By Alexstarfire on 11/22/2007 4:09:38 PM , Rating: 2
Could be that people are traveling. I mean, it is the day before Thanksgiving.

Anyways, it sounds cool but it's not that much of a surprise that they won't release it in the US. We're phasing out Analog TV, though I'm still not sure if that's the Analog Tuner or the actual antenna, but if it's the latter then Nintendo would only have about 1 year to sell the things. That just isn't a good business idea.

One thing the article doesn't say though is whether the tuner could be used on US DSs in Japan. I'm not sure if the portables have different regions, but it they do it'd be interesting to know. When flying to Taiwan we usually have a pit stop in Japan. Next time I go I'll probably spend a couple days in Japan.


RE: Morning commute?
By StevoLincolnite on 11/22/2007 11:09:34 PM , Rating: 2
Well if they are selling like hot cakes over there, I would imagine it might be similar in other places of the world, we to here in Australia are Phasing out Analogue T.V in order for HD T.V - In-fact I am an early adopter, And you do indeed use you're old Antenna, but the problem I see is... I live in a poor Anologue T.V reception area, so if they did Intend to launch a HD Tuner version, then the options will either be "Reception or no reception" - You won't even be able to pick up a "Just watchable" Reception.

And If the Japanese use the NTSC region then I gather you could use a US DS for this. - Otherwise I guess not.


RE: Morning commute?
By Spartan Niner on 11/23/2007 1:33:11 AM , Rating: 3
What is this travel you speak of?

You mean people who comment on DailyTech actually have lives and don't spend every waking moment in front of a computer?

Impossible.


RE: Morning commute?
By afkrotch on 11/23/07, Rating: 0
RE: Morning commute?
By StevoLincolnite on 11/23/2007 9:28:23 AM , Rating: 2
Not sure when you American's are phasing out Analogue in favor of HD signals, but Analogue grinds to a halt in 2008 for free-to-air broadcasts in Australia - making this gadget useless.


RE: Morning commute?
By LCC2286 on 11/23/2007 12:18:40 PM , Rating: 2
This is a digital over the air broadcast receiver so it's not quite as useless as you think :)


RE: Morning commute?
By StevoLincolnite on 11/23/2007 11:40:31 PM , Rating: 2
Yes, but is it compatible with Australian Standards? ;)


RE: Morning commute?
By jhinoz on 11/25/2007 11:12:40 PM , Rating: 2
JPY 6800 buys nearly a year of mobile TV, why have to carry your phone and a DS? And you're getting more channels.


RE: Morning commute?
By Scrogneugneu on 11/22/2007 10:38:53 PM , Rating: 2
I'll have to wait and see if it's a trend, but I'd say that the new AnandTech website design reduced traffic for DailyTech.


RE: Morning commute?
By onereddog on 11/22/2007 11:59:06 PM , Rating: 2
How many channels (on average between different regions) does Japan have in the old analouge format?

i for instance live in New Zealand and with an analogue antenna I will be able to pick up 4 channels on average. It seems not worth my while to spend that money on an antenna to pick up four channels (two of which will be informaecials in the morning).


RE: Morning commute?
By afkrotch on 11/23/2007 7:16:59 AM , Rating: 4
I used to live in Fussa, Tokyo. I moved in July 2007 out of the country. On average, you'll have 50+ channels being thrown around.

The only competition this little attachment would have would be roughly like 10 cellphones put out by AU, Docomo, and Softbank. That's right, Japan has cellphones that can view analog tv.

That or the PSP's ability to stream video through the internet. For a region like Tokyo, it's a great thing. For outside, not so much. No matter where I was roaming in Tokyo, I always could get a wireless signal. Sure, it was someone's home, but oh well. Shouldn't have left it wide open.


RE: Morning commute?
By Screwballl on 11/23/2007 2:36:50 PM , Rating: 2
Since they use a modified NTSC signal, it might need to be converted to standard NTSC here in the US plus as all signals over the air will be going all digital in 2009, that would require a converter somehow built into the device (unless Japan is already all digital???). Japan has a custom version called NTSC-J.
Since the US is much more spread out, it would be popular in areas that have several channels available OTA but everywhere else in the US it would be a flop. This is likely why they determined it would not come to the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSC


RE: Morning commute?
By Anonymous Freak on 11/24/2007 12:44:04 AM , Rating: 3
Japan uses NTSC, but modded for analog high-definition. In the U.S., we have analog standard-definition NTSC which is being replaced by high definition digital ATSC.

The U.S. is phasing out analog NTSC altogether in 2009, and selling new tuners that are only capable of NTSC is forbidden. This means that the product can't be sold in the U.S. without adding an ATSC tuner, which would be expensive, since an ATSC tuner also needs an MPEG-2 decoder.


cool
By MangoSRT8 on 11/22/2007 1:35:00 PM , Rating: 2
I wish it had a cute little Satellite dish thingy that rotated in a circle and made beep noises.




RE: cool
By sinful on 11/22/2007 2:02:16 PM , Rating: 5
You get that with the "Godzilla Warning System", also only available in Japan.
=P


RE: cool
By MangoSRT8 on 11/22/2007 2:46:36 PM , Rating: 2
Hahhahahhaa


Nintendo should make an ev-do tuner
By SilthDraeth on 11/22/2007 7:45:16 PM , Rating: 2
For use on either Sprint, or Verizon to compliment the wi-fi.

Maybe in the next DS, or Gameboy iteration. Keep in mind the DS wasn't supposed to be the successor to the Gameboy.




By afkrotch on 11/23/2007 7:27:44 AM , Rating: 3
Ya, Nintendo says it wasn't suppose to be, but that's all it really is though. A successor to the Gameboy. It's nothing more than a Gameboy with more features. Even supports Gameboy Advance games.


By LCC2286 on 11/23/2007 12:16:31 PM , Rating: 2
"Spreading the rumors, it's very easy because the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim its credible because you spoke to someone at Apple." -- Investment guru Jim Cramer









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