DS Lite US launch – week before E3?

Well, seeing as the Nintendo news and rumours we’ve been hearing about this week have mostly been fairly negative (i.e. Zelda slips again), we thought we’d give you a few positive ones mixed in with some hardcore, old-fashioned facts to add a little more sweetness to an otherwise drab and grey Wednesday.

Respected Wired magazine contributor and author of a number of good books on gaming, Chris Kohler, reminded us yesterday not to be too dismayed by the news that Zelda: Twilight Princess has slipped back to the end of the year.

As he sagely advises: “Get over it. Remember when it was normal for Nintendo games to be delayed a year? You couldn't wake up in the morning without finding out that a Nintendo game just got pushed back twelve months. Let's not fret.”

Wise words mate. But what are we to do in the meantime? The PS3 might come out in Spring 2007 if we are lucky. The Xbox 360 sits in the corner of the lounge gathering dust, awaiting something to justify the excessive amount of money we’ve all gone and spent on the goddamn buzzy brick. The DS in our bag is already looking like an old toy we are now even more than slightly embarrassed about pulling out on public transport. And the Revolution, it seems, will not be (high-def) televised. It’s all doom and gloom innit?

Well, no. Clearly. And as Mr Kohler reminded us, cheering us up no end: “let's just enjoy the fact that New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS just got an official release date, and it's soon: May 7... Many people have pointed out that May 7 is a Sunday, but nearly every other Nintendo title is always released on a Tuesday. What gives? Can't help but notice that Sunday is the preferred day for hardware launches, and May 7 -- just before E3 -- might be an opportune time to have the DS Lite take its bow.”

Of course! It all makes sense! If we’ve all finally got our mitts on a DS Lite and New Super Mario Bros the week before E3, then what else is anybody going to be talking about at the show but this? Add that it also makes more sense, in light of breaking news regarding Nintendo’s plans to have up to a million DS Lites produced for the Japanese launch next month and recent comments from Nintendo UK execs regarding the European launch being ‘way earlier than August’.