Mario Kart DS makes a date

Nintendo has today revealed that Mario Kart DS will be released in Europe on 11 November and will jump-start the handheld's multiplayer wireless gaming service.

The company made the announcements during a press conference at Germany's Leipzig Games Convention and it assured the gathered audience that its DS wireless service would be easy to access and use: wireless hotspots will be established in shops and no passwords or URLs will be required to connect.

After yesterday's depressing news that the latest Zelda game has been delayed until 2006, the sooner than expected release of Mario Kart DS and the announcement that Game Boy Micro will launch on 4 November should at least give Nintendo fans something to smile about. And something to put on their Christmas lists.