The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console made by Nintendo and released worldwide in 2004 and 2005. The name "DS" stands for "Dual Screen," which describes the system's main feature: two LCD screens that work together. The lower screen can be touched to control games. Both screens are placed in a hinged design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP and some Game & Watch models. The DS was one of the first portable consoles to allow wireless multiplayer games over short distances and online play through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service, which is no longer available. Its main competitor during the seventh generation of consoles was Sony’s PlayStation Portable.
At first, the DS was introduced as an experimental addition to Nintendo’s lineup, meant to work with the Game Boy Advance handhelds and the GameCube home console. Its ability to play Game Boy Advance games and strong sales led many to see it as the next step in the Game Boy line. A thinner version called the Nintendo DS Lite was released in 2006. It had brighter screens and better battery life.
The DS and DS Lite were later followed by the Nintendo DSi, released on November 1, 2008. The DSi added two digital cameras, larger screens, more memory, a faster processor, and internal flash memory. It also came in a larger version called the DSi XL. The DSi allowed games to be downloaded, but it could not play Game Boy Advance cartridges. While many downloadable games were available, only six DSi-exclusive game cards were made. The DS line was eventually replaced by the Nintendo 3DS in February 2011.
Including the DS Lite and DSi models, the Nintendo DS sold 154 million units, making it the best-selling Nintendo console until the Nintendo Switch surpassed it in 2025. It is also the third best-selling video game console of all time, after the PlayStation 2 and the Switch. The DS Lite made up over 60 percent of all DS console sales.
History
The development of the Nintendo DS started around mid-2002. At that time, Hiroshi Yamauchi, the company’s president, stepped down and became an advisor. He suggested that Nintendo explore a system with two screens.
Satoru Iwata became president in May 2002. He noted that Nintendo had fallen behind in areas like online gaming and wanted to attract more people who were not traditional gamers. Research showed that Nintendo’s past focus on unique hardware had made it harder for other companies to create games for its systems. Iwata supported creating a handheld device with two screens. This device would offer new ways to play, be easier for people to use, and help developers make games more simply. Nintendo believed people would not pay for online services, so the design focused on wireless features that allowed local multiplayer and interactive games without subscriptions.
On January 20, 2004, Nintendo announced a new dual-screen game device called the “Nintendo DS.” It was described as an experimental “third pillar” alongside the Game Boy Advance and GameCube, not a replacement for them. At first, few details were shared, except that it would have two 3-inch TFT LCD screens, two processors, and up to 128 MB of memory.
In March 2004, a leaked document revealed more details, including that one screen would be touch-sensitive. The device was named “Nitro” during development. A prototype was shown publicly in May 2004 at E3 in Los Angeles. Nintendo of America’s president, Reggie Fils-Aimé, said the design might change before launch. On July 28, 2004, Nintendo unveiled a redesigned version and confirmed the name “Nintendo DS.”
Iwata said the DS was Nintendo’s first hardware launch to support its “Gaming Population Expansion” strategy. He highlighted that its touch-based interface would make games easier to play and called the project “a completely different concept from existing game devices.”
In February 2004, while the DS was still being developed, Yamauchi said, “If the DS succeeds, we will rise to heaven, but if it fails we will sink to hell.”
On September 20, 2004, Nintendo announced the DS would launch in North America on November 21, 2004, for $149.99 (about $260 today). It would later launch in Japan on December 2, 2004, for ¥15,000 (about ¥17,040 today), and in other regions in early 2005. The North American launch had a midnight event in Los Angeles, while the Japanese launch was quieter, partly because of cold weather.
Nintendo released the DS in North America before Japan, its first hardware launch to follow this order. Demand was high: over 3 million units were preordered in North America and Japan. Nintendo planned to ship about 1 million units but added production after seeing preorder numbers. For the U.S. launch, 550,000 units were shipped (up from 300,000 planned), and over 500,000 sold in the first week. The system reached 1 million sales in the U.S. by December 21, 2004, and sold 2.8 million units worldwide by the end of the year—800,000 more than expected. By June 2005, global sales reached 6.65 million units, compared to the popularity of the “Tickle Me Elmo” toy in 1996.
Some early units had stuck pixels, a common issue with LCD screens at the time. Nintendo of America offered repairs or replacements if stuck pixels affected gameplay.
The DS was released in China on July 23, 2005, by Nintendo’s partner iQue as the iQue DS. This version had updated firmware to prevent piracy and used a new red color. Five games were localized for it. The iQue DS was the only DS model with regional lockout: games for it could not be played on other DS models, though games from other regions worked on the iQue DS.
The DS’s slogans used the word “Touch” in most countries. The North American slogan was “Touching is good.”
Many analysts saw the DS as competing with Sony’s PlayStation Portable, though both companies said their systems targeted different audiences. Time magazine named the DS “Gadget of the Week.”
At launch, the DS cost $149.99 in the U.S. The price dropped to $129.99 on August 21, 2005, one day before the release of Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
Nine official colors of the DS were available through retailers. Titanium was sold worldwide, Electric Blue was exclusive to North and Latin America, and red was bundled with Mario Kart DS. Other colors were available in Japan, Australia, and Europe.
The Nintendo DS Lite was announced on January 26, 2006, and shown at E3 2006. It launched in Japan on March 2, 2006. Demand was high, leading to shortages. Nintendo shipped 550,000 units in March 2006 and added 700,000 more in April, but retailers still sold out quickly. Shortages continued through 2006 and 2007.
The DS Lite launched in Australia on June 1, 2006, bundled with a Brain Age demo. North America followed on June 11, 2006, with some retailers selling units early. Nintendo reported selling 136,500 units in the first two days.
In Europe, the DS Lite launched on June 23, 2006, with early sales in Finland and Sweden to avoid a holiday. Nintendo sold 200,000 units in Europe in the first ten days. A shipment of consoles and games worth HK$18 million (about $2.32 million today) was stolen in Hong Kong while being sent to Europe.
After Nintendo of Korea opened in July 2006, the DS Lite was its first console release on January 18, 2007. Promoted by actors Jang Dong-gun and Ahn Sung-ki, it sold over 1 million units in South Korea in its first year, reaching 1.4 million by April 2008.
The DS Lite was reportedly discontinued in April 2011.
As of March 31, 2016, all Nintendo DS models combined sold 154.02 million units. Most of these were the DS Lite, according to Nintendo.
Hardware
The Nintendo DS was designed to look similar to earlier Nintendo products, such as the dual-screen Game & Watch devices like Donkey Kong and Zelda, as well as the clamshell-style Game Boy Advance SP.
The system has two 3-inch (diagonal) TFT LCD screens. Each screen has a resolution of 256 × 192 pixels and a 4:3 aspect ratio. The lower screen has a resistive touchscreen that can be used with a finger or the included stylus, which is stored in a slot on the device. The system also includes a D-pad, six action buttons (A, B, X, Y, Start, and Select) on the front, and two shoulder buttons (L and R). The layout of these controls is similar to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller. The top edge of the device has a game card slot and a power connector, the same as the Game Boy Advance SP. The bottom edge includes a slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges.
Stereo speakers are placed on either side of the upper screen and can create the illusion of surround sound. A built-in microphone is located below the lower screen and is used for features like speech recognition, voice chat, and gameplay actions that require blowing or shouting into it.
The Nintendo DS has two processors that work together. One is an ARM7TDMI, the same processor used in the Game Boy Advance but running at twice the speed (34 MHz). This processor handles input/output tasks and ensures compatibility with Game Boy Advance software. The second processor is an ARM946E-S running at 67 MHz, which performs most of the system’s main tasks. The two processors share tasks and exchange data as needed by the software.
The system includes several types of memory: 32 kB of work RAM shared by both processors, an additional 64 kB of RAM used only by the ARM7, and 4 MB of PSRAM, which is the main system memory. It also has 256 kB of flash memory to store firmware, user preferences, and system settings. Firmware updates were not meant to be installed by users.
The DS has 656 kB of video memory and two 2D graphics engines (one for each screen), which are more advanced than the single engine in the Game Boy Advance. The 3D hardware includes a geometry and rendering engine capable of effects like texture mapping, alpha blending, Gouraud shading, cel shading, and basic lighting. However, the system uses a texture filtering method that can make some games look blocky. It also has a fixed limit on how many 3D shapes (about 2,048 triangles) can be displayed per frame and can only render 3D graphics on one screen at a time. This makes dual-screen 3D challenging and performance-heavy. The DS includes 512 kB of texture memory and supports textures up to 1024 × 1024 pixels.
The Nintendo DS supports Wi-Fi using the IEEE 802.11b standard, with optional WEP encryption. This allowed local multiplayer games over short distances and online play through the now-discontinued Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. These standards are now outdated, and WEP encryption is considered insecure.
The system has a rechargeable 850 mAh lithium-ion battery that lasts up to 10 hours under ideal conditions after a 4-hour charge. Actual battery life depends on factors like volume, screen brightness, wireless use, and whether one or both screens are active. The battery can be replaced by the user with a Phillips screwdriver and loses capacity after about 500 charge cycles.
Closing the system activates a sleep mode that pauses most games and conserves power by turning off the screens, speakers, and wireless features. Sleep mode does not work when playing Game Boy Advance titles, and some DS games do not pause. A few games use closing the system as part of gameplay.
The Nintendo DS Lite is a redesigned version of the original DS. It keeps the core features of the original but has a slimmer case, a larger stylus, improved battery life, and brighter displays. The top screen has a maximum brightness of 200 cd/m², and the lower screen reaches 190 cd/m². Its 1000 mAh lithium-ion battery provides about 15–19 hours of play after a 3-hour charge. The DS Lite uses a different AC adapter than the original DS and Game Boy Advance SP due to a smaller power port. The included stylus is 1 cm longer and 2 mm thicker than the original model.
The secondary port on the Nintendo DS can accept Game Boy Advance cartridges but not Game Boy or Game Boy Color cartridges. Nintendo stated that this port was primarily for supporting accessories.
The Rumble Pak was the first accessory for the expansion slot. It looks like a Game Boy Advance cartridge and provides force feedback in compatible games. It was released in North America and Japan in 2005 bundled with Metroid Prime Pinball. In Europe, it was first bundled with Actionloop and later with Metroid Prime Pinball, and was also sold separately.
The Nintendo DS Headset is an official headset that connects to the combination headphone–microphone jack on the bottom of the system. It includes a single earphone and microphone and works with games that support voice input. It was released alongside Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in North America and Australia.
On February 15, 2006, Nintendo announced a version of the Opera web browser for the system. The browser can display an overview on one screen and a zoomed view on the other, or combine both screens into a single tall page view. It was released in Japan and Europe in 2006 and in North America in 2007. The browser requires the included memory expansion pak in the Game Boy Advance slot to operate.
This accessory connects to a PC’s USB port and creates a small
Software and features
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was a free online game service operated by Nintendo. Players with a Nintendo DS game that worked with the service could connect to it through a Wi-Fi network using a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector or a wireless router. The service started in North America, Australia, Japan, and Europe during November 2005. A game that worked with the online service was released on the same day in each region.
Later, more Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection games and a special Nintendo DS web browser were released. Nintendo believed that the success of this online platform helped increase the popularity of the Nintendo DS. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was an early part of the system that would later become the Wii. Most features for games on both the DS and Wii were stopped worldwide on May 20, 2014.
Download Play allowed users to play multiplayer games with other Nintendo DS systems and later Nintendo 3DS systems using just one game card. For the guest system to download the needed data from the host system, the systems had to be within wireless range (up to about 65 feet) of each other. Only some games supported this feature, and these games usually had fewer features than the full version.
Download Play was also used to move Pokémon from fourth-generation games into fifth-generation games like Pokémon Black and White. This task required two different game cards and two handheld units, but only one player was needed.
Some Nintendo DS stores had DS Download Stations that let users download free demos of current and upcoming DS games. However, due to memory limits, the downloaded demos were deleted when the system was turned off. Each Download Station had 1 to 8 standard retail DS units, with one DS card containing the demo data. On May 7, 2008, Nintendo released the Nintendo Channel for download on the Wii. The Nintendo Channel used a feature called WiiConnect24 to download DS demos. From there, users could choose a demo, download it to their DS, and play it until the system was powered off.
Multi-Card Play, like Download Play, allowed users to play multiplayer games with other Nintendo DS systems. In this case, each system needed a game card. This mode was accessed through an in-game menu, not the normal DS menu.
PictoChat let users talk with other Nintendo DS users within local wireless range. Users could type messages using an on-screen keyboard, write messages or draw pictures using the stylus and touchscreen. There were four chatrooms (A, B, C, D) where people could chat. Up to 16 people could join any one room.
PictoChat was not available on later Nintendo 3DS systems.
Nintendo’s own firmware starts the system. A health and safety warning appears first, then the main menu loads. The main menu gives players four main choices: play a DS game, use PictoChat, start DS Download Play, or play a Game Boy Advance game. The menu also has other options, such as turning the back light on or off, changing system settings, and setting an alarm.
The firmware also includes a clock, options to customize settings (like game priority when inserted and Game Boy Advance screen preferences), and the ability to enter user information (like name, birthday, and favorite color) that can be used in games.
Japanese, American, and European consoles supported the following languages: English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. On consoles from mainland China, Chinese replaced Japanese, and on Korean consoles, Korean replaced Italian.
Games
The Nintendo DS can play Game Boy Advance (GBA) games using special cartridges. The smaller Nintendo DS game cards fit into a slot on the top of the system, while Game Boy Advance games fit into a slot on the bottom. The Nintendo DS, like the Game Boy Micro, cannot play games made for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color because the system lacks the needed hardware and has physical differences that prevent compatibility with those older games.
The Nintendo DS does not have a port for the Game Boy Advance Link Cable, so multiplayer and GameCube–Game Boy Advance link-up modes are not available in Game Boy Advance titles. Only single-player mode is supported on the Nintendo DS, just as it is with Game Boy Advance games played through the Virtual Console on the Nintendo 3DS (for Ambassadors only) and Wii U.
When playing Game Boy Advance games, the Nintendo DS uses only one screen. The user can choose whether the top or bottom screen is used by default. The games appear inside a black border on the screen because the screen resolutions are slightly different: 256 × 192 pixels for the Nintendo DS and 240 × 160 pixels for the Game Boy Advance.
Nintendo DS games inserted into the top slot can detect if specific Game Boy Advance games are in the bottom slot. In some games, either during gameplay or in the instruction manual, extra content can be unlocked by starting the Nintendo DS game with the correct Game Boy Advance cartridge inserted. For example, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl or Pokémon Platinum allowed players to find more or exclusive Pokémon if a suitable Game Boy Advance cartridge was used. Some of this extra content remains even after the GBA cartridge is removed.
The GBA slot can also hold expansion paks, such as the Rumble Pak, Nintendo DS Memory Expansion Pak, and Guitar Grips for the Guitar Hero: On Tour series. The Nintendo DSi and DSi XL have an SD card slot instead of a second cartridge slot and cannot play Game Boy Advance games or Guitar Hero: On Tour. Some Wii games, like Band Hero, allow players to use a Nintendo DS for additional features.
The Nintendo DS is region free, meaning any console can play a Nintendo DS game purchased anywhere in the world. However, Chinese iQue DS games cannot be played on other versions of the original DS because the firmware chip lacks the necessary Chinese character images. This restriction does not apply to Nintendo DSi and 3DS systems. While other region DS consoles cannot play Chinese games, the iQue DS can play games from other regions. Some multiplayer games that require two players to have the same Nintendo DS game card may not work together if the games are from different regions (e.g., a Japanese game may not work with a North American copy, though some titles like Mario Kart DS are compatible). With the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, certain games can be played online with users from different regions.
Some Wi-Fi enabled games, such as Mario Kart DS, let players choose opponents by region. The options include "Regional" ("Continent" in Europe) and "Worldwide," as well as two non-location-specific settings. This allows players to compete only with opponents from the same area, based on the region code of the game being used.
Nintendo DS games use a special type of memory chip called a solid state mask ROM, manufactured by Macronix, with an access time of 150 ns. Game cards range in size from 8 to 512 MiB (64 Mibit to 4 Gibit), though the exact maximum capacity is not confirmed. Larger cards transfer data 25% slower than smaller ones. Most cards include a small amount of flash memory or an EEPROM to save user data, such as game progress or high scores. The game cards measure 35 mm × 33 mm × 3.8 mm (1.38 in × 1.30 in × 0.15 in) and weigh about 3.5 g (1/8 oz). They are roughly half the width and depth of Game Boy Advance cartridges.
Hacking and homebrew
The R4 cartridge (also called Revolution for DS) is a common type of memory card used with the Nintendo DS. It lets users play game files (called ROMs) and homemade games on the DS by using a microSD card.
In South Korea, many people who buy video games use illegal copies of games, including those that work with the DS. In 2007, more than 500,000 copies of DS games were sold, while 800,000 DS hardware units were sold.
Another device called Action Replay, made by Datel, is a tool that lets users enter special codes to change how games work. These codes can give players unlimited health, extra items, the ability to move freely in the game, unlimited in-game money, and the power to pass through walls. Other features depend on the game and the specific code used.