The Nintendo DS is a foldable handheld game console created 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, with the bottom screen acting as a touchscreen. 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 support wireless play for local multiplayer and online gaming through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its main competitor during the seventh generation of video game consoles was Sony’s PlayStation Portable.
At first, the DS was promoted as an experimental "third pillar" in Nintendo’s console lineup, alongside the handheld Game Boy Advance and the home console GameCube. 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 slimmer version, the Nintendo DS Lite, was released in 2006. It had brighter screens and better battery life.
The DS and DS Lite were followed by the Nintendo DSi, released on November 1, 2008. The DSi included 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 introduced digital game downloads but could not play Game Boy Advance cartridges. While many downloadable games were available, only six DSi-exclusive game cards were released. The DS line was later 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 more than 60 percent of all DS hardware sold.
History
The development of the Nintendo DS started around mid-2002, when Hiroshi Yamauchi, the company president, left his role and became an advisor. At that time, he suggested Nintendo explore a system with two screens.
Satoru Iwata became president in May 2002. He noted that Nintendo had fallen behind in trends like online gaming and wanted to attract more people who were not traditional gamers. Studies showed that Nintendo’s focus on unusual hardware had made it harder for other companies to create games for their systems and hurt their competition. Iwata supported creating a handheld device with two screens that would offer new ways to play, be easier for new players, and simpler for game developers to use. Since Nintendo believed people were unlikely to pay for online services, the design focused on wireless features to allow local multiplayer and interactive experiences without subscriptions.
On January 20, 2004, Nintendo announced a new dual-screen game device called the "Nintendo DS," describing it 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, and the project’s internal name was "Nitro." The prototype was shown publicly in May 2004 at E3 in Los Angeles, where 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 described the DS as Nintendo’s first hardware launch under its “Gaming Population Expansion” strategy, highlighting that its touch interface would make games easier to play and calling the project “a completely different concept from existing game devices,” intended to show Nintendo’s innovation.
In February 2004, while the DS was still being developed and concerns about the GameCube’s weak performance existed, 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 US$149.99 (about $260 in 2025), followed by releases in Japan on December 2 for ¥15,000 (about ¥17,040 in 2024), in Australia and New Zealand on February 24, 2005, for A$199.95 (about $310 in 2022) or NZ$249 ($400 in 2026), and in Europe on March 11, 2005, for €149.99 or £99.99 (about £180 in 2025). The North American launch had a midnight event in Los Angeles, while the Japanese launch was quieter, partly due to winter weather.
Nintendo released the DS in North America before Japan, its first hardware launch to follow that order, to prepare for the U.S. holiday season and Black Friday. Demand was high: over three million preorders were placed in North America and Japan, quickly exhausting retailers’ stock. Nintendo planned to ship about one million units for both launches but added production after seeing preorder numbers. For the U.S. launch, 550,000 units were shipped (up from 300,000 planned), with over 500,000 sold in the first week. The system reached one million units sold in the U.S. by December 21, 2004, and worldwide shipments totaled 2.8 million by the end of the year—about 800,000 more than expected. By June 2005, global sales reached 6.65 million units, with some comparing its popularity to the “Tickle Me Elmo” craze of 1996.
Some early units had stuck pixels, common with LCD screens at the time. Nintendo of America launched a program to repair or replace screens if owners felt the issue affected their gaming.
The Nintendo DS was released in China on July 23, 2005, by Nintendo’s partner iQue as the iQue DS. This version had updated firmware to stop game piracy and was released in a new red color. Five games were localized for the system. The iQue DS is the only DS model with regional lockout: games for it cannot be played on DS systems from other regions, though games from other regions work on the iQue DS.
The system’s promotional slogans focused on the word "Touch" in most countries, with the North American slogan being "Touching is good."
The Nintendo DS was seen by many analysts as competing with Sony’s PlayStation Portable, though both companies said their systems targeted different audiences. Time magazine gave the DS a Gadget of the Week award.
At its U.S. release, the Nintendo DS cost US$149.99. The price dropped to US$129.99 on August 21, 2005, one day before the releases of Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
Nine official colors of the Nintendo DS were available through retailers. Titanium-colored units were sold worldwide, Electric Blue was exclusive to North and Latin America, and a red version was bundled with Mario Kart DS. Graphite Black, Pure White, Turquoise Blue, and Candy Pink were available in Japan. Mystic Pink and Cosmic Blue were sold in Australia and New Zealand. Japan’s Candy Pink and Australia’s Cosmic Blue were also sold in Europe and North America through a Nintendogs bundle, though these colors were
Hardware
The Nintendo DS was designed to look similar to older Nintendo products, such as the Game & Watch line, which included games like Donkey Kong and Zelda, and the clamshell-style Game Boy Advance SP. The system has two 3-inch (diagonal) TFT LCD screens, each with 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), and two shoulder buttons (L and R). Its layout is similar to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller. The top edge has a game card slot and power connector, the same as the Game Boy Advance SP, while the bottom includes a slot for Game Boy Advance cartridges.
Stereo speakers on either side of the upper screen can create virtual surround sound. A built-in microphone below the lower screen 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 in a different way. One is an ARM7TDMI, the same as the Game Boy Advance but twice as fast (34 MHz), and it handles input/output tasks and backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance games. The second is an ARM946E-S running at 67 MHz, which does most of the system’s main processing. The two processors share tasks and exchange data as needed.
The system includes several types of memory: 32 kB of work RAM shared between both processors, 64 kB of RAM only accessible by the ARM7, and 4 MB of PSRAM used as main memory. It also has 256 kB of flash memory that stores 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. Its 3D hardware includes a geometry and rendering engine that can create effects like texture mapping, alpha blending, Gouraud shading, cel shading, and basic lighting. However, because it uses nearest-neighbor texture filtering, some games look blocky. The system is limited by a fixed polygon budget—about 2,048 triangles per frame—and can only render 3D graphics on one screen at a time, making dual-screen 3D challenging and performance-heavy. The DS also has 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, allowing local multiplayer and online play through the now-discontinued Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. These standards are now outdated, and WEP is considered insecure.
Nintendo says the rechargeable 850 mAh lithium-ion battery can last up to 10 hours under ideal conditions after a 4-hour charge, though actual battery life depends on factors like volume, screen brightness, wireless use, and whether one or both screens are active. The battery is user-replaceable 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 Nintendo DS. It keeps the original model’s core features 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, while the lower touch screen reaches 190 cd/m². Its 1000 mAh lithium-ion battery provides about 15–19 hours of play after three hours of charging. 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.
Although the secondary port on the Nintendo DS can accept Game Boy Advance cartridges (but not Game Boy or Game Boy Color cartridges), Nintendo said its main purpose was to support accessories for the system.
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 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 with 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 use one screen as an overview with 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. It 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 wireless access point for homes without Wi-Fi, allowing a Wii and up to five Nintendo DS systems to connect to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service through the host computer’s Internet connection. The Wi-Fi USB Connector was eventually discontinued, and the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service ended in 2014.
The Guitar Grip controller, bundled with Guitar Hero: On Tour, plugs into the GBA slot and has four buttons similar to those on full-size Guitar Hero controllers. It includes a stylus shaped like a guitar pick and a hand strap, and ships with an adapter for the original Nintendo DS. The Guitar Grip is also compatible with Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits, and Band Hero.
Software and features
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was a free online game service created by Nintendo. Players who had a Nintendo DS game that worked with Wi-Fi could connect to the service using a Wi-Fi network and a Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector or a wireless router. The service began in North America, Australia, Japan, and Europe in November 2005. A game that worked online was released on the same day in each region.
Later, more Nintendo DS Wi-Fi Connection games and a special web browser for the Nintendo DS were released. Nintendo believed that the success of the online service helped make the Nintendo DS platform more popular. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection was part of the foundation for the later Wii console. Most features for games on both the DS and Wii consoles 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 only one game card. To use this feature, players needed to be within wireless range (about 65 feet) of each other so the guest system could download data from the host system. 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 older games into newer games like Pokémon Black and White. This task required two different game cards and two handheld systems, but only one player could be involved.
Some Nintendo DS stores had DS Download Stations that let users download free demos of current and upcoming DS games. However, because of limited memory, these downloads were deleted when the system was turned off. Each Download Station had 1 to 8 standard DS units and a DS card with the demo data. On May 7, 2008, Nintendo released the Nintendo Channel for download on the Wii. The Nintendo Channel used 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 its own game card. This mode was accessed through an in-game menu, not the regular DS menu.
PictoChat let users talk to other Nintendo DS users within local wireless range. Users could type messages using an on-screen keyboard, write messages with a stylus, or draw pictures on the touchscreen. There were four chatrooms (A, B, C, D) where people could join. Up to 16 people could connect in one room.
PictoChat was not available on later Nintendo 3DS systems.
Nintendo’s firmware starts the system. A health and safety warning appears first, followed by the main menu. The main menu gives players four choices: play a DS game, use PictoChat, start DS Download Play, or play a Game Boy Advance game. The menu also includes options to turn the backlight on or off, adjust system settings, and set an alarm.
The firmware also includes a clock, customization options (such as game boot priority and Game Boy Advance screen preferences), and the ability to enter personal information like name, birthday, and favorite color for use in games.
Consoles from Japan, the United States, and Europe support these languages: English, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. On consoles from mainland China, Japanese is replaced with Chinese. On Korean consoles, Italian is replaced with Korean.
Games
The Nintendo DS can use Game Boy Advance (GBA) 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 use games made for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color because the needed hardware is not included, and the console’s design does not match those older systems.
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, as it is with Game Boy Advance games played via the Virtual Console on the Nintendo 3DS (Ambassadors only) and Wii U.
When playing Game Boy Advance games, the Nintendo DS uses only one screen. The user can choose to use either the top or bottom screen by default. Game Boy Advance games appear inside a black border on the screen because the screen resolutions differ (256 × 192 px for the Nintendo DS, and 240 × 160 px for the Game Boy Advance).
Nintendo DS games inserted into the top slot can detect if a specific Game Boy Advance game is in the bottom slot. In some games, extra content can be unlocked by starting the Nintendo DS game with the correct Game Boy Advance cartridge inserted. Examples include Pokémon Diamond and Pearl or Pokémon Platinum, which allowed players to find more or exclusive Pokémon if a suitable Game Boy Advance game was inserted. Some unlocked content remains even after the GBA game 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, let players use a Nintendo DS for extra features.
The Nintendo DS works with games from any region, but Chinese iQue DS games cannot be played on other versions of the original DS because the firmware lacks the needed Chinese characters. This issue is fixed on Nintendo DSi and 3DS systems. While other DS models cannot play Chinese games, the iQue DS can play games from other regions. Some multiplayer games that require two players to use the same game card may not work across different regions (e.g., a Japanese game might 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 other regions.
Some Wi-Fi-enabled games, like Mario Kart DS, let players choose opponents based on region. Options include "Regional" ("Continent" in Europe) and "Worldwide," as well as two settings that are not based on location. This helps players compete only with others in their area, depending on the game’s region code.
Nintendo DS games use a special type of memory chip called a proprietary solid-state mask ROM, made by Macronix, with an access time of 150 ns. Game cards range from 8 to 512 MiB (64 Mibit to 4 Gibit) in size. 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).
Hacking and homebrew
The R4 cartridge (also called Revolution for DS) is a widely used flash cartridge for the Nintendo DS. It lets users play ROMs and homebrew games on the DS by using a microSD card.
In South Korea, many video game buyers use illegal copies of games, including those that work with the DS. In 2007, more than 500,000 copies of DS games were sold, compared to 800,000 DS hardware units sold.
Another device called Action Replay, made by Datel, is a tool that lets users enter cheat codes to alter games. This can give players unlimited health, special items, the ability to move anywhere in the game, unlimited money, the power to walk through walls, and other abilities depending on the game and code used.