Nintendo Adds Camera to Game Player

By JURO OSAWA

Nintendo Co. is releasing a new version of its popular hand-held videogame player that will come equipped with a camera and audio functions in Japan on Nov. 1.

The latest console comes as Nintendo seeks to bolster its product lineup to fend off rivals, which are gearing up to challenge its dominance of the game-console market ahead of the holiday shopping season.

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Nintendo's new DSi portable videogame console has a flat-screen display and digital camera. It will go on sale beginning Nov. 1 in Tokyo.

Kyoto-based Nintendo, which also produces the Wii game console, said the Nintendo DSi is the world's first hand-held console to come equipped with a camera.

The game player will be priced at 18,900 yen ($178) in Japan and is set to be released overseas next year.

The new model will hit the market as Nintendo seeks new ways to sell the already established DS, short for "dual screen," in Japan.

In addition to having a camera, the DSi will be able to play music or other audio stored in a memory card.

Domestic sales of the devices for the company's fiscal first quarter ended June stood at 580,000 units, down sharply from 2.1 million a year earlier, in a possible sign of saturation. Nintendo had already sold nearly 23 million DS players, accounting for one-fifth of Japan's population, as of June 30 since their launch in 2004.

World-wide DS sales stood at 6.94 million consoles in the quarter ended June 30, down slightly from 6.98 million a year earlier.

Still, Nintendo in August increased its global sales outlook for DS game players and software for the fiscal year ending March to 30.1 million consoles from its earlier forecast of 28 million, citing strong sales in the U.S. and Europe.

Although some observers suggest the market for DS could be near saturation in Japan, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said he sees room for expansion.

Game-console makers are getting ready for the year-end holidays. Sony Corp. plans to launch a new version of its PlayStation Portable hand-held videogame player in Japan and overseas this month. The PSP-3000, equipped with an improved liquid crystal display and a microphone, carries the same price tag of 19,800 yen as the current PSP-2000 model.

Microsoft Corp., meanwhile, has recently cut prices for its Xbox 360 home-use videogame consoles across Asia.