File this under things that your mother probably won’t dig so much. But I can see women in the late 20s to early 30s bracket jumping for this one. Especially if they’ve popped out some offspring already and thus feel that the promotion is particularly fitting for them. This lime green DS comes bundled with the ever popular Cooking Mama title, as well as a matching lime green carrying case/purse. Cute… Read the rest of this entry »

Language and culture have become one of Japan’s biggest exports over the past 10 or 15 years. The popularity of Anime, Manga, and video games has given rise to an entire sub-culture in the west, a group very keen to learn about all things Japanese. With that in mind, I’d like to introduce a few DS games that might help with Japanese language study. Keep in mind that while there are a ton of study games on the market, the vast majority are targeted at native Japanese speakers who want to brush up on their own language skills. Read the rest of this entry »

After Scrabble enjoyed an unauthorized Facebook renaissance last year, it makes sense that 2009 would see the game expand onto even more platforms. Read the rest of this entry »

Age of Empires: Mythologies falls into the unusual category of turn-based strategy games. What does that mean exactly? Well if you’ve ever played checkers or chess then you’ve played a turn-based strategy game. Mythologies resembles chess in that you control an army on a battlefield grid of limited size, positioned opposite your enemy’s army. But unlike chess you must not only decide whether to attack or defend, but also whether to build or farm; mine for resources or invoke the gods. Read the rest of this entry »

While your heart is certainly in the right place by trying to take care of your screen, you should know that it’s not always a good idea to buy a film screen protector for your Nintendo DS. They do prevent your console from daily wear and some will also reduce glare from the screen. But certain screen protectors can be difficult to remove, and some might even damage the display. Read the rest of this entry »

The Osaka Board of Education recently made big news with the announcement that they would experiment with Nintendo DS consoles as a part of in-class learning in many of their schools. Given the recent success of games like Brain Age this makes perfect sense. It took educators a little while to catch on, but it’s good to see them finally recognizing the potential of the DS. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in the market for a do-it-all device, it’s likely that you’ll find yourself torn between two super gadgets: the Nintendo DS and Apple’s iPhone. Deciding between these two is now more difficult than ever, and the dividing line between their respective functions is beginning to blur. The iPhone is moving further into gaming with its fancy new accelerometer, and they’re making good progress to date with 60 of the top 100 spots in the app store occupied by games. While Apple’s gaming ambitions might not be breaking news, it is noteworthy to hear more and more noise in recent weeks about how the NDS is poised to invade the iPhones territory. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s important to know how to properly care for your Nintendo DS or DSi. Generally the console is a pretty durable and maintenance shouldn’t require much effort on your part. That said, there are a few key points that every DS owner should know and understand when it comes to taking care of their device. Read the rest of this entry »

Buying for the gamer in your life can potentially be a chore, especially if you’re not a gamer yourself. You know they like Mario, so they’re bound to like Wario too, right? Maybe… But then again, maybe not. There are a lot of variables to consider when shopping for games. Just keep in mind a few of the following tips and I guarantee you’ll be ok. Read the rest of this entry »

With the American release date for the Nintendo DSi just over a week away I’m sure that all you fanboys out there have only one question on your mind: To upgrade or not to upgrade? While I can’t answer that question for you, I can tell you a few things that DSi project leader Masato Kuwahara said about the new hardware at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco yesterday Read the rest of this entry »