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Nintendo has always been popular for its handheld family of Gameboy systems. Over 26 million Gameboy Advance SP systems are floating around homes across North America as we speak, and the number is constantly growing. This figure doesn’t even bring into consideration the number of original Gameboy Advance systems still in use. It’s these numbers that make it undeniable that Nintendo knows how to do portable gaming.

For the past month or so, Nintendo has been abuzz with whispers of a project known as Nintendo DS (dual Screen), and up until E3, we didn’t know anything about it except for that it had, as the name suggests, 2 screens. I’ll be honest with you when I say that I was completely unimpressed with the idea of having 2 screens on a handheld. “What good is a second screen? Is Nintendo stupid? Oh boy, another Virtual Boy incident waiting to happen” were only a mere few of the thoughts running through my head when the initial information of the DS was released to the public nary a month ago. Well now it’s today and Nintendo has finally let the cat out of the bag and revealed the DS to the world; and after seeing what this baby is capable of, Nintendo has made a believer out of me.

The current model is a shiny silver color, with 4 face buttons, 2 shoulder buttons, a D-Pad, and 2 screens, stacked vertically on a flip-open layout akin to the GBA SP. One of the screens (the bottom one) will be touch-sensitive. Using either your finger, or the to-be included stylus pen, players will be able to interact directly with select games, draw pictures, send personalized chat messages, or bring up an on-screen keyboard. The possibilities of a touch-screen are as endless as they are intriguing. Nintendo promises that the touch screen will be extremely tough to resist scratches and most kinds of wear and tear.

After seeing the initial pictures of the near-final product model, you might think to yourself, well what good is a second screen going to be? How will it be utilized? Well, let me fill you in on a couple of the thousands of possibilities open to creative game developers: Several of the games shown off at E3 (Metroid Prime: Hunters, Super Mario 64x4 to name a couple) used the second screen as a constantly available map, allowing players to see where they’re going without having to stop the action of the game to do so. This route is not the most imaginative, but it still works rather well, and is a welcome way to kick things off. Another use for the second screen, as displayed in Bomberman DS, is to watch the action happening in the game from 2 different perspectives. In Bomberman, we witnessed the bottom screen showing off the whole area in classic 2d Bomberman style, while the above screen took a 3d, more closed quarters view on the action. These are the 2 biggest examples of the new innovations the DS will be bringing to the table this Fall when it’s let loose on the gaming public.

Aside from the dual screens, the DS also boasts a few other awesome features, a major one being built-in voice recognition. Players will be able to communicate with select games in a variety of ways without requiring a peripheral to do so. Nintendo showed off an early version of a portable “Hey you, Pikachu” game that played much like the N64 counterpart, in that you controlled Pikachu strictly through your verbal commands. The game seemed pretty responsive and it looks like we’re going to be having a lot of fun with the new feature in due time.

Another one of the systems hot points, and a big surprise to everyone was: wireless internet connectivity! Players will be able to take their DS games online and play with thousands of gamers world-wide! The DS will also feature wireless local multiplayer, and support single-cart multiplayer on select games, much like the GBA does.

Speaking of the GBA, how does being able to play your Gameboy Advance games in your DS sound? I kid you not; the DS features 2 cartridge bays, one for DS games, and one for all your GBA titles! The inclusion of the GBA port means an instant library of over 500 games at your disposal by launch day. The GBA port will also still play all your older Gameboy and Gameboy Color games. Not too shabby for something Nintendo swears up and down isn’t the next installment in the Gameboy family.

Graphically, the DS boasts some beautiful visuals, up and above anything seen on a portable yet (save PSP). Metroid Prime: Hunters looks almost as good as the Gamecube title does, featuring some sharp graphics and beautiful effects, even in the games much unfinished state. On show were also a remake of Super Mario 64, a new installment of the Mario Kart series, and Animal Crossing, just to name a few; all which looked spectacular, and featured some great frame rates, dynamic visuals, and cool takes on the capabilities of the DS.

Nintendo is staying rock solid on the idea that the DS will be a ‘third pillar’ in Nintendo’s product lineup, and not the next Gameboy. We’re not sure if this is some kind of smoke screen, or if Nintendo is telling the truth, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it called Gameboy DS or something by the end of things. Nintendo has never done anything like this before, and it’s a gutsy move on their part, but it’s one I’m sure is going to pay off.

If you had any doubts about the Nintendo DS like I had, you can be certain that you have nothing to worry about. The DS could quite possibly be the best thing to happen to the handheld market since the launch of the original Gameboy so many years ago. Nintendo is planning on a Fall release for the system, just in time for the holiday season. You can bet that my ass is going to be in line to pick up my pre-ordered unit come launch day.