DS download stations coming Stateside

Some countries get all the neat stuff. On their way to work or wherever else they may be headed, gamers in Japan can approach special hot spots, in train stations, for example, and download demos, trailers, and other files to their DS. Unfortunately for North American gamers, such amenities have so far been limited to Japan.

Envious American DS owners were given some reprieve today. At the DICE Summit taking place in Las Vegas, Nintendo announced that DS download stations would be coming to the US "in a matter of weeks."

The company has commitments with retailers EB Games, GameStop, and Game Crazy to host download stations, and negotiations are under way with megaretailers Target and Wal-Mart. Nintendo envisions DS download stations at thousands of retail locations across the country.

[UPDATE] The first download stations will include demos of Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Mario Kart DS, True Swing Golf, Pokemon Trozei, Meteos, and Tetris DS. A video of Metroid Prime: Hunters will also be available for download, with new content is expected to be added every quarter.

Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America executive vice president of sales and marketing, said, "We plan on expanding the market for interactive entertainment...for those who already buy our games and for those who don't buy our games."

The content will stay on the DS as long as it's powered on. Once the user shuts off the machine, the downloaded material will be lost.

For more on Nintendo's presentation at the DICE summit, see what company exec Reggie Fils-Aime had to say.