Nintendo reveals DS Wi-Fi adapter, new games

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After the smoke from the fireworks of Microsoft's X05 cleared, Nintendo quietly held an event of its own in Tokyo to tout a new Wi-Fi adapter for its DS handheld, as well as to announce a slew of DS games currently in development.

Nintendo has announced that the USB Wi-Fi adapter will be available in the US on November 14, the same day Mario Kart DS is released. For those who don't have a wireless Internet connection, the adapter can plug in to a computer's USB port to create a Wi-Fi connection with the DS. The price is still unknown for North America, but Nintendo Europe will be selling the adapter for 30 pounds ($53).

Using its internal wireless functionality, the DS will be able connect to any wireless hot spot that is Nintendo Wi-Fi-enabled without a Wi-Fi adapter. It will use friends lists (theinquirer.net reports that users will be given 12-digit codes rather than names), and it will work for international competition. Further details are expected to come shortly.

Online play for the DS will be free for first-party Nintendo games, such as Animal Crossing: Wild World and Metroid Prime Hunters. It will be up to third-party publishers to decide whether to charge for online play in their games.

Of other interest to DS owners is the ever-expanding list of games in development for the handheld. Though Nintendo showed several games that were previously announced, it did announce some new ones--none of which have been announced for North America--that could surprise some fans.

Mario has been playing more sports than Bo Jackson recently, appearing on the links, on the diamond, on the hardcourts, and recently on the slopes of SSX and the asphalt of NBA Street. Apparently, the last cameo on that list gave Mario the basketball bug. Mario Basketball 3 on 3 is currently in the works for the handheld. Little details have been released, but screenshots show that the game will play in the light atmosphere familiar to Mario sports games.

Other familiar characters get their turns on the DS as well. Tingle, the mapmaking elf-wannabe from the Legend of Zelda series, will apparently get his own role-playing game. Bomberman comes back for more explosions in Bomberman Story, Phoenix Wright is returning for more litigation in Gyakuten Saiban 4, and Nobunaga comes back for more ambition in Nobunaga's Ambition DS.

A full list of new games is below:

Title / Publisher, date (if applicable)

Ash / MistWalker
Bomberman Story / Hudson
Crossword Puzzle / Nintendo
Custom Robo DS / Nintendo
Daikookai Jidai DS / Koei
Dangerious Jisan / Konami
Densetsu no Stafi 4 / Nintendo
Detect Hacker / Nintendo
Dracula Castlevania / Konami
Eigo Zuke DS [English Training] / Nintendo
Gyakuten Saiban 4 / Capcom, 2006
Jigsaw Puzzle / Nintendo
Kahashima Ryuuta Kyouju no Nouo Kitaeru Otona DS Training 2 / Nintendo, 12/29/2005
Kaitou Wario / Nintendo
Mario Basketball 3 on 3 / Nintendo
New Gundam / Bandai
Nobunaga's Ambition DS / Koei
Ocha Inu no Heya / Koei
Puzzle Up DS / Nintendo
Rainbow Island DS / Taito, 01/05/2006
Stylebook Series / Bandai
Sudokou / Nintendo
Tales DS / Namco
Tingle RPG / Nintendo
Vs. Puzzle Papi Inu Vector Wan / Konami
Yu-Gi-Oh! / Konami