Burnout Legends skidding onto DS?

Just weeks before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles this May, Electronic Arts officially announced Burnout Legends for the PSP, confirming its statement made to GameSpot in June 2004. The game is said to be a quasi-compilation of the Burnout series, updating portions of the console games Burnout, Burnout 2: Point of Impact, and Burnout 3: Takedown.

While the announcement of the Burnout franchise making its portable debut on the PSP was joyous for owners of Sony's handheld, it left Nintendo DS owners feeling like crash-test dummies. DS racing fans shouldn't put their handhelds in the trunk just yet, as reports on the Web say Burnout Legends is currently in development for the DS.

According to British game site Eurogamer.net, "an EA insider" has confirmed that the racer is speeding onto the DS, though no timetable has been set. The whistle-blower also claims that the game is being developed by a French studio under the supervision of Burnout developer Criterion, which is currently working on the next games in the Burnout series, Burnout: Revenge for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 (and reportedly a version for the Xbox 360), and Burnout Legends for the PSP, as well as the decidedly nondriving first-person shooter Black for the Xbox and PS2.

Further proof in favor of the game's existence comes in the form of scans of a recent EA catalog posted on the forums of gaming site evilavatar.com. The pictures show a listing for Burnout Legends for both the PSP and the DS, with a nondescript "TBD" where the product code should be for the DS version. The unconfirmed game description also lists a release date of "Summer 2005" for the game (which contradicts earlier reports of an October release), as well as Wi-Fi multiplayer support, which lets gamers "capture" one another's cars. The catalog does not specify which version of the game the screenshots are from.

Even with the two pieces of unsubstantiated evidence, nothing is set in stone. When GameSpot contacted EA with regard to the game, a representative replied, "We haven't made any official announcements regarding a DS version of Burnout Legends."

Until (or rather, if) a DS version is announced, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of the PSP version.