DS TV goes on sale in Japan

Yesterday, Nintendo released DS TV, a peripheral which was originally announced back in 2004, but had hardly been heard of since.

The DS TV costs ¥6,800 ($62.70), and can be used with the original DS or the DS Lite. The design is different from the prototype shown in 2004, as it features a simple aerial cartridge which plugs in the back of the handheld, and no base unit.

The top screen is used for the TV picture, while the bottom screen can be used to do things such as change channels and take notes.

According to Web site J-Cast, there was an avalanche of interest when preorders were offered, and within two hours the Web site was down. A spokesperson for Nintendo said, "As it was television--and not a game--we intended to begin accepting the orders quietly without prior announcement. We had not expected that so many accesses [to the Web page] would be made."

A Nintendo spokesperson told GameSpot that it currently had no plans to bring DS TV to other regions.