Nintendo sets goal of one DS per person in US

Still has some way to go

3 October 2008 16:57 GMT / By Verity Burns

Nintendo has set itself the goal of getting every person in America to own at least one version of its DS handheld console.

In the wake of the DSi announcement, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that he expected the handheld's market to expand following the release of the new device in the States sometime after April next year.

This would be caused, he said, by DS owners passing on their old models to friends or siblings when they purchase the DSi.

"We certainly do expect that to happen," he said. "...We do expect the earliest adopters--the core consumer who already has a DS Lite--once they upgrade ... to the DSi, they'll pass along their original DS or DS Lite to another family member. That is part of our longer-term strategy.

"We would ideally want one DS to one person across the Americas. That's a huge lofty goal."

Nintendo's big boss Satoru Iwata, echoed this sentiment yesterday by saying that the ultimate sales goal was to average one device per person.

As for whether the new functions of the DSi are really up to scratch, compared to other portable devices featuring those functions, Fils-Aime said: "You shouldn't think of [the DSi] as the world's best digital camera or the world's best audio player. You need to look at it through a lens of entertainment, and certainly through that lens it's going to over-deliver against expectations."

The Nintendo DS has sold over 20 million units in the US to date, but with around 304 million people across the States, they still have some way to go to reach their goal.