DS Downloads head for US

Nintendo have announced that they will be offering wireless download kiosks to major outlets such as Best Buy and GameStop within the next month. They will enable DS users to download demos, trailers, and other content to their Nintendo handheld. The scheme will be extended to more retailers in the future if it proves successful.

The downloaded content will be lost if the user powers-down their DS, and is intended to act like a replacement for traditional in-store demos. The latter have not proved practical with handhelds, due to the likelihood of theft or damage to the unit. No doubt maintaining an endless supply of little pens for a demo unit was also judged unworkable. This wireless download solution will allow users to try demos on their own machine.

The first batch of demos to be released is alleged to include Mario Kart DS, Pokemon Troizi, True Swing Golf, Meteos and Brain Age.

No indication of the likelihood of a European launch for the download scheme has yet appeared. As for other territories, we can only guess.