Nintendo DS
Top: Nintendo DS (original) Bottom: Nintendo DS Lite | |
| Codename | Nitro |
|---|---|
| Developer | Nintendo |
| Manufacturer | Foxconn |
| Product family | Nintendo DS |
| Type | Handheld game console |
| Generation | Seventh |
| Released | |
| Introductory price | |
| Discontinued | Yes; date undisclosed |
| Units sold | 154 million (details) |
| Media | |
| CPU | 67 MHz ARM946E-S 33 MHz ARM7TDMI |
| Memory | 4 MB RAM |
| Storage | Cartridge save 256 KB flash memory |
| Display | Two 3" TFT LCDs, 256 × 192 pixels |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi (802.11b) |
| Online services | Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection |
| Best-selling game | New Super Mario Bros. (30.80 million) |
| Backward compatibility | Game Boy Advance |
| Predecessor | Game Boy Advance |
| Successor | Nintendo 3DS |
| Related | Nintendo DSi |
The Nintendo DS is a foldable handheld game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in 2004 and 2005. The "DS" in the name is an initialism for "Dual Screen", reflecting the system's most distinctive feature: two LCD screens working in tandem, with the lower screen functioning as a touchscreen. Both screens are housed in a clamshell design similar to that of the Game Boy Advance SP and some models of the Game & Watch series. The DS was among the first portable consoles to support wireless connectivity for local multiplayer over short distances, as well as online play through the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its primary competitor during the seventh generation of video game consoles was Sony's PlayStation Portable.
Initially marketed as an experimental "third pillar" in Nintendo's console lineup—complementing the handheld Game Boy Advance family and the home console GameCube—the DS's backward compatibility with Game Boy Advance titles and strong sales led it to be widely regarded as the successor to the Game Boy line. A slimmer model, Nintendo DS Lite, which features brighter screens and improved battery life, was released in 2006.
The DS and DS Lite were followed by the Nintendo DSi, a revision released on November 1, 2008. The DSi added dual digital cameras, larger screens, more memory, a faster processor, and internal flash memory, and it was later offered in a larger DSi XL model. It also introduced digital distribution of games, but lost compatibility with Game Boy Advance cartridges. Although hundreds of downloadable titles were available, only six DSi-exclusive game cards were released. The DS line was ultimately succeeded by the Nintendo 3DS in February 2011.
Including the DS Lite and DSi models, the Nintendo DS has sold 154 million units, becoming the best-selling Nintendo console until it was surpassed by the Nintendo Switch in 2025. It also ranks as the third best-selling video game console of all time, behind the PlayStation 2 and the Switch. The DS Lite accounted for over 60 percent of total DS hardware shipments.