nintendo_dsi Despite being the market leader for years and possibly for many more years to come, Nintendo was reeling from the effects of the quite successful PSP by Sony and the sudden rise of the iPhone as a portable gaming platform. Many thought that Nintendo, in response to threats from these two fronts, decided to upgrade the DS and release the DSi.

Not so, says Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. "We wanted to create an offering that would fit naturally into people’s everyday lives," he said, noting that the goal of the DSi was to have users wanting the device with them at “all times.”

The DSi is set to launch in Japan next month, though it won’t be released in other regions until sometime next year.

Tags: Business, dsi, Nintendo, Nintendo DS