The original DS was released back in 2004 and, back then, it looked to many as the poor and unwanted cousin of the Sony PSP. The sun arrived on Nintendo’s street with Shigeru Miyamoto’s Nintendogs, a ttile which proved a huge boost for the console.

Two years later, Nintendo would launch an improved model of the console, the DS Lite, which shoved the PSP aside completely. Aside from the hardware improvements, Nintendo managed to gain significant ground by focusing on casual gamers instead of hardcore ones.

Chances are that this milestone will soon be replaced by another one. The latest DS version, the DSi is scheduled for release in the US on April 5. It will retail for $169.

In the mean time, Sony’s PSP has been left far behind. In spite of its initial advantage, the console was unable to keep up the pace in terms of sales. At present time, the Sony handheld sold only 50,000 consoles.