There’s no doubt that you’ve already heard about the rumor going around about the new DS redesign. I think it sounds pretty great, although I’d want a new DS rather than just another redesign. That said, the redesign does sound pretty significant. It adds a plethora of new features, a lot of which could significantly change gameplay, like the built in camera or the fact that you can put music on it.

There have been a lot of games where you use your own music already, like Dance Factory or Audiosurf, but the built in camera is what got me really excited. Sony has been working on a lot of cool stuff with their PS Eye, like drawing levels or characters on a piece of paper and then putting it in game, or being able to interact with a virtual pet. But a portable camera completely changes the types of games that you can produce. What about a scavenger hunt game where you have to take pictures of certain landmarks? Or maybe an RPG where you can get new items by taking pictures of certain objects?

Or what about a Pikmin game where you take pictures? That’s the rumor flying around right now. None of this is confirmed, but there is some pretty convincing evidence to back this up. First off is the fact that a very reputable news source from Japan started the story about the DS redesign, and said it was not a rumor. Then you have Miyamoto confirming a new Pikmin and, later, Nintendo filing a copyright for the name, “Piktura”.

It doesn’t sound like a coincedience to me, but I guess we’ll find out at Nintendo’s October 2nd conference.

source: Kotaku