Nintendo remains focused on big picture

NINTENDO Co plans to launch a new version of its DSi hand-held video game player with a larger screen in Japan as early as this year to kick-start sluggish demand, the Nikkei business daily said yesterday.

Nintendo, which cut the price of its popular Wii video game console last month, has been looking to bolster demand for the DSi, whose monthly sales have slowed to a third of their peak levels following its launch about a year ago.

Nintendo's hand-held, which now has a 3.25-inch (8.25-centimeter) screen, is struggling against competition from Apple Inc's iPhone, whose screen is about the same size.

The new version will have a screen larger than 4 inches, which would put it roughly on a par with the screen on Sony Corp's PlayStation portable game player, the Nikkei said.

"A bigger screen alone does not count for much," said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide, adding that Nintendo needed better graphics quality and a more powerful chip to run multimedia-type games.

The large-screen DSi will sell for 18,900 yen (US$205.65), about the same as the current version, the Nikkei said.

A Nintendo spokeswoman declined to comment.

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