Another potential N-Gage competitor was announced yesterday. Nintendo's upcoming portable game system, code-named Nintendo DS, will literally be a dual-screened device. Nintendo says players can look forward to being able to manage their game progress from two different perspectives, "enhancing both the speed and strategy of the challenge."

For example, in a soccer game, users can view the whole game on one screen while simultaneously focusing on an individual soccer player's tackle or goal on the other screen. Other possible uses of the technology including allowing players to move from a wide shot to a close up, or from a character's ongoing battle and a map of the environment, without interrupting game play, by simply glancing from one screen to the other.

More information on the device will be revealed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles in May.

"We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century," explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president.

Nintendo DS features two separate 3-inch TFT LCD display panels, separate processors, and semiconductor memory of up to 1 Gigabit. It's scheduled to launch worldwide before the end of 2004.

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