Happy Birthday Nintendo DS!

One year ago today, Nintendo unleashed a bizarre little creation upon an unsuspecting world, the Nintendo DS.

The DS threw convention to the wind on a good number of fronts. It was the first system from Japanese developers to launch outside of Japan. It was the first game console with Wi-Fi, a built-in microphone, a touch screen and two displays.

Many claimed that this was the end of the road for Nintendo in the face of Sony’s looming juggernaut, the PSP; that the DS was nothing but a gimmick and could never be a real game system. Yet over the past year, something happened. Sony’s PSP that was supposed to take handheld gaming out of the ghetto, never picked up steam.

In fact, in the year since the system's launch, the Nintendo DS has been pushing boundaries in all directions. It inspires non-gamers to try something new with games like Brain Training for Adults and Nintendogs. It provides a home to great traditional types of games such as Castlevania and Advance Wars. The DS even forges ahead with a unified online gaming service, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection launching Mario Kart into the stratosphere.

In the face of all the opposition presented by gaming magazines and blogs, somehow the Nintendo DS has come out on top in the first year. Only time will tell what next year will look like, but if current trends and upcoming titles are any indication, the DS is here to stay.

Happy Birthday Nintendo DS!