This is no huge, earth-shaking surprise (seeing as how we've known about it for months), but at least we've got a firm release window now. In the midst of all the hub bub surrounding Viva Pinata: Trouble In Paradise, Rare doesn't want the handheld owners to feel slighted. Along with publisher THQ, the two confirmed today that Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise, essentially a re-worked port of the original Xbox 360/PC title, will hit the Nintendo DS this Fall. Bob Aniello, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, THQ says:

Nintendo DS is the perfect platform for the Viva Piñata franchise because players can have direct interaction with the environment and their piñatas using the stylus. We are thrilled to introduce Microsoft's critically-acclaimed Viva Piñata series to an entirely new segment of the gaming community.

There is still loose talk (very loose, I might add) that Microsoft, in the midst of their ongoing Newton project, are currently looking at bringing the original Viva Pinata, or perhaps even the DS version, to the Wii as well. A perfect fit, if I do say so myself.

Hit the jump for the announcement.

If Bloomberg Japan are interpreting correctly, that seems to be the case. According to the site, Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Famitsu's parent company Enterbrain apparently said that Nintendo might be planning to unveil either the oft-rumored Nintendo DS redux, or DS 2 at...wait for it...this year's E3 media briefing. Wh..what? In addition to revealing the remainder of their 2008 titles for the Wii, a major hardware announcement? Get out of here. Nintendo DS Nano confirmed?

It has been approximately two years since DS Lite launched, so it seems logical that it might be time for the little handheld to get a shave, some fresh duds and have itself a re-release as a slightly trimmed down, improved product. Is there really anything you could improve on though, well other than the battery life? According to the article, NIntendo issued a "no comment" response, at that's about it. So, if it turns out to be true, who's ready to begin that DS "craze" all over again?

After months of speculation and concern that the game might not see a stateside release, Square-Enix has issued a press release (which we've included after the jump) confirming that Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, a Nintendo DS release, will be arriving in the North American territories on June 24th, a mere three months and change from now.

The game is an extension of the Ivalice Alliance project, Square-Enix's resurrection of all things Ivalice and bringing them together under one banner.  Although Revenant Wings was a let down, and the revival of the original Final Fantasy Tactics on the PSP was truly beautiful, the release of Tactics A2 (a semi-sequel to the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance) is the one entry in this project that many fans have been longing for.

The game offers over 400 quests and lets you interact with Vaan, Penelo, and Al-Cid from Final Fantasy XII.  The North American release of the game brings an enhanced interface that gives you full control of the game with the stylus. Now comes the hard part... counting the days until its release.  

One of the announcements out of GDC today came from the Disney camp, crafting new DS and Wii titles that are sure to sell like hotcakes. A new gameplay feature called DGamer will be implemented into their future handhled titles, which will bring the company's own proprietary Mii-like avatars, an instant messaging feature (doesn't the DS already techically have that?) and achievement system called "Honors".

The new feature is said to be integrated into various programs on Disney.com, to allow for an Xbox Live-ish sign in protocol, requiring nothing but a password to log you in. I wonder if "social engineering" will be a problem? "Honors" will display the typical information: leaderboard statistics and feats that you accomplish within the game, with the first title set to utilize the feature being The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. 

As well, the unnamed Mii system (which is not a branch of the official Nintendo Miis) will have various character creation options, including the option to wear costumes representing Disney properties and more. Hmm, how long until Nintendo brings the Mii system to the DS, officially? Come on "Big N", one up Disney, we know you can.

Earlier today, it was rumored that PopCap had confirmed the existance of a DS port of the hit puzzle game, Peggle. Unfortunately, that was all it was, a rumor. VP of Video Game Platforms Greg Canessa has since stated that PopCap co-founder John Vechey was "misquoted" by Pocket Gamer. Issuing a brief correction press release, Canessa says that

 We have ambitious plans for many of our titles including Peggle, and are eager to bring its peg-popping pleasures to as many appropriate platforms and devices as possible...But Nintendo has not approved this product, we have not signed a developer to port Peggle to DS, and we have not green lighted this project.

That's either sloppy "reporting" skills, or an accidental/ hopeful slip of future plans. I'm guessing the latter. The DS prints money, folks, it's only a matter of time.

During a discussion with PocketGamer, Popcap's John Vechey announced that the company will be offering a DS version of Peggle following the game's release on the Xbox Live Arcade.  Which follows a release on the Apple Store.  Which follows a release on Steam.  Which follows the initial PC release.

The game, which doesn't have a release date or any game details released yet (even the above screenshot is from the PC version), will undoubtedly benefit from the touchscreen interface of the Nintendo DS, which will blend perfectly with Peggle's style of gameplay.  While we're not knocking another version of Peggle (which we consider one of the best games in 2007), how about a sequel?  Purty please?

Although rumors to the effect have been floating around the internet for the past few days now, Nintendo has issued a press statement this morning confirming their planned launch of a new Nintendo DS with a black and cobalt blue paint job.

The new system, launching on February 10th, is just a spiffy redesign of the clamshell, with no technology updates.  But still, it's shiny and blue, which makes it cool enough to make you consider trading in that aging white DS for something a little more vivid.

Nintendo's press release is after the jump.

For a week or so now, rumors of a new Cobalt Blue DS Lite have been floating around the interwebs, with Nintendo offering no official comment. Circuit City leaked the new product as being available for pre-order last week, quickly pulling the page down afterwards. A Nintendo "insider" detailed the new unit to Kotaku, stating that would be finishing the packaging stage soon, and should be in stores in just under a month.

GameStop has started receiving their signature flyers and promotional "come in and buy this...now!" window decorations, with none other than the Cobalt Blue DS Lite front and center, being listed as available on February 10th. Just to be certain, a quick chat with a GameStop manager resulted in a swift "yes, sir". Phew. Now, the question is, how many million more DS's will be sold because of this? There's not many folks left without one, I detect a mass swap-in starting in February, and I'll probably be in line to do it.