Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t the Amazon Kindle the first device to launch with built-in wireless (that is, cellular data) access? You know, you pay for the device, and then you don’t have to pay monthly wireless access because it’s already included in the cost of the device? It’s pretty neat, I think I can say without too much grief, and is a model that’s been copied by other e-book readers. Now it looks like Nintendo is considering such a model for future versions of the Nintendo DS (and not necessarily the XL, mind you). Exciting!

A cartridge that supplies Bluetooth functionality to the DS? Why, you ask? Well, I asked the same question when I saw this, and there is no certain answer. But the fact is that the DS is a versatile, well-documented device that is used for more than just playing games. Putting Bluetooth functionality in there just makes it that much more useful.

Well this is the dumbest story I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot of them! Once upon a time, there was a fugitive in Lee County in Florida. His criminal background—his FourSquare achievements, if you will—included armed robbery and kidnapping. He’s thrown in jail in early September, but then breaks out using a fake ID. But then, only a little while later, he’s arrested again. Guess what did him in?

The Nintendo DS’s charge port looks a lot like a mini USB plug. In fact, it really is, just modified a bit. One enterprising hacker, tired of plugging his DS into the wall, no doubt, decided he’d make his DS USB-compatible. And although it seems to have been a relatively straightforward operation, I question the practicality of it when there are USB charge cables for the DS for $4.

Here’s a tip: this isn’t 1998, and you shouldn’t go around making “Web pages” that are filled with Nintendo ROMs. If you do, you could end up like the Japanese guy who’s now facing two years in prison and a $96,000 fine.

Just how big is Dragon Quest in Japan? Not only did the game sell some 2.3 million copies already, but it helped double the sales of the Nintendo DS. In MMA terms, Dragon Quest is a huge, Brock Lesnar-like draw.

Japan’s (and probably the world’s) most renowned gaming magazine, the Famitsu [JP], has given Square Enix’s RPG Dragon Quest IX a perfect score in the latest issue. All four editors who tested the game gave 10 points out of 10, resulting in a 40/40 score.

If swapping out the cartridges in your Nintendo DS Lite is enough to give you the fits, then you may be an ideal candidate for the NDS Lite Game Selector. It’s a simple $13.42 adapter that adheres to the back of your NDS Lite and holds three game cartridges at once.

I don’t get a bonerd for LEGOs like some people I know whose names start with a J and end with an S and work for a site that rhymes with shmimono, but I have fond memories of spending countless hours as a youth erecting LEGO fortresses and castles and whatever else my imagination could conjure up. It was always about smashing the other fortress and kicking some tiny LEGO ass, but that was at least 20 years ago. Now fast forward to 2009 and while I still like to kick ass, I enjoy doing it on a much smaller scale. Enter LEGO Battles for the Nintendo DS.

In honor of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, PDP will begin shipping Autobot and Decepticon Nintendo DS cases this week. You can pick between a Bumblebee or a Megatron case with plus a matching stylus. The bundle costs $20, but you can purchase either for $13/each.

There’s no word on price, but Nintendo is releasing a new lime green DS Lite bundle in the US with Personal Trainer: Cooking on May 3 with a chichi case to match. Yay! I wonder who this bundle is targeted at? Can we please get Virtual Console for the DSi instead of this crap?

Do mature-themed video games have any place on the Nintendo DS? Not to say whether or not they should be allowed, obviously, but whether or not it makes any sense for a publisher to release a game for the system, given its reputation as a “kiddie” platform. Case in point: Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, which sold only 82,000 copies in March. (It was released on March 18, so it was only available for 12 days Then again, how many copies did GTA IV sell last April, even though it came out on the 29th?) Should DS publishers stick to shovelware kiddie nonsense?

Ranger China just announced their new product, the Ranger GPS for the Nintendo DS. An impressive product, but poorly timed given the fact that the GBA cartridge slot has gone away. Of course, maybe they are planning on selling to all those millions of people out there who still have the older DS Lite.

Trip Hawkins founded Electronic Arts in 1982. Then he left. In 2003 he started a new game development company called Digital Chocolate. In 2009 Hawkins finally realized that the iPhone is useful to game developers, so much so that Nintendo (DS) and Sony (PSP) are “freaking out.” Well!

Odds are you’ve already played Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Perhaps you haven’t opened the box, popped out the game card and moved your Nintendo DS’ Power switch to “on,” per se, but trust me: you’ve played the game. And depending on your point of view, your attitude toward the GTA franchise, that may or may not be a bad thing.

Yes, that’s Ghostface rapping in this, the first official trailer of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Like all good trailers, there’s minimal actual gameplay shown, but worry not! Rockstar has also launched the game’s official site today, and there’s more footage of actual, true-to-life gameplay for your to view.

There’s not a damn thing I can add vis-à-vis the PSP’s performance to what Mr. Joel Johnson, OBE, wrote the other day, so good on him. I will, however, note that Sony is blaring its victory trumpets today. Why is that? It seems Sony has sold a whopping 50 million PSPs, worldwide, since its December, 2004 launch in Japan. That’s as of January, 2009, too, so the actual number may be marginally higher. Hey, any good news is great news for Sony, which, as we all know, hasn’t had a great year (but who has?).

The folks at Penguin United were generous enough to donate a couple PU 24X DS Gaming Pouches for us to give away. As my collection of DS games continues to grow by the day I’ve been running out of places to store them, so these pouches couldn’t have come at a better time. They store up to 24 games in transparent sleeves that remind me of the ones I used to store my Marvel Universe cards in and the faux leather cover adds a bit of class and mystery.

So, how can you win one of the two pouches we have to give away? Read on, friend, read on.

The next-gen Nintendo DSi is already for sale in Japan and American gamers should get access to it within the coming months. It seems that The DS Lite Onyx might be the first of the current generation to get that axe. This comes from an internal GameStop newsletter and begs the question if other models will soon join this model.