The rumors were correct. Nintendo was planning a larger screen DSi. Fair enough. So now you’re probably wondering just how big of a difference a 4.2-inch screen is over a 3.25-inch screen. Well, Nintendo is fielding that question with a little interactive page, which trys to up-sell the new, large screen model over the original one. Seeing is believing, after all.

So the rumors about Nintendo releasing a new DSi with a bigger screen (we reported Monday and Tuesday) were true. Big N officially announced a new DSi in Tokyo today, the so-called DSi LL [JP]. It has a 4.2-inch screen, will be released on November 21 in Japan and is priced at $220. Buyers will initially be able to choose between brown, red and white versions.

Let me catch you up. Late yesterday afternoon, a report surfaced that claimed Nintendo will launch a 4-inch DSi in Japan before the end of the year. Sounds good, right? Well, Nintendo has responded to the claims.

With the DSi still fresh on the market (relatively so anyway), it seems strange that Nintendo would want to replace it so quickly. But hey, they did it with the GBA, so why not? Japanese paper Nikkei reports that Nintendo is planning a new plus-size version of the device, which is to sport a 4″ screen (or screens). Sounds good to me, although the DSi already enlarged and improved the DS Lite’s perfectly good screen. So a 4″ one would probably be more for the real hardcore kids.

The inclusion of both Wi-Fi and a microphone on the DSI made it a favorite for rumors about phone functionality — and while we’ve seen voice chat in some games, there hasn’t been an official channel for that that I know of. But if new rumors, based on a support page mentioning a DSi Speak Channel, are true, then the most popular handheld in the world will be joining the most popular console in the world in having serious voice chat functionality.

Say hello to DSiPhone.

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.

/>Sorry America, it seems like Nintendo doesn’t love you anymore. Particularly given the continual stream of Wii related products that won’t be coming to the US. The latest example: the black Wii Sports Resort bundle.

If only there were some way to hook this up to D-Pad Hero, then the circle would be complete. As it is though, it’s merely a fully functional electric guitar made from a Nintendo Entertainment System. Wait a second, that’s totally awesome.

While the black Wii remotes and Nunchucks are nice, we still want the black Wii, Nintendo! But I’m sure you’ve heard our cries before. Whatever. Digressing.

The black Wii remote and Nunchuck will be available on November 16, 2009. The Wii Remote will be bundled with a black MotionPlus add-on and carry an MSRP of $49.99. The Nunchuck however will be $19.99 all by itself. So, for a total of $70 for each set, you can be the coolest Wii game on your floor. Totally worth it imho.

This is a good news, bad news, type of thing. Nintendo Japan just announced some really cool new hardware (including two new bundles) that’ll be out this December. The bad news is, it’s not coming to the US.

Which gaming company just so happens to be the best company in the world, according to a fancy pants consulting firm?

Announced back in May, The Biggest Loser is now officially available for the Nintendo Wii and DSi platforms for $40 and $30, respectively, bringing the grand total of fitness games on the market up to seven billion and one.

Developed by THQ, the game mimics the experience of being on The Biggest Loser Ranch just like the TV contestants, except that you get to live in your own house and you can keep eating delicious donuts with reckless abandon — it’ll be our little secret.

It only took Sony three years for it to get its act together! The recent introduction of the PS3 Slim was, as you know, a pretty big success, and today we have another metric: for the first time ever, the PS3 outsold the Wii in Japan last month. Everyone party!

Have you updated your Wii to version 4.2 yet? Because if you have, and you’re now having problems with your system, Nintendo will fix it for free.

In Japan, Nintendo has been experimenting with offering content other than just games for quite a while now. Japanese DS owners have been able to download anime movies and digital manga for over a year. And in May this year, Nintendo teamed up with the world’s biggest ad agency, Tokyo-based Dentsu, to introduce a video distribution service for the Wii. Needless to say, this service is Japan-only, too. But that will change soon.

There’s been some chatter about this over the last week, but I wanted to wait until something a little more solid came up. After all, how many times have price drops been reported for the other consoles that turned out to be bogus? But it appears that Nintendo itself is now confirming the price drop (not just retailers), so you can probably expect a $200 Wii starting September 27th.

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.