Nintendo shows off new DS Lite Plus Photos

As we reported last week, Nintendo has confirmed the rumours of a new slimmer handheld console in Japan.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today announced Nintendo DS Lite, a slimmer version of the best-selling Nintendo DS. Also featuring brighter screens, Nintendo DS Lite will launch in Japan in March.

Nintendo DS Lite will be less than two-thirds the size of the original Nintendo DS and more than 20 percent lighter.

The company has also announced a new try before you bye download service in America.

The games company has said that it will allow DS owners in America to sample free games by visiting their local game retailers via wi-fi connection.

An in-store kiosk will beam wireless demo versions of games and other downloadable content into a players' Nintendo DS system. Users simply stop by the store with their Nintendo DS, click "DS Download Play" on their system and choose one of a variety of DS games they want to sample.

The game will download automatically and users can play all they want (even if they leave the store) until the Nintendo DS is turned off.

The first DS Download Service stations will include free demos of Tetris DS, Brain AgeTM: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, Mario Kart DS, MeteosTM, True Swing Golf and Pokémon Trozei, along with a Metroid Prime Hunters video clip.

The selection of games and other downloadable content at DS Download Service kiosks will refresh quarterly.

Nintendo have no word as yet as to whether the try before you buy offering will be coming to the UK, but a spokeswomen said that they "Hoped so."

>> Nintendo - Official website of Nintendo