Nintendo hasn’t struck me as finickity in the past for it’s incredible designing, but looking at the Wii and DS this morning, it struck me simply how beautifully elegant the two gizmos are.

I dug deeper and found Nintendo actually has a little tradition going, when it comes to colour scheming their consoles. With the Wii available in very few colours at present, I think we can be expecting a whole raft of game-specific models to pop up, along with other colours and limited edition promotional units. Why do I say so? Take a look at this little ‘DS timeline’ I’ve compiled for you.

Nintendo DS Colour Schemes

- Crystal White (February 18th 2006)
- Smart Black (February 18th 2006 - Europe Only)
- Ice Blue (March 11th 2006)
- Enamel Navy (March 11th 2006)
- Noble Pink (July 20th 2006)
- Onyx/Jet Black (September 2nd 2006)
- Coral Pink (October 27th 2006 - Europe Only)
- Metallic Rose (June 23rd 2007)
- Gloss Silver (June 23rd 2007)

Nintendo DS Limited Designs

- Final Fantasy III ‘Crystal White’ (July 12th 2006)
- Pokémon DAISUKI ‘Crystal White’ (July 13th 2006)
- Pokémon Dialga ‘Jet Black’ (September 28th 2006)
- Pokémon Palkia ‘Jet Black’ (September 28th 2006)
- Jump Ultimate Stars (Date Unkown)
- Love and Berry ‘Metallic Pink’ (Date Unkown)
- Winning Eleven ‘Jet Black’ (Date Unkown)
- Mario vs. Donkey Kong (March 19th 2007)
- Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (April 26th 2007)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (May 19th 2007)
- Pokémon Center Pikachu ‘Exclusive Yellow’ (June 1st 2007)
- Nintendo Connection Tour ‘Jet Black’ (July 2007)
- Kirby: Squeak Squad (July 9th 2007)
- Brain Training 2 ‘Crimson Black’ (July 20th 2007)
- Wonderful World ‘Gloss Silver’ (July 27th 2007)
- RX-93 ν Gundam ‘Crystal White’ (August 9th 2007)
- Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates Gemini ‘Crystal White’ (August 23rd 2007)
- Wario: Master of Disguise (September 10th 2007)
- MapleStory (Fall 2007)

Ranging in availabillity from there being tens of thousands of a single ‘limited’ design available, to only 15 of a single design in existence, each DS in unique and has it’s own values, both monetary and sentimentle. Whilst looks make the console look just that… Fantastic, at the end of the day, gamers are on the lookout for innovation, ease of use and usability. The DS’s browsing features, (which for the record, were announced on my 12th Birthday) whilst not incredible are good enough to be marked as passable. The rumble pack is a nice addition, adding extra ‘feel’ and involvement into the console. On August 2nd, an official camera attachement for the DS is expected to start shipping in Japan.

What sparked this post? Word that Canada would be getting an exclusive onyx/crimson version of the portable, duel-screened handheld console that we all love to love. Looks snazzy enough to me and the retail price of just $160CND is certainly appetizing enough for me.