Nintendo: DSi and DS Lite will co-exist in America at first.

While in Japan, Nintendo’s building a rather aggressive strategy for the new Nintendo DSi, with an almost immediate market launch, the things seem different for the Western markets.

Cammie Dunaway from Nintendo America has announced a different program for her market. Besides the console launch that was postponed to later 2009, there’s also the intention of pairing the new model with the DS Lite. That way, the DSi won’t be coming as a substitute of the “old” model, but as an alternative choice.

The idea of Nintendo America is that the DS Lite still has an “enormous potention to be discovered” and they want to make it reach the popularity that it has in Japan. It’s not clear, however, why a new user would choose the DS Lite when the DSi is finally available (that is, if the price difference is indeed minimal, as in Japan). The only explanation would be the need to use the GBA cartridge slot, which is not present on the new version.

In any case, it remains to be seen how the American market strategy for the DSi will hold up.

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