Nintendo Co. launched its DS portable video game console Thursday, gearing up for a yearend sales battle with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., which plans to release its PlayStation Portable later this month.
About 100 people lined up at an electronics retailer in Tokyo in the early morning to purchase the Nintendo DS, which costs 15,000 yen.
In Osaka, people who were eager to buy the product formed lines at home appliance retailers.
"I'm looking forward to playing with the new functions, such as the touch-sensitive panel. I'd like to try them before I go to school," said Shoichi Yoshiyama, a 23-year-old vocational school student in Osaka.
The Nintendo DS features two liquid-crystal displays, a touch-sensitive screen and a wireless local area network function that allows up to 16 people to exchange data. DS is short for dual screens. Users can also play online games, have chats and download game software and characters.
