No DSi release in US until after April '09

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that the newly unveiled DSi will not go on sale in North America until the next fiscal year, sometime after April 2009.

Fils-Aime also said he didn't expect consumers to put off a purchase of the DS Lite in anticipation of the DSi release, instead the company is hoping users will upgrade from DS Lite to the new model at a later date.

"All through the Americas we continue to have great momentum on DS Lite and so for us we have a huge opportunity, much more consumers who want the original DS Lite, and so it will be for us a fantastic opportunity in our next fiscal," said Fils-Aime, speaking to G4TV.

"The critical decision for those consumers is how long do you wait? We haven't announced a launch date, and really for us it's going to be in our next fiscal, so certainly, after April – that's a long time to wait for a consumer who will be bypassing new titles like Chrono Trigger.

"We think most consumers are going to opt to jump into DS Lite now, enjoy all of the great games and then at some future point upgrade to the DSi."

The system is to launch in Japan this November – critical timing for the market said Fils-Aime, as DS Lite hardware sales have slowed.

"It's critically important in our Japanese home market that we announce and launch the new DSi.

"That's because they're reached such a huge level of penetration that this is a great way to keep driving momentum in their market."

No solid release date for the DSi in Europe has yet been announced, with Nintendo only pencilling in a spring release.