GB Micro priced, dated; DS gets a $20 cut in North America

Nintendo has announced prices and dates for the latest version of the Game Boy hardware, the Game Boy Micro, with the unit set to ship in Europe on November 4th priced at GBP 69.

The console - which is the smallest version of the hardware yet, plays all standard Game Boy Advance cartridges and features snap-on covers for user customisation - will launch in four colours initially, namely silver, blue, pink and green.

Nintendo of America has also announced a launch date for the hardware, which will ship in North America on September 19th, but has yet to confirm pricing details.

On a related note, Nintendo of America has announced a $20 price cut for the Nintendo DS hardware, which will drop to $129.99 on Sunday - a day before the arrival of key titles Nintendogs and Advance Wars: Dual Strike on Monday, August 21st.

No plans for a DS price drop in Europe have been revealed as yet, but it's entirely possible that the hardware will see a drop here in September, also ahead of the Nintendogs and Advance Wars launches.

Dropping the price of the DS in that timescale is an especially appealing move for Nintendo since it will make its hardware more attractive by comparison to the PlayStation Portable, which arrives in Europe on September 1st.