Nintendo DS set to be called Nitro?

The forthcoming Dual Screen (DS) handheld platform from Nintendo may not retail under the expected brand name of Nintendo DS after all - with the name "Nitro" apparently being used to refer to the device on the company's developer website.

The news come via the personal weblog of one Martijn van der Meulen, who is online product manager for EA's Netherlands division, and as such has access to the Nintendo developer site.

"Nintendo has had a website for several years, for the people who develop games for their systems," he explained in a blog entry this week. "On this website, and on the part where I don't need to log in for, the name Nitro is being communicated. The Nitro? I can't say too much about it (NDA's) but Iâm sure it's pretty obvious now for some people."

It's entirely possible that Nintendo could choose to market the new device under a different name to the rather dull and self-explanatory Nintendo DS moniker, although up until now that's how the company has chosen to refer to the system in all communications regarding it.

Equally likely, of course, is the possibility that Nitro is actually the internal development name for the DS (much as the next generation Xbox is said to be known internally as Xenon), and as such will never see the light of day as a brand. The truth of this, of course, probably won't be known until the product is officially unveiled at E3 in May.