Nintendo launches blue DS in Pepsi promotion

The first re-coloured Nintendo DS console has arrived in Japan, with Nintendo partnering with soft drinks giant Pepsi to launch a blue version of the hardware as part of a major promotion.

The cross-promotion will see Pepsi drinkers sending in coupons from their bottles to be entered into a prize draw for the special Pepsi Blue Nintendo DS hardware, which is bundled with a similarly coloured case and Pepsi branded headphones.

Other prizes include Pepsi bottle caps and other such merchandise, all adorned with Mario Brothers characters in a style which will be familiar to anyone who's seen any of Pepsi or Coca-Cola's Japanese co-promotions in the past - and which will inevitably attract a premium on eBay in the coming years.

As yet no plans to launch anything other than the standard silver Nintendo DS console have been revealed in the USA or Europe.