Interesting news from Edge - analysts are saying that a new Nintendo handheld might release as early as this year in Japan. The reason would be that while the DS is selling well in the rest of the world, that is not so at home in Japan. That must be hurting Nintendo’s pride a bit, but it might also be read as Japanese consumers (typically early adopters of tech) not seeing the DS as really that great…

In the words of Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter at a recent investor note.

“We think that the timing of a new product introduction will depend upon the sales profile for the DS, and believe that lower than expected DS hardware sales could trigger an earlier launch for the new device.”

“DS sales are solid worldwide, but are weak in Japan, leading us to expect an introduction of a new device in Japan before the end of the calendar year.”

He said that Japanese DS demand will likely continue to decline. He adds, “We think that Nintendo has a new handheld device ready for launch in [Japan] before the end of the calendar year.”