Nintendo prez, Satoru Iwata, says the new DSi version of it’s mega-selling handheld will launch overseas no later than next summer.

The ‘i’ bit of DSi refers to the onboard extras the new model boasts - a built-in (and tragically low-res - 0.3 mega pixel!) camera and the ability to store and play music mostly. The new unit also sports improved speakers, slightly larger screens (3.25 inch) and is a whole 12% thinner, presumably in order to reduce that embarrassing trouser bulge. On the downside battery life is reduced as a result of powering those bigger screens, specifically created software will be region-locked and the GBA slot is removed - thus no more backwards compatibility and your Guitar Hero On Tour peripheral won’t have anything to clip onto.

Is that worth the 18,900 Yen (about £120) asking price? Nintendo will surely be hoping so when the DSi launches in Japan tomorrow. Plenty is riding on the unit’s success too, seeing as sales of the regular DS Lite have slowed somewhat of late - and it’s currently being outpaced by the PSP at a rate of nearly 3:1.

With all that in mind it’s unlikely that Nintendo will want to let the grass grow under their feet, and Iwata-san more or less confirms it, saying "Specific plans will be unveiled by our local subsidiaries, but an autumn or year-end launch would probably be too late." So, using our superior powers of logic and reasoning, we can surmise that the DSi will launch in the UK before the end of August 09, if not an awful lot earlier than that. There was only a three month gap between the Japanese and European DS launches, so fingers crossed.