During their Fall Press Conference today, Nintendo have - as expected - announced a new version of the Nintendo DS. Called the Nintendo DSi, it eschews the GBA slot (boo!) in favour of a range of improvements. The handheld's screens have been enlarged, and will now be 17% bigger (at 3.25 inches) than those found on the DS Lite. As for the rumoured additions, both have proven to be correct, with "audio enhancements" made to the handheld, while it will also now include a 3 megapixel camera.
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There's been much confusion, particularly in my head, since this weekend when Japanese business newspaper Nikkei reported with seeming unfaltering certainty that a new DS was coming from Nintendo. Even internanational wire service Reuters picked the story up.

Then early this morning Nintendo of Japan responded with a glorified no comment, saying in part that they are "always developing new products."

Now, responding to a request for comment from Kotaku, Nintendo of America weighs in with a slightly chunkier no comment, pointing out that Nikkei did not talk to Nintendo for their story. Interesting:

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According to a report from Nikkei Net, Nintendo will introduce a new iteration of this Nintendo DS later this year, featuring a built-in camera and music playback. The new version of the DS is also reported to have improved wireless functions. Some versions of the report indicate the improved wireless capabilities will allow the new DS to connect to "information terminals," expanding the machine's non-gaming features.

The Japanese version of the report mentions that pictures taken via the DS's internal camera can be used by games, opening up new gameplay options.

Nikkei Net writes that the new version is "expected to be priced below 20,000 yen." The Nintendo DS Lite is currently priced at 16,800 yen in Japan. The new DS will launch first in Japan, with the country seeing an allocation of "several hundred thousand units" before any overseas sales.

Nintendo To Debut Camera-Equipped, Music-Playing DS In Late '08 [Nikkei Net (subscription required) via NeoGAF]

Check your email, you probably just got a notice from Microsoft inviting you to a site demonstrating the new Xbox Live experience. No, a release date is not specified. The site features examples of the content and features you can expect once it does arrive, presented in a simulation of the new dashboard. There are videos on avatar creation and interaction with your friends (some of which we've already seen), and another touting its online entertainment capabilities. Everything has the bigger-better-more company shine on it. The addition of the Inside Xbox channel looks intriguing, but few specifics beyond the teasers offered.

New Xbox Experience [Xbox.com]

Just a reminder that come Monday, Live goes dead for 24 hours. Meantime Microsoft is larding up the weekend with a bunch of Play & Win sweepstakes. We've already mentioned the GTA IV Live Weekend, but there's also a raft of prizes being offered for Madden 09, NCAA 09, and NASCAR 09 -- and, if I'm reading it right -- if you go put some T-Mobile advertisement on your gamer picture and play Lego Batman, you can be entered to win some shit there, too. Then the power outrage strikes at 12:01 AM PDT Monday. This won't deliver the new Xbox Live dashboard, it's just "in preparation" for its arrival.

Calendar of Events -- Play & Win [Xbox.com]

Over at the Gamerscore Blog they're continuing their weekly series on The New Xbox Experience, this week taking a look at how the changes will effect themes and your friends list, or more precisely, how the two will interact. In the screenshot above (click for a closer look) you can see the friends in the example are hanging out next to various items reflecting the theme you have in the background. A nifty idea, though it is sure to cause some problems for third-party themes. What kind of objects you you place behind avatars hanging out on a scantily clad Gemma Atkinson? Bikini wax? An airbrush? All will be revealed in due time.

NXE - What You Want to Know: Themes 2.0 and Friends Channel [Gamerscore Blog]

The City of Heroes Issue 13: Architect was too big for one update, so they've split it up! This is really just a pleasant way of saying the the Mission Creator mode isn't showing up in the next update, but I appreciate their attempt and making it seem all happy. Now the next update is titled Issue 13: Power and Responsibility, and will feature all the updates promised in Architect aside from that big one, plus a few newly announced features, the most intriguing of which is the Leveling Pact, a feature that lets to players buddy up so that their levels always stay the same, no matter how much the other plays. An amazingly brilliant feature that not only supports MMO friendships, but also makes things a whole lot more convenient for the dual-boxers out there. Also new is Dual-Builds, a feature that will allow characters to maintain two separate power builds, useful for roleplayers who want a quirky, split personality character.

Issue 13 will be released this fall, with Issue 14: Architect bringing the Mission Creator to the game in early 2009. Hit the jump for full details on the new updates and changes!

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Xbox Live is going down! On Monday, September 29th at 12:01 AM, the Xbox Live service will be coming down for maintenance that could last up to 24 hours, according to Microsoft's Larry Hryb. The outage will affect the Xbox Live and My Xbox sections of the of Xbox.com as well, and forums will be set to read only for the duration. It's all in preparation for the impending launch of The New Xbox Experience, but only in preparation for it, so don't expect to hop back online when the service goes up and get to work crafting your shiny new avatar. Enjoy the old Xbox experience while you still can!

Xbox Live Service Maintenance [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]

Windows 7 - the successor to Vista - is already out there in the hands of testers. And while it's early, early days (ie it still looks exactly like Vista), a few additions/changes have already surfaced. Most pressing of those for you, video game enthusiast, is that if this screen is to be believed, it looks like the new OS will give you the option of letting Windows handle your game updates/patches. Handy (if it can be trusted).

Windows 7 M3 Build 6780: Pictures and Videos(soon) [thinknext, via Shacknews]

If you were worried about how the Xbox 360 avatar creation system was going to work, don't fret. Major Nelson has made this video showing us what we can expect when the fall update hits. It actually looks really solid with some very amusing animations. Now the only question is when can we expect to be making Mii's quirky representations of ourselves? Something tells me it might be in November, but hey, you never know.

NXE - What you need to know: Avatars