Late Night Consoling

Nintendo has posted an announcement regarding DS Lite on its official website. According to a GameSpot translation, the page states that the company has exceeded its original production estimates for March, pushing out 550,000 units rather than the projected 450,000. Next month will see a further increase, with 700,000 units making it to shelves. This is good news for prospective DS Lite owners who don't live in Japan, as the sooner Nintendo can satisfy demand in its home country, the sooner it can begin to bring the new handheld to other shores. Last week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata apologized for the supply problems and stated that he is hopeful they will be resolved in April.

Check Shacknews tomorrow for in-depth impressions and photographs of the Enamel Blue DS Lite.

Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura, producer of the Kingdom Hearts series, spoke a bit about his well-loved franchise at a recent launch party for Kingdom Hearts II (PS2), due out in North America tomorrow. One of the topics on which Nomura spoke was changes made to the U.S. version of the game. For example, in the new Pirates of the Caribbean world, guns or gun-like weapons were removed or changed to be less gun-like for our sensitive American eyes. Presumably, this has to do with maintaining the game's E10+ rating.

In more newsworthy news, Nomura revealed that he has more plans for Kingdom Hearts. He has other ideas for the franchise, and he seems to want to do a spinoff title that falls outside of the main numbered series. Nomura also has other (likely non-Kingdom Hearts) games he will be showing off at E3 and Tokyo Game Show this year.

The May 2006 issue of Nintendo Power has a tantalizing hint as to the identity of an upcoming game for DS. The teaser reads:

We can't tell you what's on next issue's cover but trust us--we've got the biggest scoop of the year so far!
As mysterious as a new moon, this followup to one of 2005's best DS titles is a whip-smart adventure that you won't want to miss.

It's hard to imagine what else that could possibly be referring to--how many DS titles in 2005 could be described as "whip-smart"?--other than Konami's well-received Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS). Don't be surprised to see the developer whip out (ha) another handheld installment in its hallowed two-decade-long series.

Toshiba has delayed the launch of its upcoming HD-DVD players following Warner Home Video's announcement that it will be pushing back the release of its initial HD-DVD content. Originally set for March, the company stated in an announcement that the players have been delayed "for several weeks." Warner's first round of HD-DVD movie titles will hit shelves on April 18, so don't be surprised to see Toshiba pick that date as well.

What relevance does this have to console gaming? Not much, really. Microsoft plans to add an HD-DVD attachment to Xbox 360, Sony is big into Blu-ray, competing formats, next generation, high definition, paradigm shift, value to the consumer, first to market advantage, I don't know. Pick a few choice marketing phrases and maybe some kind of news story will reveal itself.

Activision sent out word today that composer Chance Thomas along with composition company Womb music will be handling the musical duties behind Z-Axis' upcoming X-Men: The Official Game (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, DS, GBA, PC). The game is a tie-in with the third film in the X-Men film series, X-Men: The Last Stand. Thomas is known for his work on Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (PS2, Xbox, GCN, X360, PC), various Lord of the Rings games, and the Unreal franchise. Womb has created music for such games as Dark Age of Camelot (PC), and Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines (PC).

The press release also noted that, as previously known, X-Men: The Last Stand screenwriter Zak Penn will be collaborating with noted X-Men comics writer Chris Claremont on the game's story and script.

X-Men: The Official Game will be released concurrently with the film this May.