Nintendo angles DSi XL at the eBook market

by Stevie Smith - Feb 25 2010, 04:43

If 2010 is the year of the electronic book reader, then Japanese gaming giant Nintendo isn’t about to sit on the sidelines while Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble enjoy all the E Ink limelight.

Specifically, while Nintendo might not have a thoroughbred eBook platform of its own, the enlarged screens of the newly launched Nintendo DSi XL game console mean it’s more than capable of competing in the eBook space.

The DSi XL was officially unveiled before the U.S. market this week and, while the content hosted by its more generous twin screens will remain firmly centred on videogames, the handheld will also serve as a perfect pseudo book reader thanks to the introduction of software such as ‘100 Classic Book Collection’.

The 100 Classic Book Collection cartridge will provide DSi XL owners with a wealth of literary content to enjoy on-the-go from authors such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Mark Twain. 

Already available to Nintendo DS owners in the UK since December of 2008, the 100 Classic Book Collection from Genius Sonority will hit American retail shelves this coming June 14 with a price point of just $19.99 USD.

The new DSi XL console has two 4.2-inch display screens (93 percent bigger than those on the DS Lite) and also carries a longer, fatter touch-screen stylus for easier navigation and on-screen interaction.

The DSi XL will be available in the United States from March 28, attached to a price tag of $189.99 USD.

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