This is still largely unsubstantiated and yet too exciting to pass off as a rumor online. World-wide, the Nintendo DS fans are all hyped up about the possibility of getting their hands on to the a new handheld console at the gaming expo E3.

Apparently, it is being rumored now that the Nintendo will unveil the next-generation DS at E3 2008 this summer, two years after the launch of the DS Lite and four years after the original DS launched.

However, the actual data isn’t here and the web is rife with speculation. Here’s a report from 1up.com:

Bloomberg Japan reports that Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain (parent company of Famitsu), has stated that he believes Nintendo will show a new model of the Nintendo DS at the E3 Media Summit this July (via Shacknews).

Since this report comes via second-hand translation of a Japanese story, there are a couple of key things that aren’t entirely clear. For one, it’s hard to say whether Hamamura was merely speculating on what may happen or if he has any sort of information he’s basing this on. Also unclear is whether he means another update to the current DS, like the DS Lite, or if he means the next generation of the DS hardware (Nintendo DS 2, if you will).
When Bloomberg Japan contacted Nintendo, they were evidently told Nintendo was unable to comment at the time. With the rate at which DSes burn through retail, both in Japan and in North America, it’s hard to imagine Nintendo would be readying its successor already. A new model wouldn’t be out of the realm of their track record (Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Advance Micro, DS Lite…), but for now, it’s better to regard this one with healthy skepticism until more concrete info surfaces.

It is going to be a fest if this is correct information – there are loads of takers and better things to come our way then.

Are we finally there? Have we reached the point where the handheld console is ready to be taken to the next level? The Nintendo DS was released in 2004, the DS lite in 2006, and now, at least according to Hirokazu Hamamura, president of the game magazine publisher Enterbrain, Nintendo’s next generation handheld is on the horizon. He maintains the DS lite is ready for a successor and that Nintendo will announce one at this year’s upcoming E3 gaming conference in July.

Will Hamamura’s forecast come true and is it based on special insider information at Nintendo? Nintendo has so far declined to comment, but Hamamura’s remarks seem to have had the effect of stirring up the guess work among the gaming press. In fact, given the two year release span between the DS and DS lite, a 2008 release seems highly probable. Several gaming websites have followed suite with Hamamura’s notions and are even hypothesizing what the next-gen handheld would be called. So far names such as the “Extreme” or the “Liter” have been circulating.

While Nintendo has had unprecedented success with their handheld DS lite models, with sales totalling over 45 million units sold world wide, recent statistics in Japan show Sony’s PSP actually outselling the Nintendo model. Perhaps this will be the best indication of Nintendo’s desire to develop a next generation model.