The grand return of the Nintendo DS

Nintendogs, Mario Kart, Pokemon, Zelda, MySims, Animal Crossing: just naming the DS games from a few years ago brings back every detail of our childhood, from the theme song to the most intense matches - which left our fingertips marked by the round buttons of the console. It might be due to nostalgia that in recent months Google searches for the Nintendo DS have increased by 83% over the last two months (compared to the average of previous months). More specifically, thanks to Delta, the emulator for Android and iOS that brings back the ROMs of the most famous gaming systems from the Japanese video game brand - like the DS, through Delta it's also possible to download Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. Similarly to the dumb phone trend, which brings music streaming platforms to an old 2000s phone to replace smartphones without giving up music, the trend of reviving old technological devices for aesthetics, nostalgia, or the need to disconnect is increasingly prominent. So much so, that even Central Cee brought along a surprisingly white DS console to the Louis Vuitton Men show last night. He pulled it out while waiting for all the guests to arrive and played it with his colleague Sabrina Carpenter for some fun before the show.

The History of the DS, from 2004 to 2020

It has been exactly twenty years since the launch of the Nintendo DS on the international market, named according to the acronym of "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen”. The portable console was an immediate success thanks to its unique features, including the dual interactive screen and the ability to connect to other devices via Wi-Fi. At the time, the DS's main competitor was the PSP - Sony's PlayStation Portable - but today the only other portable console capable of matching the popularity of Nintendo's dual screen seems to be the Switch, from the same company, launched in 2017. In the early 2000s, the DS quickly replaced the Game Boy, the company's flagship device in the 90s, as it featured a slot compatible with games from the old console. Over the years, the DS had several successors, including the Lite version in 2006, which was thinner than the original and available in more colors, and the Nintendo 3DS in 2011, capable of displaying 3D images without the use of additional accessories. As one of the first touchscreen and wireless devices accessible to a wide audience - the first console was sold in Europe for 149 euros - the DS paved the way for all smart devices, including iPhones. With the launch of the DS, even more with the pink DS Lite, and with inclusive and less violent games, Nintendo expanded the female gamer community worldwide: according to a 2006 article by PocketGamer, 44% of the 20 million DS and DS Lite units distributed worldwide were sold to women. The console's career was discontinued in 2020, three years after the launch of the Switch, when Nintendo ceased production of all DS models, making the entire line no longer available for purchase.

Why Do We Still Like the DS?

Asking why we still like the DS is a bit like asking why we get emotional when we think of specific moments from our childhood. Besides the nostalgia, which certainly plays a key role in the DS's big return to pop culture, what makes the device attractive even to generations that couldn't discover it during its heyday is once again the ability to disconnect without necessarily abandoning contemporary technologies. During a walk with Nintendogs or a Mario Kart game, we momentarily regain the same carefree feeling of when we were children, and at the same time, we feel a sense of control over a digital tool we missed, away from the hassle of social media, advertisements, and influencers. Nintendo has already noticed the renewed interest in the console among consumers, and in March 2023 relaunched the device on the market. After images of Central Cee holding a DS Lite at the Louis Vuitton show, it has now been embraced even among A-listers. All that's left now is to choose whether to download it on the phone or go back to the origins and search for the original DS in the attic.