For anyone who's watched Nintendo over the years, you know one thing about them and their portable consoles (aka, game boys): they never stay the same. The original eventually turned into the smaller sized pocket, then color, then SP.

While changing the frequency of new models on the same system has gone up exponentially the last 15 years, it wouldn't be difficult to expect that the DS, not even that old really, would already be given a facelift. With it being the second most popular game console today (the PS2 still holding the number one spot), Nintendo knows that it will eventually peak to the point where not enough people are interested in buying it anymore. So they release a newer model with some slight differences that don't really impact development, but give everyone something newer and shinier to buy.

It's genius and sick at the same time. Genius because every other year there's a newer model that's better than the last, so anyone who hasn't yet bought one can get the newer one for the same (or slightly higher) price. It's sick because those of us who own the older model get to feel like crap that we aren't willing to spoon up for the newer one and carry the bulky, now disgusting looking portable console.

Thus is the way of life...for Nintendo. Bloomberg Japan thinks that it'll happen again this summer. I wouldn't disagree, but it may be too soon yet. It's all through google translate, which works surprisingly well, but it isn't perfect.

Bloomberg Japan (image via Phil Nolan 3D)