We've known that Nintendo has been prepping for the
next-generation DS handheld for sometime now. & since we know that it'll have some serious horse-power under the hood, we've been aching to get more details on what the successor to the Nintendo DS will be like.
In a recent interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata gave us a few hints on what to expect. Naturally higher-resolution visuals will be there. If the GBA was a handheld version of the SNES & the DS is a handheld version of the N64, we can expect the DS2 to have visuals comparable to the Gamecube. But something less expected is the addition of a motion sensor. It's unsure what exactly he meant by that. Perhaps it'll be like the Wii-mote, or maybe more like the iPhone that can sense when the device is rotated, or perhaps like Microsoft's Project Natal which captures the player's motion with a camera (which some DSi games already do). No date was given, but 2011 still seems like a good possibility to me.
The subject of using a mobile network connection (like 3G) to play games online on the new handheld were discussed, but wont be happening because of the high billing costs. Instead, Nintendo is looking to expand their Nintendo Zone service (which offers players a place to play DS games online & give out exclusive content) to other restaurant chains besides just McDonald's.
Separately, Iwata also confirmed that a new "Legend of Zelda" Wii game will be coming out by the end of the year. The sequel was originally announced last year, but at the time it wasn't known if it'd be ready in time to come out in 2010 or 2011.
Sources:
http://kotaku.com/5441242http://en.gigazine.net/index.php?/news/comments/20100106_nextgen_nintendo_ds