Nintendo is again extending the range of the Nintendo DS with a deal that will see HarperCollins eBook cartridges released for that system later this month.
The 100 Classic Book Collection ranges from Shakespeare and Dickens to Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters. It will cost about £20 and will be available initially only in Britain. Readers will turn the pages by brushing a finger across the screen. If the collection is a success, Nintendo may expand the range of books available.
The new cartridge is yet another example of the eBook phenomenon, which had been advanced in the past by Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader and the Sony Reader. The Kindle is on back order at Amazon, which bodes well for its popularity in 2009, but it does not boast the install base of the Nintendo DS. Nor does either device have a comparable price point with the DS. That sound you’re hearing right now is the DS spitting out more money in Kyoto.
that is a damn good idea…they deserve their ka-ching $$ they already have a built in user base and that's a lot of room for more profit.
Eh. If they have some more interesting books I'll consider. How about the type of books gamers are likely to read, like sci-fi? I'd buy an Ender's Game Series e-book cartridge in a heartbeat.
this will go nowhere.
It's a great idea, but I don't know if they took it far enough.
To make an eBook reader really work on DS, the ability to import new text should have been included as well – either manually via a microSD slot, or (more likely) by downloading content from an online store. It's a shame that there doesn't seem to be any way to tap into an online service to purchase and download new content.
@ejamer
True, but don't forget, the DSi will have that ability. I kind of see this as a testing phase. If it goes over even slightly well on the DS, I can see Nintendo putting a lot more effort into it once the DSi is in its place.
well I got all kinds of collection on my "internet"
If this takes off, they should put the Dr. Seuss collection downloadable on the DSi for the kids.
Who on earth would want to read a massive novel on a screen with the resolution of a DS?
Is it so difficult to read a /book/ today?
I don't know if I should call Nintendo smart or cheap for using public domain material.
Plus, the kindle hasn't exactly set the world on fire.
i think its a terrible idea, that screen is so small you'll hurt your eyes, and you can forget about the elderly
This would be great if they open up the SD slot on the DS to use and SD card so that you could use any of your ebooks to read on there, but I don't think this will go very far if it's only collections like this.