Nintendo is serving up a special deal for Black Friday shoppers eying the DSi. This Friday, participating retailers will be stocking Metallic Blue or White DSi units that up the value with pre-installed DSi software.

The Metallic Blue DSi comes with Mario vs. Donkey Kong, Dr. Mario Express, WarioWare: Snapped: Wario, Mario Calculator, and Mario Clock: Mario Clock. The White DSi bundle is decidedly more academic-focused, packing three Brain Age express titles, Clubhouse Games Express, and Photo Clock.

“These limited-edition bundles come packed with some of the great Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that have made Nintendo DSi such a big hit with shoppers young and old,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The special price and pre-installed titles make the bundles a huge value for the holidays.”

Nintendo calls it a $20 a value that will be available “for a limited time only,” so expect stock to move quickly. It’s a nice gesture and should increase visibility of the DSiWare service to customers that otherwise may not be aware of its offerings. It’d be even sweeter if this wasn’t a limited offer, though.

Nintendo Preps Black Friday DSi Bundles With Preloaded Software - [eXophase.com]

The DSi LL is heading to North American and Europe under a slightly more identifiable moniker — the DSi XL. XL, obviously standing for extra large. Official word from Nintendo is that the unit will offer a screen 93% larger than the current DS Lite, coupled with a better view angle, a jumbo-sized stylus, and unspecified preinstalled Nintendo DSiWare software.

It’s slated to hit “first quarter calendar year of 2010.” No word on pricing yet, but expect it to carry a premium like its Japanese counterpart, which will retail for approximately 1100 more yen over that of the standard DSi model.

DSi XL Pegged for 2010 Release In North America, Europe - [eXophase.com]

Nintendo of Japan has lifted the lid on its supersized, eyesight-friendly DSi, first mentioned in a Nikkei report earlier this week. Dubbed DSi LL, the unit is slated for a release in the region on November 21. Sporting the same internal specifications as the original DSi, it sports two considerably larger 4.2 inch screens and will set those interested back 20,000 yen ($220). Aside from the obvious size difference with this unit, cosmetically the only other change is a slight variation in the placement of speaker holes. The included stylus is also jumbo-sized, which we suppose is fitting.

No word on a North American or European release date as of yet. More shots of the unit can be viewed after the break.

According to a report from Japanese news outlet Nikkei, Nintendo is releasing a revised DSi unit in Japan later this year. Priced at 18,900 yen, same as the current model, it will feature a screen that is three-quarters of an inch larger and aimed at an older audience, specifically those with less than optimal eyesight.

There’s no word on if this “supersized” DSi will hit other regions, but according to the aforementioned report, it remains a distinct possibility. While this is a great initiative by Nintendo, we don’t feel there’s much value in switching over to this model if the internal resolution is staying the same, which it likely will. Assuming this is the case, the higher dot pixel pitch will effectively make titles rendered in 3D look less sharp, a caveat of running LCD technology below its native res.

Basically, if you’re content with the current DSi, we wouldn’t recommend rushing out to sell it in anticipation for this model.

任天堂がDSiの進化版を年内に販売！iPhone対抗か！液晶も大型化 [via NeoGAF]

Revised DSi With Slightly Larger Screens To Hit Japan - [eXophase.com]

If a listing on the product pages of online retailer GameFly are any indication, it appears that Konami has picked up Alpha Unit’s Monster Finder for a stateside release. Slated for a debut in Japan next month, the Pokemon Snap and Invizimals crossover features a neat concept, enabling players to utilize the DSi cameras to take pictures of real-world objects with which the game transforms into virtual monsters.

GameFly is pegging on a January 2010 release date on what would be the first DSi-exclusive title to reach North American shores.

DSi Exclusive Monster Finder Coming Stateside, Retailer Hints - [eXophase.com]

Nintendo may have plans to position the DSi platform as more than a mere enhancement over previous DS hardware iterations with rumors cropping up that titles exclusive to DSi will hit retail channels later this fall. They’ve already done this to a certain extent with DSiWare, but the digital market is still small potatoes compared to retail.

Industry sources have told weblog Kotaku that DSi-specific software will be visually identifiable from that of legacy titles, packaged in an all white game casing brandished with an “only for DSi” label.

It’s a transition reminiscent of the Game Boy Color era. The original GB was still extremely popular during the introduction of the GBC and as such Nintendo eased the transition early on with software titles that were compatible with both platforms then later moved on to releasing GBC-only software.

It looks as if Nintendo will once again employ this strategy to lure folks over to the DSi platform, which in addition to featuring a camera component, sports beefed up hardware specifications: double the CPU clock speed and four times as much RAM as the original DS and DS Lite. Of course, this is still is a rumor, leaving only time to confirm Nintendo’s eventual plans.

Rumor: DSi Exclusive Titles Hit This Fall - [eXophase.com]

The gang of hackers over at Team Twiizers, widely known for their homebrew efforts on Wii, have released a video clip of a custom intro sequence running on the DSi, featuring the team logo scrolling from right to left on screen. At first glance, it may look like a simple feat but we’re told this is a huge step forward towards running homebrew in DSi mode. Access to this operational mode would give hobbyist developers access to extra CPU and RAM resources found only in the DSi.

Technical details in regards to how the hack was performed aren’t available just yet, but we’re promised that more information is on the way. In the meantime, you may want to refrain from updating that DSi firmware.

Team Twiizers Unofficially Unlock DSi Mode - [eXophase.com]

In a press release gloating over its March NPD numbers, Nintendo of America revealed that the recently-launched DSi has went on to sell 435,000 units in its first week of introduction.

Impressive. To make this feat even more remarkable is that according to Nintendo, the DS Lite sold 226,300 units during the week following its launch. Yes, that means the DSi somehow nearly doubled that. Either there’s a whole lot of people out there that have been waiting to spring on a DS, or folks were enticed into upgrading from their current portable setup.

Full release after the break.

Artist Sean Kenney has created a giant Nintendo DSi out of Lego to commemorate the launch of the DSi in North America. The giant DSi was created from over 50,000 lego bricks, weighs over 250 pounds and measures over seven feet on width. The monster of a handheld can be seen at the Nintendo World Store in the Rockefeller Center, New York City throughout April.

Check out the video to watch as his creation slowly comes together.

Sean Kenney's colossal LEGO Nintendo DSi is 7 feet wide and weighs 250 lbs [ The Brothers Brick ]

The biggest item releasing for all regions outside of Japan is the new Nintendo DSi hardware.  Five months after the release in Japan, they have recently surpassed two million units sold there.  It will be interesting to start seeing sales numbers for the other regions of the world in the coming months and whether or not the improved system will see similar success.

The PSP will be seeing a slew of reduced priced games with more than a handful of new 'Greatest Hits' titles seeing a price drop.  Continue reading after the break for the full release list by date and region.