Somewhere -- perhaps in Chicago, maybe in Paris, possibly in Tokyo -- the 100 millionth system in the Nintendo DS franchise has been shipped to a distributor or a retailer as of March 6, 2009. The combined total sales of 100 million Nintendo DS systems, Nintendo DS Lite systems and Nintendo DSi systems represent a significant milestone in the life of this franchise, which is still going strong.

Since the original Nintendo DS launched in late 2004, its dual screens, touch screen and voice-recognition capabilities ushered in an era of new experiences not previously possible on portable systems. The successor, Nintendo DS Lite, launched with a slimmer, trimmer look.

The third iteration of the Nintendo DS hardware, Nintendo DSi, launches in the United States three and a half weeks from now on April 5. Nintendo DSi includes two cameras and the ability to record, manipulate and play sound files, and will allow consumers to personalize their Nintendo DSi experiences.