GameStop memo shows Nintendo DS Lite phased out
updated 10:35 am EDT, Fri April 22, 2011
Nintendo DS Lite discontinued based on memo
An internal GameStop staff memo uncovered in the past day has confirmed that Nintendo is retiring the DS Lite. Production had stopped on the dual-screen console and would no longer see it replaced once stock is dry. The note originally caught by Solidus (republished by GoNintendo] didn't give an estimate for when that would happen.
The DS Lite was introduced in spring 2006 and is widely considered the defining version of the DS, having introduced the much slimmer design that lasted until the DSi in 2009. Little reason existed for the DS Lite to keep going since the DSi had been dropped down to $150.
Nintendo never has more than two truly distinct variants on the DS in the market and ousted the DSi as the top model with the 3DS just last month. The DSi XL partly breaks the rule but is mostly just a larger version of the older of the two systems.
