Rumors have been swirling for months that Nintendo was going to release a redesigned, slimmer version of the Nintendo DS. As recently as yesterday, Nintendo was denying that anything was going on with a DS redesign. Now, this morning, they come out and <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/26/nintendo_announces_ds_lite/">announce the Nintendo DS Lite</a>:<br /><div align="center"><img alt="" src="http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/01/nintendo_ds_lite.jpg" border="1" hspace="4" vspace="4" /><br /></div>It's less than 2/3 the size of the DS, and 20% lighter. Also supposed to have 4 backlight brightness levels for the screens.<br /><br />My one complaint about my Mario Kart Red DS is the size - it feels kind of bulky (though not too heavy), and the design just isn't as sleek and elegant as the PSP.<br /><br />The DS Lite will be available in Japan by March, probably in the U.S. shortly thereafter. No word on color variations, but I want a black one, please, to match all of my other gear.  <br />