Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console from Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Advance and the predecessor to the Nintendo 3DS family. The Nintendo DS featured a dual-screen with a touch sensitive lower screen on the bottom.

The DS was the first Nintendo console to include a built-in online service known as Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, allowing players to connect to others using the internet. The original DS and Nintendo DS Lite also featured backwards compatibility with the Game Boy Advance due to the inclusion of a Game Boy Advance slot on the bottom and with the DS supporting the Game Boy Advance's video modes in its video chipset. Certain Nintendo DS accessories were made called "Option Paks" that use the Game Boy Advance slot of the system such as the Rumble Pak, Memory Expansion Pak, Guitar Grip, etc. The Nintendo DSi and DSi XL removed the Game Boy Advance slot and are incompatible with Game Boy Advance software as well as Option Pak accessories and any Nintendo DS software that requires the Game Boy Advance slot.

was the main Animal Crossing game to be released on the DS; together with two apps that were released on the DSi Shop.

The Nintendo DS family has sold 154.02 million units during its lifespan, making it both Nintendo's highest-selling video game platform and handheld console, the best-selling handheld of all time, and the second highest-selling video game platform of all time behind Sony's PlayStation 2.

Types of DS
There are four different versions of the Nintendo DS, all with bottom touch screens.

Stylus
The Stylus is a utensil that is used to operate the lower screen on the Nintendo DS (commonly called the touch screen). The Nintendo DSi XL has two different sized styluses, one full sized, and the other slightly bigger than the Nintendo DSi's stylus. has two different control schemes: one that is entirely controlled by the buttons on the DS, and one that is controlled entirely by the stylus. Input from the method not currently in use will cause to switch control modes; however the initial input will not be recognized until used again.

DSiWare
DSiWare is the name given to downloadeable software created exclusively for the Nintendo DSi model line of Nintendo DS onwards, and through a shop called the DSi Shop. It allowed users to buy and download already bought, or free, apps and smallish games that could be either created by Nintendo, or by other companies. All apps and games have animated icons except for some special cases with static ones.

In June 2011, DSiWare support was added to the Nintendo 3DS's eShop, making the full library of more than 550 downloadable DSiWare software accesible to buy by anyone, except for certain titles that stayed Japan-only or weren't included at all for other reasons. DSiWare bought and downloaded on a Nintendo DSi can be transfered to a Nintendo 3DS for free.

While Nintendo DSi's support for the DSi Shop ended on March 31, 2017, with the last DSiWare game being released in 2016, support for DSiWare on Nintendo 3DS's eShop continues to work, but the shop itself has been discontinued in some countries as of July 31, 2020. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in these games has also become useless, due to the online service being discontinued in 2014.

DSiWare apps
These apps are no longer available on the DSi due to the DSi Shop's closure on March 31, 2017. These app will remain purchasable on the Nintendo eShop for the Nintendo 3DS until late March 2023.