DS to get fully downloadable games

The DS has long been able to download game demos from game stores, booths at gaming events and even some airports. Now, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has revealed that the console maker has plans to extend this functionality to offer full games via download.

Speaking to The New York Times, Fils-Aime explained that in the future, the Wii and the DS will have a lot more interplatform functionality. He gave the example of using the Wii to download games in manner akin to Xbox Live, and then using the wireless connection to transfer them to the DS.

The first Nintendo first-party game to make use of the wireless connection between the Wii and the DS will be Professor Layton and the Curious Village, a puzzle game due out February in the US. Gamers will be able to get new puzzles for the title via Wii downloads.

Fils-Aime also hinted that Nintendo could be looking at bringing over some of the Japanese functionality of the portable -- in Japan it is used, for example, to download guide content in museums. He said, "To aggressively drive DS business we need to provide other forms of entertainment to excite the customer."