Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the Nintendo DS, which launched in Japan and the US in 2004. When Nintendo first unveiled the DS at E3 04, then Nintendo of America Senior VP Reggie Fils Amie marketed the new handheld's name as not only standing for "Dual Screen", but also "Developer's System".
"Developer's System" sounded like an vague term at the time, but as the DS began to roll out, it was clear what Nintendo was aiming for with this new console. Going into the HD era with the next generation, development costs for games was about to increase dramatically, and would initially be an affair only affordable by the largest of studios. This was obvious when looking at the early days of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 where mid-sized and smaller teams struggled to create compelling experiences with High-Definition visuals, causing many developers to fold or shut down.
Nintendo pitched the Nintendo DS (and later the Wii) in 2004 and 2005 to developers as an alternative to traditional console development. A low-risk, low-cost platform who while lacking the sheer graphical power of other devices, made up for it with it's flexible, easy-to-develop-for architecture, and innovative control inputs. Allowing game developers to create AAA quality experiences, at only the fraction of the costs on HD home consoles, which was a blessing to the more mid-ranged and independent studios, who were stuck either trying to compete with the big boys in AAA development, or release comparatively simplistic games through Xbox Live Arcade.
Throughout the DS's years, it was quietly home to some of the best, innovative, and most ambitious games of its generation. Being the home for classic side-scrolling games, unique touch-screen focused titles, and suprisingly decent adaptations of home console franchises. Even as its lifecycle drew to a close, developers still kept pumping out gems for the system that leveraged its unique hardware.
At over 152 million units sold and a software library of more than 2,000+ titles, it's safe to say the gamble paid off. I feel like the Nintendo Switch is probably the closest successor to the DS in this regard, being a relatively underpowered, but exteremely versitile system with a variety of unique inputs allowing for innovative playstyles.
