Analyst: DS2 will be announced "within the next eight months"

Nintendo may have sold a stupefying 11.2 million DS units in the US last year, but that isn't going to stop Nintendo announcing a full hardware revision this year, if EEDAR's to be believed.

"Even though the Nintendo DS posted a record year in 2009, EEDAR expects Nintendo to make an official announcement on the DS2 within the next eight months," said the US research body is its post year-end NPD statement (via GoNintendo).

First-mover advantage has been a consistent Nintendo strategy in the handheld market, said the report.

"Nintendo’s transition from the GBA to the DS, a year earlier than anticipated, was a brilliant strategy to remove any upper hand the Sony PSP could have by being first to market," it said, noting that a new format may also be better equipped to deal with piracy.

"Additionally, many publishers including Sega, Capcom, and now UbiSoft have all expressed that they may be reducing their exposure to Nintendo’s consoles, which will likely lead to heavy declines in both hardware and software sales for the Nintendo DS," EEDAR added, saying this combination of factors will lead to Nintendo launching DS2 "within the next 15 months".

E3? Ja, bitte.