Europe
The DS was released in Europe on 11 March 2005 for €149. Prior to this, a small supply of DS units were available in a package with a promotional "VIP" T-shirt, Metroid Prime Hunters - First Hunt, a WarioWare: Touched! demo, and a pre-release version of Super Mario 64 DS, through the Nintendo Stars Catalogue; the bundle was priced at £129.99 for the UK and €189.99 for the rest of Europe, plus 1,000 of Nintendo's "star" loyalty points (to cover postage). As of 23 January, 1 million DS's had been sold in Europe, setting a sales record for a handheld.
The European version of the DS, like the U.S. release, was packaged with a Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo when the system was released; and has not been included since. The European packaging for the console is noticeably more "aggressive" than that of the U.S./Japanese release.
The European game cases are about 1/4 inch thicker than their North American counterparts; they are also transparent rather than solid black. Inside the case there is room for one Game Boy Advance game pak and a DS card with the instructions on the left side of the case.
Read more about this topic: Nintendo DS Launch
Famous quotes containing the word europe:
“The confrontation between America and Europe reveals not so much a rapprochement as a distortion, an unbridgeable rift. There isn’t just a gap between us, but a whole chasm of modernity.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“We go to Europe to be Americanized.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“You can always tell a Midwestern couple in Europe because they will be standing in the middle of a busy intersection looking at a wind-blown map and arguing over which way is west. European cities, with their wandering streets and undisciplined alleys, drive Midwesterners practically insane.”
—Bill Bryson (b. 1951)