Nintendo DS: found a single screen model

According to what was presented by the channel Youtube The Retro Future, apparently a Nintendo DS single screen. Clearly not designed for sale, this device has however contributed to the creation of various and interesting contents that we have been able to observe in the past on our Nintendo DS. The device shown in the video carries the official mark Nintendo, as well as the circuits within it that reveal its resemblance to the Nintendo DSi. This DS, while managing to run games like Animal Crossing: Wild World, can only show the lower part of the screen, that is the one that can be interacted with and on which it is possible to perform actions. It would therefore be more simply the lower part of the Nintendo DSi with a cartridge Nintendo Zone which can be updated periodically and only remotely.

Nintendo Zone was a digital distribution service active from 2008 (2012 in Europe) to 2018, required for downloads of specific content on Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi e Nintendo 3DS. By carrying around your Nintendo console with the WiFi interface active, it was possible to connect to hotspot of commercial activities thanks to the Nintendo Zone. In this way it was possible to go online to be able to download content such as demos, games, console updates or send messages, play online with other players and download temporary promotions.

This particular Nintendo DS appears to have been created solely for promotional purposes for the Nintendo Zone functionality. Built in this way it was able to save on production costs and expenses compared to using normal Nintendo DS with a single Nintendo Zone cartridge, which could not be updated but only replaced with a new version. This device has an upgradeable cartridge and has only the hardware parts necessary for this purpose, so as to be much cheaper.

As for its use as a real console there seems to be little to do. Although there are titles such as The World Ends With You: Final Remix that can be played on single screen, would not be compatible because such games have been completely recreated from scratch for the newest Nintendo Switch. The only purpose of this weird Nintendo DS seems to be only to become an interesting collector's item for lovers of Nintendo consoles and the genre.