Early Nintendo DS Prototypes

If you ever want to release your own console, you'll see that coming up with and implementing such a device is much easier than obtaining all the necessary licenses and permits for its sale.

Nintendo also starts doing a huge amount of work related more to legal matters than to consoles before releasing a console. It's not enough to protect your product from imitators and those who like to copy others' developments; you also need to comply with the rules and requirements of other countries.

For example, in America, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted an entire Code of Federal Regulations for Telecommunications. And Subpart C of Part 15 of Section 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations for Telecommunications regulates the certification of devices that can work with Wi-Fi.

Of course, this may not seem very interesting to the average person, but these reports contained photos of early Nintendo DS prototypes.

So, on July 23, 2004, Nintendo Co., Ltd. filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission, stating that Compliance Engineering Services would represent Nintendo's interests in registering the console.

Nintendo's Application to the Federal Communications Commission

After that, they began submitting console prototypes and their test results to the Federal Communications Commission. We are interested in two consoles submitted on August 4, 2004, and September 8, 2004.

Prototype NTR-CPU-X2A

On August 4, 2004, the first test results of the NTR-CPU-X2A prototype were submitted to the Federal Communications Commission. Photos of this prototype were also attached to the application.

This was the prototype initially presented at E3 on May 12, 2004.

Nintendo DS Prototype at E3
Photo of NTR-CPU-X? from E3 2004.

However, it seems that the prototype shown at E3 was an even earlier version, possibly NTR-CPU-X1. Because if you compare it with NTR-CPU-X2A, you'll notice that they have different button layouts for Start / Select / Power. On the E3 prototype, the Start and Select buttons are on the left, and the Power button is on the right. On the prototype submitted to the Federal Communications Commission, these buttons are reversed: Start and Select are on the right, and Power is on the left.

Let's take a closer look at the console.

Three things immediately stand out:

First, the top part of the case is flat, not curved like in the final version of the console;

Second, there is no Nintendo logo;

Third, the hinges are positioned differently.

The front of the console also changed over time. On the top part of the case, there are indentations for buttons and holes for speakers, while on the final version of the console, these indentations are on the bottom part of the case, and the buttons are located there. The labels Power, Select, and Start were placed on the console case and later moved to the buttons themselves. The entire screen area also changed: here it is highlighted in color as a single space and not recessed, and the Nintendo logo is missing.

On the side of the console, you can see that the position of the L and R buttons has changed. They are positioned at an angle and have a round shape.

There were no significant changes on the back of the console. But the label itself is interesting. Here, the name "Nintendo DS" is already indicated, which means the press release from July 28, 2004, where Nintendo stated that the official name of the console is "Nintendo DS," was somewhat delayed. The serial number NTPAB1027 most likely indicates that this is the 27th unit of the console.

Photos of the motherboard of this prototype were published. Despite the general similarity of the board, the motherboard also had many changes, with the most noticeable being the beveled corners for the L and R buttons.

Nintendo DS Prototype NTR-CPU-X2A Motherboard

Judging by the markings on the board, it was produced sometime in late June. This shows how late Nintendo came up with the new design.

Nintendo DS Prototype NTR-CPU-X2A Motherboard

Pay attention to the Power, Start, and Select buttons (small buttons on the top right and left). On the prototype shown at E3, they were positioned the other way around. But you can't just swap them. There are no wires on such a board, so you can't just switch a couple of wires and solder them. You need to significantly rework the board. That's why I think the prototype from E3 was the first version of NTR-CPU-X1.

There was also a user manual published. Moreover, it was not from the latest version of the console, but specifically from this one. Download NTR-CPU-X2A user manual.

Prototype NTR-CPU-X4

On September 8, 2004, Nintendo submitted the test results of the second prototype. On the board, it was labeled as NTR-CPU-X4. The main difference between this prototype and the previous one is the design that remained until the console's release.

We wrote more about this prototype in the article: «Nintendo DS Prototype NTR-CPU-X4». Here you can view photos of the prototype submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.

Photos of the exterior: