At only $12 a set, DS Buttons can make avoiding those awkward introductions when asking strangers for a game of Tetris DS or Mario Kart DS on the train very affordable. Michael McWhertor

DS Buttons

So we like Japanese popstar Utada Hikaru? A lot. So what? She likes Tetris (a lot), which means one thing: Absolutely nothing. Regardless, Nintendo has posted the video of her recent 30 person battle. Watch as Hikky is defeated by grown-ups! Watch as she finally kicks the crap out of children! Yes, she beat children!! Brian Ashcraft

Click "Play" [Nintendo]

Ever wonder how much gaming you could get done in 24 hours? Strike that, ever wonder how much Tetris DS you could get in? The gonzo guy at Nintendo site N-Styles played Tetris DS for one full day, stopping only to sleep and eat. He even gamed in the bath! He blogs:

Even though I enjoyed it throughout, I came to hate Tetris when playing it for 24 hours.

The grand tally: 507 WiFi games played, 314 wins and 193 losses. So now we know. Thanks. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [N-Styles]

She came, she saw, she gamed. Japanese pop mega star Utada Hikaru took on challengers at a Club Nintendo sponsored Tetris DS event. Said Hikky, "I first played when I was five years-old and every day since then." She's racked up a whopping 99,999,999 on the game's current DS incarnation to prove it. Nutshell: She's a big Tetris nerd and even wore glasses during the tourney, because, says Hikky, "It is serious." Thirty contestants were pitted against the singer, one-by-one, and there was six minute time limit for each battle. The first challenger defeated the singer in 56 seconds. Likewise, Utada is defeated by a female challenger in the second round. Next contest was a small child, who Utada schooled and slaughtered. Her final tally? 26 wins and 4 defeats. Impressive. That's the thing about Japan, there's always someone's who is a bigger geek than you. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [Famitsu]

It's probably testament to what a comforting game Tetris is to play that even the crappiest interpretations can cause me to play until the point of digital paralysis.

The crappy port? Tetris DS. Oh, yes, it's very professional looking, but as a challenging puzzle game, it's just fundamentally broken.

Consider this: if you are good enough to break 200 lines in Tetris DS, the only thing that stops you from playing infinitely is the laws of mathematics and your own muscular atrophy.

Tetris DS has two features that make it possible to play forever, once you reach a certain skill level: first of all, you can infinitely spin your pieces. They don't lock down until you stop spinning. So if you keep on hammering the A button, they'll never lock, allowing you all the time in the world to position them where you want, or even just leisurely scope out your preview pieces. Furthermore, any screw-ups can be corrected by exchanging your hold piece.

So while it's true that Tetris pieces fall instantly to the bottom of the playing field past level 20, what this means is that even mediocre players can exploit the game to rack up huge points. The only strategy you need in Tetris DS to attain huge points is to keep the playing field as level as possible, so you can spin your pieces left and right into their proper positions. The only skill is your ability to madly jab the rotate button.

I'm no great shakes at Tetrtis DS, but five or six games allowed me to easily beat the Marathon mode, which unlocked endless. Yesterday night, I gave it a shot, and easily scored over a million points.

In fact, I'm convinced I could have continued until the caloric expenditure of my jabbing thumb desiccated me into a shriveled, gasping mummy, if not for the fact that, at around 1,100,000 points, my entire right hand stopped functioning. It simply dropped numbly to my side like someone had sucked the bones out, spilling my DS Lite to the floor. By the time I'd picked it up with my left hand, the Tetriminos had already piled up to the top.

And that was when the agony hit, as my right arm filled with molten blood and I felt a thousand invisible rusty hypodermics plunged into each and every one of my arm's pain receptors. My hand had contorted into a ghastly claw. For me to even use it again, I had to soak my arm in the tub for half an hour.

In its current iteration, playing Tetris DS has the same physical symptoms of a frontal lobe stroke. Hey, Henk Rogers! You can tweak a good game too far. Florian Eckhardt

The beautiful Irish weather continues unabated even as I seethe. Instead of sitting in my basement, mastering my Dead Rising zombie disembowelments, decapitations, defenestrations, gelatinations, I'm forced to go outside and stroll in the sun, muttering obscenities under my breath. I resent every second in the sun, every molecule of darkened melanin bronzing my godlike skin.

The other day, I was walking in the park, when a small child skipping jump rope absent-mindedly accidentally hit me with his loop of rope.

"Sorry, mister!" he said with an innocent, earnest smile.

I twitched dangerously, "What did you say to me, you LITTLE FRICKIN' PUNK?" I gradually elevated the volume and shrillness of my voice with every phoneme until by the last word, I was screaming. A few hours later, local Gardai found his jump rope flossed through him and being used to dangle him squirming from a tree. In retrospect, I may have overreacted.

Such is my ill humor over the summer's insidious attempt to thwart my gaming. But the other day, something occurred to me: I have a DS Lite, hello! So I'll spend the weekend sitting in the cursed sun, playing Tetris DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters. On the former title, I need to get 200 lines to unlock Korobieniki... I got 199 lines last night, lost, and went on a Jack the Ripper style rampage in Temple Bar. On the latter: those of you who suggested that I really needed to use the thumb pad were dad right, and the helpful people at GAME on Dawson Street were able to supply me with one for free (it never did come with my DS Lite, apparently). So it's all good, although still cramps my hand fairly quickly; another criticism is the music really doesn't feel like Metroid.

Enough jabbering. What will you be playing this weekend? Florian Eckhardt

Tetris has only one song for me: Korobieniki. You might know it as Type B from the original Game Boy cart: it's a traditional Russian folk song. You might also know Ozma's absolutely amazing cover of the song on their album, Doubble Donkey Disc. For me, a game just ain't Tetris unless Korobieniki's playing in the background.

So I need some help here. I recently picked up Tetris DS and while the Super Mario Bros. and Zelda songs are pretty snappy replacements for Korobieniki, it just isn't the same. I did some searching on GameFAQ's, but I don't see any mention that Korobieniki might be an unlockable song on Tetris DS.

But maybe it's just not up there. Maybe it's a crazy unlockable after you make 300 lines on Marathon. Does anyone know if it's anywhere on the cart, lying in wait as a reward for the endurance of my fast, fiddling fingers? If not, does anyone know if there's a GBA version of Tetris available that still has the song?

Helpful commenters all get cookies. Possibly tossed by Eliza after reading another one of her reader-sent mash notes. Florian Eckhardt

Somehow, our canny brothers over at the Consumerist took time out from insulting all gamers everywhere to hack into Kotaku's email account and steal an email meant for us! We'll let them have it: they need the content. Although our kotaku.com email password is definitely being changed... Crecente's measurements were obviously too easy to guess.

But though the Consumerist bastards stole our email, it's more than worth mentioning the content here. otakuite Phil purchased Tetris DS at his local Best Buy. The salesman then tried to get him to buy a 2 Year Protection Plan for the game, claiming "We get a lot of these returned. I just want you to know that."

We find it frankly incredible that Best Buy would try to foist a 2 year service plan on the buyer of a $30 game. As Phil H. notes: "I've been playing video games for more than 25 years, and I don't think I've ever had a cartridge or disc go bad on me. I had been led to believe that Flash memory is more durable than the old GBA cartridges"

Has anyone ever had an experience where a flash-based game just went 'bad' within two years of purchase? I'm curious as to how common an event this is. Florian Eckhardt

Best Buy: "Oh Yeah, Tetris Breaks All The Time." [Consumerist]

Previously, we posted that Japanese pop princess Utada Hikaru was damn good at Tetris. We were wrong. Hikki is a Tetris freak. She's posted her DS Tetris record score, which clocks in at a whopping 99,999,999. And that was after 16 or 17 hours of play—the same length of time it takes to finish an RPG. She writes:

You need perservance or obstance to make it this far. (lol) A woman's obstance! Hahahahaha!

Utada Hikaru has way too much free time. Brian Ashcraft

More Here [U3 Music] Thanks, Tourianx!

What is the point of cheating like this? We can understand griefing — there can be a delicious thrill in frustrating someone to the point of mouth-foaming homicide. But in a wifi Tetris DS match, it takes about ten seconds to figure out that someone is using a hacked DS to cheat, in which case, all you do is immediately flip your console on and off. It's not even particularly obnoxious... the hacker is cheating himself out of a fun experience more than he's cheating you out of one. - Florian Eckhardt

We have already seen the Wii shirt (heh), but here's another Nintendo shirt: the Tetris DS shirt, which reads "Tetris Chance" in Engrish. Nintendo is giving this to winners at the Odaiba Festival. One, two, three, eveybody, "Tetris chansu!"

Image Here [GameBrink]

As Japan's Golden Week kicks off (making a painfully slow news week), Nintendo has set up an enormous Tetris DS display to lure small children and old people. The display, set up in Fuji TV's home Odaiba, features 10 kiosks in which players battle it out in Tetris DS. All ten games are projected onto an enormous screen, and the winner gets a free t-shirt. Yay.

Ninety booth babes (ehem, "companions" here in Japan) were also on hand to guide folks through brain training games, English games and Point and Say games. There was also a NiWiFi battle corner that lets folks duke it out with players worldwide. Event ends on May 7th.

More Here [Famitsu]

The Game Rag's Nathan Smart shot me a link to a recent video "review" he did of Tetris DS. Although it may not be the most useful review, it is pretty damn funny.

I wish I had an audience to blame my crappy Tetris playing on.

Video Review: Tetris DS Online Video Review [The Game Rag]

This is so exciting! I'm going to head downtown tonight and see how old my brain is! Check the official site for a DS Download Station store near you.

Share the DS love! [Official Nintendo Site]

For those living outside the United States or for those living in the United States without a television (gasp), here's the American TV ad for Tetris DS. It shows a buncha skydivers in multicolored jumpsuits forming Tetris pieces. Neato!

Watch Here [4ColorRebellion]

After spending far too much time messing around with all of the modes (except in-room multiplayer), I suddenly have a burning desire to own a DS Lite. The problem is, the DS is just too big for me to carry it everywhere I go. Yes, I'm addicted.

The initial screen for Tetris DS brings up three main gameplay options: Single Player, Multiplayer and WiFi.

In single player you can choose to play one of six different modes: Standard, push, touch, puzzle, mission and catch.

Each of the modes have different options. Standard, for instance, lets you choose to play a game of marathon, line clear, or against the CPU.

The standard mode of Tetris feels a lot like the original Tetris, but with a much cleaner look and classic Nintendo themes. The game allows you to set whether you want a ghost image of the falling piece to appear at the bottom of the screen for planning purposes and whether you want the quick drop button enabled.

The first game I played on Tetris DS was a marathon session in the standard mode. As you play through the session the top screen shows Mario working his way through classic Super Mario Bros levels. It's pretty cool and only initially distracting. The music played also all comes from the retro games.

The controls are pretty straight forward and the only problem I ran into was that I occasionally quick dropped a Tetrimino while trying to rotate it.

The gameplay is pretty much the same in the Mission mode as well. The only difference, besides it being a Zelda theme, is that you have to complete little challenges while playing like clearing three lines at the same time or using a special block to clear lines.

The other single player modes in the game are challenging twists to the original Tetris concept.

In Touch mode you start with a tower of Tetriminos stacked right off of the top of the screen. You have to slide them around so they fall in place across the screen to clear lines. It's a completely different way to play Tetris, but still worthy of the name.

In the Metroid-themed Catch mode you have a core brick that you can rotate clockwise of counter-clockwise. You have to catch falling Tetriminos, which you can't rotate, and allow them to hit and meld with the core unit. By rotating around the core and moving left to right you can build a solid square of bricks which will detonate and give you points. It's very bizarre, but also very fun.

I didn t really like the Puzzle Mode. In it you are presented with a screen of blocks and need to select which bricks and in what position you should use them. Sort of like a slow, boring version of Tetris.

Push Mode was by far my favorite non-standard Tetris play in the game. In this mode you play against the computer. You use the top screen and try to clear lines using falling bricks. Your opponent takes the bottom screen and does the same with bricks floating up. Both your and your opponent's bricks meet in the middle of the screen. The object is to push your opponent off the screen. You do this by clearing two or more lines at the same time.

While the single player games are more than enough to keep you occupied, the game also includes multiplayer and Wi-Fi options of play as well. Once you get online (still a painless process) you just choose Worldwide and decide whether you want to play against on opponent or three in standard Tetris gaming or take on a challenger in little head-to-head push.

Nintendo learned a lot from some of the missteps in DS Mario Kart and it really shows. First and foremost, if your opponent disconnects or power-downs in a game, they lose and you still get the points.

While NiWiFi play still uses the friends code system, there's more ways to tell if you have a friend online and help track them down. When you first sign on, if one of your friends is looking for a game, an icon will show up on the screen.

Also you can choose to invite a friend to a game or join them in one.

After a bout you're given the option of quitting or playing another match, also an improvement. The game's roster can hold up to 60 friend codes at a time.

I happen to be a huge Tetris fan going far back, so I think this is a must have game for the DS. Its combination of new modes and old with a slick new look and great retro sounds were enough to make this a keeper. But then Nintendo added fairly robust (and lag-free) online play. Between the two I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't buy this game for their DS.

Single card multiplayer is also offered, and looks quite intriguing. I couldn't check it out, but hope to in the coming weeks.

Oh sweet Mary, I've got myself a problem.

Tetris DS just landed on my doorstep. I've only played one game so far (a classic endless match) and I can tell this badboy is going to be robbing me of some sleep and eat and drink and work.

My first run through the single player standard marathon version netted me a score of 49,621. I cleared 81 lines and made it to level nine before just totally blowing it.

I haven't had a chance to really dig into the game yet, but once I do I'll make sure to post a review.

Now then, back to playing. Oh, my friend code is: 989519 876614

Nintendo's official NiWiFi site has launched an area for the hotly anticipated Tetris DS game. There's nothing really there yet besides a few pictures and this statement:

The greatest puzzle game of all time is reborn through Wi-Fi! Challenge your friends and others from around the world in an exciting new way. Time to get off your block and get online!

Log on with Tetris DS and dig in for some puzzling head-to-head action via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. When you're ready to take a break from your block battles, come to the Tetris DS gaming hub and see how you rank against other players. Whether you're competitive or casual, you'll find a way to reconnect with the most popular puzzle game in history!

Take on up to three others in the Standard Tetris DS game or duel an opponent in the tug-of-war battle that is Push Mode. Both come to life with classic Nintendo themes and will challenge you to be the master of the online domain!

Tetris DS [Nintendo WiFi]

What started as a trickle is now a flood, as Nintendo released complete information about the gametypes for Tetris DS. Which mode will you be playing with Balloon Fight in the background? What about the Legend of Zelda mode, what gametype will that be? It's all revealed after the jump.

Mission: In this Legend of Zelda-themed mode, players race the clock to complete the missions that appear on the top screen before time runs out.

Catch: In this Metroid-themed mode, players try to land Tetriminos (falling blocks) on any side of an ever-growing floating pile of Tetriminos. Once players complete a 4-by-4 square, the Tetrimino will explode in all directions and earn points.

Puzzle: Players solve up to 200 tricky Tetris puzzles at their own pace with the help of just a few Tetriminos provided. Players tap the orientation they want to use and then the Tetrimino will automatically fall into place as Yoshi monitors the action.

Standard: This Mario-themed mode features the same addictive game play that made the original Tetris so wildly popular. Players guide Tetriminos and form horizontal lines to clear them away. Mario runs around Super Mario Bros. levels in the background.

Touch: This unique Balloon Fight-themed take on Tetris really shows off the touch-screen capability of Nintendo DS. Players use a stylus to drag and move a giant stack of Tetriminos to make them fall into horizontal lines. In early levels, they can tap to spin them just the way they need them. Players have as much time as they need to carefully plan their moves.

Push: The goal of this multiplayer Donkey Kong -themed mode is to clear two lines at a time to push the group of Tetriminos into an opponent s red zone. Players can t let their own Tetriminos build up too high, or it s game over.

Nintendo is going to release little morsels of information on Tetris DS leading up to its March 20 ship date. The first of these nuggets came into the Kotaku-box today. Each of Tetris DS six modes is sponsored by a famous Nintendo character. Straight from Nintendo, Standard and Touch mode are discussed after the jump.

Every mode in Tetris DS features a theme based on a famous Nintendo character.

Up to 10 players can clash using DS Download Play to form a Tetris DS match of massive proportions, all with just one game card.

Using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, up to four players can compete in wireless two- or four-player battles against friends or strangers, near or far.

Characters: Each game mode features a theme based on a famous Nintendo character or game.

How to progress through the game: The game has six game modes to choose from. Information will be released periodically about each mode.

Standard: This Mario-themed mode features the same addictive game play that made the original Tetrisso wildly popular. Players guide falling Tetriminos (falling blocks) and form horizontal lines to clear them away. Mario runs around Super Mario Bros. levels in the background.

Touch: This unique take on Tetris really shows off the touch-screen capability of Nintendo DS. Players use a stylus to drag and move Tetriminos in a giant stack to make them fall into horizontal lines. In early levels, they can tap Tetriminos to spin them just the way they need them. Players have as much time as they need to carefully plan their moves, so it plays very differently from the other frantic modes.

Prodigious Gaming says Nintendo has announced Tetris DS, another portable version of the classic puzzler. This iteration will include six "themes," each based on a classic Nintendo game. The game is expected to have head-to-head multiplayer in addition to a 10-men multiplayer mode that only requires one cartridge. Early word has Tetris shipping in the U.S. March 20.

Update: European consumers can expect the game May 6, according to Hyrule.net.

Thanks, James

Tetris DS Announced with WiFi [Prodigious Gaming]