Somewhere – perhaps in Paris, maybe in Chicago, possibly in Tokyo – the 100 millionth system in the Nintendo DS franchise has been shipped to a retailer or distributor as of March 6th 2009.  The combined total sales of 100 million Nintendo DS systems, Nintendo DS Lite systems and Nintendo DSi systems represent a significant milestone in the life of this franchise, which is still going strong.

Since the original Nintendo DS launched in early 2005 in Europe, its dual screens, touch screen and voice-recognition capabilities ushered in an era of new experiences not previously possible on portable systems. The successor, Nintendo DS Lite, launched with a slimmer, trimmer look.

The third iteration of the Nintendo DS hardware, Nintendo DSi, launches in Europe on 3rd April. Nintendo DSi includes two cameras and the ability to record, manipulate and play sound files, and will allow consumers to personalise their very own Nintendo DSi experiences. It will again transform the way people access, experience, create and share portable content.

I wonder how many of them are still operational and how many are in landfills and pawn shops...