After Nintendo last week announced that it would be entering the process of ceasing all operations for the Nintendo DSi shop, it looks like Nintendo may very well be phasing the DS out entirely, as reports have begun to emerge that suggest that Nintendo is ending the production of DS cartridges worldwide.
The first instance of this rumor came from Canada-based video game retailer Video Games Plus, which took to Twitter to announce the news.
In a post that has since been removed, the retailer revealed the news saying that Nintendo is stopping the production of DS cartridges worldwide. It did try to remedy the sting of the announcement, however, revealing that it has a bunch of exclusive DS game restocks coming soon. If true, the latter part of the announcement means little for those who don't use VGP's services, though it does mean other retailers in different regions may start to restock their own DS game stocks to preempt Nintendo's rumored move.
So how likely is this rumor to be true? Sure, Video Games Plus is credible enough as this isn't the first time the retailer has made a claim about Nintendo products. Granted, it wasn't on the same level as this, but it did announce on Twitter in mid-Februrary that 12 games would join the Nintendo Selects product line - which Nintendo later confirmed with its own announcement.
There's also the matter that this announcement was preceded by an official announcement from Nintendo that revealed that it would begin ceasing operations for the DSi shop starting later this year. Individually the announcements don't mean much, but it should be considered that its successor, the 3DS, has been around for quite some time and is likely well into the later half of its own life cycle.
Of course, until Nintendo makes an official announcement, then this rumor should be taken with a grain of salt.
In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to stock up on a few DS games, just in case the rumor turns out to be true and prices rise accordingly.
