The announcement of Tony Hawk Proving Ground by Activision is pretty exciting. The game looks like it will be pretty groundbreaking in the action sports genre. For the first time, gamers will be able to define their own character, including their story and style, based on the in-game decisions they make. The new Hawk will also feature a video editing tool to create “epic skate videos”.

Tony Hawk Proving Ground will also contain online play were users can create their own Skater Lounge while grinding out with fellow gamers. Proving Ground is currently under devlopment by Neversoft for Xbox, PS3, PS2, Nintendo DS and Wii and is expected to be released later this year. More screens after the jump. (more…)

Your Nintendo DS has feelings too. Don’t make it walk around in public in the nude. This United Arrows Leather Nintendo DS case is a slick way to carry your handheld if you don’t mind a big black rectangle hanging from your belt.

Made from a series of interweave premium leather, the case is available in black, brown, and white and includes a belt clasp for on-the-go gaming. (more…)

Warning. Do not buy these games for your pre-teen. These Nintendo DS drinking games compare two of mans favorite pastimes, drinking and gaming, for a fun fix of inebriated activities. How do you win? We guess by being the last to pass out.

EA games would rather you call them “gourmet information magazines for the adult”. But we’re just gonna call it our Friday night. — Andrew Dobrow

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The NDS Lite FM Radio Converter is a cool and compact Nintendo DS extension that adds FM radio to your gaming experience. Especially good for those moments where the game music is going to make your ears bleed. It’s easy to set up and has a blue-lit LCD screen built in to display the station number.

The FM Conterter has a frequency range if 87.5mhz-108mhz so most stations anyone wants to tune into can be heard from the comfort of your handheld console. It emits studio audio quality and doesn’t require any other battery or power source other than the power it gets from the DS itself. And it only weighs in at a light 19.5g. For a very affordable $14, it’s a cool addition. — Andrew Dobrow

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Remember when blinging out your cellphone with crystal art was all the rage? Now the same thing is being done for Nintendo DS Lites. The Nintendo World Store in NYC featured some of these Swarovski crystal DS Lites with crystal covers. If the appearance of your console is important to you, there’s nothing more fashionable right now then using Swarovski crystal.

The Super Mario Bros. DS pictured above is not available for sale, but after the jump you can check out the handheld gaming you can sport if you have an extra $600 laying around. (more…)

Opera announced that the Nintendo DS will be the next gaming console to use its browser for console web surfing. Starting June 4, Opera will be available to all U.S. gamers. Opera has been available to Nintendo players in Japan and Europe since the tail end of 2006, with the beta version for the Wii available in the U.S. since December 2006.

Comparing the size of the PSP screen with the Nintendo DS screen makes us hesitant to jump on this idea. The PSP screen, bigger than the Nintendo DS screen, already strains the eyes to read text. Opera on the DS is sure to be a literal eyesore unless some kind of interface change is planned. There is no pricing information available for the Opera DS software, but we can expect that soon enough. — Andrew Dobrow

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Source’s say that Sony Computer Entertainment UK Managing Director, Ray Maguire, is quoted as saying that the next PSP will be more pocket friendly while still maintaining the same screen size. This quote all but confirms that Sony will release a PSP Lite version. With the pocket size of the Nintendo DS the more appealing of the two, Sony has become Nintendo’s second fiddle, earning the silver or bronze medal in almost every category. The PlayStation’s one time domination seems to be coming to a screeching halt. Though, as seen from related recent rumors, a change is definitely in order for the Sony gaming line.

Another drawback of the PSP is its relatively long loading times compared to the “start and go” quality of Nintendo games. Could the next PSP show faster processing times, along with its smaller stature? We hope so. We wish to see Sony gain some success. — Andrew Dobrow

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While making our rounds scourging the Internet, we came across this spiffy hack for your Nintendo DS. Using an asymmetric wavelet codec specifically made to playback video on the DS ARM-based hardware (whatever the hell that means), this Flickr member has managed to capture this image of the Nintendo DS video hack, running on his handheld.

Flickr member, Gwire, says this:

It’s not ready for release yet - the touchscreen controls aren’t yet functional and there’s still some work to do on the dithering, but it’s looking pretty cool. The video files are stored on MicroSD, which has the capacity for a full movie in this codec, but Dom also mentioned he’s working on a symetric (sic) codec that’ll allow live video sources to be streamed to the unit via WiFi.

Bravo for Dom! — Andrew Dobrow

DS video [Flickr, via Wonderland]

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This is one of the coolest mods we’ve seen out of any gaming console. We have no idea how this works, but its amazing how realistic sounding the guitar tones are coming from the DS. Very, very impressive and something we want to get our hands on. This also makes the prospect of a DS Guitar Hero game very real. Check out the video for some awesome Japanese DS mod craziness. — Andrew Dobrow

Mod Turns Nintendo DS Into Virtual Guitar [TechEBlog]

Anyone who’s familiar with the Final Fantasy series of video games remembers the cute little chocobos and how entertaining they are. Square Enix announces the newest Final Fantasy game, Chocobo Tales, for the Nintendo DS Console, due out April 3, 2007.

Chocobo Tales is said to have story line references which play back all the way to the original Final Fantasy. Executive Producer Shinji Hashimoto says he is “confident that fans of both Final Fantasy and Nintendo alike will enjoy this exciting title.” Featuring the innovative touch screen and stylus trademarks of DS, mixed with classic characters from the Final Fantasy world, is sure to make a interesting, and fun game. Available April 3 for $30. — Andrew Dobrow

Chocobo Tales Page [Square Enix, via GWN]