It has been discovered that Nintendo submitted several trademark applications for possible abbreviations for the Nintendo DS. How many exactly? Nine. Yes nine. It seems as if Nintendo is having some trouble nailing down a final name for the innovative system. The abbreviations are as follows:
Looking at above list, there is no abbreviation with the letters “DS” anywhere to be seen, which seems to confirm that the name really is only temporary. Furthermore, each of the abbreviations has the letters “GB” in them. The obvious conclusion to be drawn is that whatever the final name for the DS is, GameBoy will be in there somewhere. This may cause a problem for Nintendo as they are trying to promote the DS as the “Third Pillar”, a system that exists side by side with the GBA, not replace it. Having GameBoy in the title will make it very difficult for consumers and developers to see it that way. From a marketing and sales standpoint, it makes perfect sense as having GameBoy in the title gives the system instant credibility, similar to what Sony is trying to to with the Playstation Portable.
As always, nothing is final as you may remember from the infamous name StarCube. If trademark filings were to be believed, StarCube was to be the final name for what we now call GameCube.
