The Nintendo DS is a handheld game console originally released in North America on November 21, 2004. Featuring a dual-screen clamshell design, the bottom LCD is a touchscreen meant to receive input from an included stylus. The DS also includes a built-in microphone, D-pad and A, B, X, Y buttons, and a Game Boy port that provides backwards-compatibility with Game Boy Advance cartridges from the previous generation of Nintendo handhelds. Built-in wireless connectivity allows players to set up multiplayer matches over short distances or online via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.

In 2006 Nintendo released an update to the DS, a slimmer and lighter version of the handheld dubbed the DS Lite. The company refers to the 2004 console as the "original style" Nintendo DS while the gamer community affectionately refers to it as the "DS Phat."