Nintendo is expected to officially unveil its portable DS machine over the next 24 hours and eager journalists are getting impatient. Indeed, USA Today has this morning released an image of what looks like the new handheld, running a Mario Kart game. Although this is probably an artist's impression rather than a genuine photographic representation, it is possible that this is it for real, or at least along similar lines.

It seems reasonable to suggest that a Mario Kart game could be released as a launch title. It would at least be a good deal more predictable than the first third-party game confirmed for the twin-screened machine - a Dynasty Warriors game from Koei. We should also expect the mention of some DS specific titles hinging on the console's unusual touch-sensitive screen. There has already been mention of a demonstration where the player has to scribble clouds with a stylus in order to allow a baby Mario to plummet from the sky safely.

Shigeru Miyamoto has been fighting the cause of the DS, criticising Sony's lack of panache in their conception of the PSP: "The [PSP's] screen, I believe, is bigger than the DS screen, and I am sure it will have excellent graphical quality [but] the PSP will not be able to do anything that you cannot do on a current system… We want to do things that you couldn't do before. We are looking at the creative end." (USA Today 5/11/04)

It's not long now until both the PSP and DS get the full E3 treatment. Let battle commence!