Nintendo’s been fighting down the bad press lately after a sudden and perturbing drop in Japanese hardware sales, despite it just releasing the DSi in outside territories.

President Satoru Iwata has been talking at length with a variety of sources, including the Financial Times, regarding the gaming giants future plans. He continues to dismiss any potential threats from the current range of smartphones (a tactic that’s not doing his professional credibility many favours, to be honest), while game designer Shigeru Miyamoto has let slip certain remarks that quietly suggest a new direction for Nintendo.

“I’m interested in [a system] when you’re walking in town with your DS, you can use various services,” he explains. A system that sounds very much like current mobile and smartphone usage.

Iwata states that Nintendo would not release a console as a mobile phone, however, unless it could do so without the need for a monthly subscription. Both Nintendo stalwarts appear to have chosen their words very carefully - making sure not to undermine the new DSi, though skirting around a categorical denial of a Nintendo smartphone.

Perhaps this is the first sign of what we could expect from the DS2...