The newest iteration of Nintendo’s dual-screen juggernaut launched in Japan over the weekend, and Infendo was at Akihabara’s Yodobashi Camera early to chat up the crowd that had lined up to be among the first to get the DSi LL.

The vibe of the crowd was generally energetic and the line of buyers kept growing well after we had entered the store. As you can see in the video, there were all kinds of people lined up to get the LL, but when questioned about Nintendo’s older target market for the LL, one of our interviewees mentioned (off camera) that they truly would consider the LL a good gift for the parents.

A big thank you to everyone who was interviewed and to Stephen for shooting such great footage.

More photos from the release as well as a few size comparison photos with my own DS Lite after the jump.

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Last week we reported on Konami’s “Love Plus:” the reputedly addictive new DS dating-sim from Japan. While a hit dating-sim is nothing new to the creators of the notorious “Tokimeki Memorial” series, fandom reached a new level recently when an Japanese man known only as SAL9000 married in-game character Nene Anegasaki during a trip to Guam.While the legal background of this ceremony are dubiously absent, the man has made plans for a wedding reception in Japan that was broadcast live on NicoNico Douga yesterday (we are waiting for recordings to crop up). Are DS girlfriends the wave of the future? I don’t know about you but I keep trying to tell Jimmy T. that we should really just be friends.

[via Gizmodo.jp and Tiny Cartridge]

Looking for that right gift for that Nintendo fan big or small? Not sure what to get your grandma who is interested in the Nintendo Wii? Got a little nephew who is into anime and role playing games but you’re not sure what would be the best gift for him? Well come on in and check out what I have personally dug up (with suggestions from the fellow Infendo crew and my personal friends) to help you guys decide what gifts you should get.

Note: Be sure to post in the comments any suggestions you might have for your fellow readers!

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Mother 3 was initially released on 2006 on April 20th, furthermore, it was intended to be a Japan only title. Most fans of the series were completely crushed when they discovered this. As the only Mother game to make it out of Japan was Mother 2, which is known as Earthbound.

Albeit, a band of dedicated fans with the hopes of one day playing Mother 3 in English decided to get together and make a fan translation. Which started soon after the game was released, the website they were using was as Mother3.org. However, they soon learned that they were one of two groups working on the translation (Starmen.net being the other), and eventually they decided to join forces to get the patch out as fast as possible

As it stands now the translation patch has been completed and they are almost finished with testing and are adding the final touches. Fans of the series will finally be able to play the game in English only after a two and a half year wait. The patch will apparently be out by the end of the week for all those to enjoy.

[Mother3.Fobby.Net]
[Translation Patch Trailers]

I’ve seen a few people post about this at blogs like 4cr and Aeropause, so I thought it would be worth a post here to see what you guy and gals think. The query is about first party imports on the VC and their “modest” price increase. Or, their import aficionado player’s tax, as I like to call it.

The two import games are 600 points for the Famicom title Super Mario Bros 2 and 1200 points for N64 title Sin & Punishment. The latter required no localization efforts, which is where I initially thought the extra two bucks was going to. Nope. Instead, it’s a tax on players who recognized that both of these titles are worthy imports and wish to download them. Less informed people, like mom and pop or whoever, probably saw Nintendo pimp the fact that these games were “never before released in the U.S.!” and felt inclined to buy something that, to them, felt really rare and special. Either way, it’s extra cash in Nintendo’s pocket.

My VC has been cool lately — thanks in no small part to my AA battery issue — but also because I’m just not in a VC mood right now, so I really hadn’t planned on hitting up either of these games just yet. That’s me though, what about you? Is the import VC tax worth it? How about if it means more import games in the future?