The DSi, Nintendo’s new, feature-filled version of the DS Lite, apparently launched in Japan last week, to little fanfare.

The electronics stores in Japan nowadays are keen to rid themselves of enormous queues come launch day, built from masses of gaming geeks and fans loitering around their store for days on end, in some cases. So, to remedy the situation, gamers need to place pre-orders for a limited number of a given product ahead of time and go collect it on launch day.

With a popular product, this usually means merchandise will be sold out through pre-orders, leaving little to none left for walk-in purchasing, which also means no more queuing up for hours outside your local electronics/gaming emporium. Clever.

Kotaku have a report on the launch, which on the surface may seem subdued, but in fact most stores had already sold out through pre-orders.

It’s been announced that the DSi will launch in the West during the first half of next year.