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As the Nintendo Media Summit 2008 draws closer, the rumors surrounding the event grow increasingly rampant. Since Nikkei "announced" the new DS, some interesting new rumors have popped up online.

First, we received official word from Nintendo that "While Nintendo is always working on new hardware, we have not made any announcement about a DS and we cannot comment on the Nikkei story." Not the standard "rumors and speculation" response... does that mean there's some truth to the rumor?

Next, a rumor popped up on Japanese website Byokan Sunday, with an image that claims to be of the new DS screens. As evidenced in this image, the screens on Nintendo's new handheld are slightly higher than those of the DS and DS Lite.

Then, today, Nintendo website DS Village cites an anonymous source with confirming the new DS. Their source, a software developer, confirmed the existence of the new handheld, as well as the rumors of larger screens and a built-in-camera. DS Village's source states that the aspect ratio of the screens will not change, so bad news for all you widescreen junkies. He also told DS Village that the built-in camera is of "fairly high resolution" and points away from the system.

French website Gamekyo also claims to have inside information, stating that Nintendo will announce a "new game for the Wii during this event which is actually an old franchise that everyone is waiting for". Could Thursday bring the Kid Icarus announcement we've been waiting for since E3?

Again, all of these bits of news are simply rumors, so we advise you to take them with a grain of salt. We'll be here Thursday and Friday to bring you all the latest news and announcements from the Nintendo Media Summit.

According to IGN, Nintendo will be hosting a "Developers' Summit" this April in Los Angeles. Discussed topics will range from the process of creating a game to the process of subimitting a game to Nintendo. WiiWare development will also be discussed, with game development and submission guidelines being provided.

As this is mainly a conference for the developers, announcments and news for fans will likely be limited... Stay tuned for updates.