According to NanaOn-Sha’s Masaya Matsuura in an interview with Gamasutra, the Nintendo DS may have reached the beginning of the end.  The outstanding handheld is not being viewed by gamers in Japan in the same light it once was.

The touch screen, while initially innovative, may now be a bit of a hindrance to game development.  The massive influx of copy cat brain titles seems to be targeted toward older consumers that are simply no longer that interested in the cookie-cutter gameplay.

In fact, the perception that the DS is on the decline is shared by some in the industry.  Mr. Matsuura spoke to this specifically by stating, “Some people have said already that the DS software's bubble has burst.  [One company I know] has a learning type of game. The first one sold over 200,000, but the second one is 8,000. So these kind of things are going to happen.”

If the DS can continue to put out great and innovative titles like The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, the future may still be quite rosy.  However, if Nintendo allows copy cat knockoffs to continue invading their licensed gaming library then Japan won’t be the only market to turn away from the platform.