At a press event in Paris France, Nintendo announced that it will be releasing the Nintendo DS on March 11 with a price tag of £99 ($149USD). Fifteen games will be available at launch and will include such Nintendo titles as Super Mario 64 DS, WarioWare Touched! and Pokémon Dash. Thus far, 2.8 million Nintendo DS handhelds have been sold in North America and Japan.

Here’s a clipping from the press release:

Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd, comments on the new handheld console:
“Europe is an extremely important market for Nintendo, and we are pleased we can offer such a short period of time between the US and European launch. We believe that the Nintendo DS will change the way people play video games and our mission remains to expand the game play experience. Nintendo DS caters for the needs of all gamers whether for more dedicated gamers who want the real challenge they expect, or the more casual gamers who want quick, pick up and play fun.”