The DS is definitely not hurting for games. However, there aren’t as many titles published by Nintendo as you would expect. The games Nintendo does publish in North America tend to be part of popular franchises, and the company has been accused in the past of favoring established series over new properties.

Things are starting to gradually shift. Nintendo took a chance and released Rhythm Heaven in North America. The Legendary Starfy, the fifth game in the series, is going to mark the series’ debut outside of Japan. Perhaps this is a good sign that Nintendo is going to be more accepting of new properties in the future.

Gamertell’s taking a look back today at some of the Nintendo published DS titles that have been passed over until now. A few had tentative US release dates that never happened, and whispered rumors have spread about the possible release of others. One thing’s for sure, all of the following games would be welcome additions to the North American game library…

Everyone in Japan gets involved in video games. It almost seems like it is an honor to have a song included in an upcoming title. When these games are localized for North American releases, it’s a toss-up as to what happens to the original music. Many companies are including the original tracks with games, while some will substitute them with songs in English.

Hikaru Utada is one of the biggest pop singers in Japan. This means that her music has appeared in games, animes and Japanese dramas. She’s also has worked as a voice actress – one of her roles was Pinoko in the anime Black Jack.

Before we get into her relationship to video games and a few of her songs I’d recommend, here’s a brief backstory. Utada was born in New York, New York. She’s fluent in English and Japanese. Her mother’s the Enka singer Fuji Keiko. Her first album was released as Cubic U in both the US and Japan. After that, she focused on a Japanese-only career. She’s sold over 40 million records, and has released eight CDs. She released her English R&B CD, Exodus, in the US in 2004, and is currently working on a second US CD that might be released this year.

In a move akin to the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates “Thank you for playing!!” moogle, Nintendo’s latest DS game, Daigasso! Band Brothers DX is also proving to be quite the pirate deterrent. The game refuses to run in many cases, or refuses to allow pirates access to the 200 songs available through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Way to go Nintendo (even if this was unintentional)!

According to information and reports from GBA Temp, this is due to a new save type being used for Daigasso! Band Brothers DX. Apparently, all DS games use 512kb saves, except for Daigasso! DX, which uses a 1mb save. Pirates who download the rom from online and attempt to play will be met with an error screen (serves them right).

It isn’t uncommon for one or two big titles to be released on the same day or within a few days of each other, (Example: Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii.) but more often than not, publishers will avoid this and scatter dates so their games will get the attention they deserve. Apparently the Japanese DS game publishers wanted to cause a free-for-all June 26, 2008, because five highly anticipated games are being released at once. Six, if you’re excited about Simple DS Series Vol. 39 The Shouboutai (Fire Fighters).

So let’s go over Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, Bokura no Telebi Game Kentei, Daigasso! Band Brothers DX, Jigsaw World and Disgaea DS, the five major titles being released in Japan…