We all know the DS is slowly making its exit. It’s been a few weeks since any new games were released, more 3DS games are showing up in stores and it’s clear the natural cycle of handheld consoles is ushering it into retirement. Still, tons of people own the handheld and the 3DS is backward compatible with all DS games. You could make a current DS owner or a new 3DS owner really happy if you picked out the right cartridge this holiday season. Which is why I’ve gathered together a list of 10 of the most awesome 2010 releases.

Now, before he actually go into the games there’s a DS bundle you may want to keep in mind while shopping. Yes, this late in the game Nintendo has decided to release a new, holiday 2011 DSi XL bundle. It’s $169.99, the same price as a 3DS, and includes a blue or pink DSi XL and copy of Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini Land Mayhem, a fantastic puzzle game. Keep it in mind if you’re getting someone a gift this year and you know they want something that can play DS games, but for some unknown reason doesn’t want a 3DS…

It’s been over a month since Pokemon Black and White came out and that overshadowed every other DS release. Which is okay, it’s understandable that people would save up and flock to the newest Pokemon release. But by now, you’ve probably finished the main campaign and are ready to move on to another endeavor.

There’ve been some incredible DS games released within the last few months, and this is a great time to pick a few of them up…

Guess who has plans this evening? You do! That’s because it’s Okamiden time. No, Capcom didn’t suddenly bump up the release date from March 15, 2011 to right now. It just happened to release a free demo of the game on the Nintendo Channel. So if you’ve got a Wii, a DS and a wireless internet connection, you could have some fun tonight.

The Okamiden demo is pretty basic…

Anyone interested in preordering Okamiden, may want to head to the Capcom Store. Right now. For a limited time, people who preorder the $29.99 DS game there will also get a 3″ tall Chibiterasu keychain with their order. That’s it on the right over there. Isn’t he adorable? Of course he is! Capcom only has a few of those fuzzy little buggers, so if you want one included with your game on March 15, 2011, you won’t hesitate…

Attention DS owners – you’re going to have to immediately scrape together $5. Dig under the coach cushions, search your car’s cup holders and check every coat pocket and old purse! Capcom’s announced that certain preordered copies of Okamiden the sequel to the PS2 and Wii game Okami will come with a paint-brush shaped stylus and a screen-cleaner white featuring Chibiterasu and Kuni. Curse you Capcom for only making 20,000 available…

Capcom’s ready for the 2010 Tokyo Game Show! It is building excitement by showing off its booth layout, revealing playable games, teasing guest appearances by game developers and showing off game related items it’ll be selling at the show. There’ll even be a new Marvel vs. Capcom 3 character announcement.

Capcom’s only confirmed six of the games that it will have on display at TGS 2010…

The 2010 Penny Arcade Expo is happening this week in Seattle, Washington, and if you registered for the event you can see a lot of Capcom’s newest games. It’s going on September 3-5, 2010, and booth 652 will have nine games set up for attendees to try out.

If you were following along with Capcom’s E3 2010 news, then the company’s PAX 2010 games should look familiar…

There’s no better way to start your day than with a dose of cuteness. If you live in Japan, or know someone who lives there that’d be willing to do some importing for you, you can pick up the most adorable video game-related plush toy ever. Capcom has just announced that it will be selling a stuffed Chibiterasu toy in Japan. So you can play as Chibiterasu in the DS game Okamiden while cuddling your own Chibiterasu.

Chibiterasu is quite a big celestial god-puppy. It’s over 17 inches long and about 8 inches wide. So really, it’s about the size of an actual puppy. It also has all the distinctive red markings and shoulder wing accents that the actual character possesses. The only bad part about it is the price…

One of the DS games I was most excited to play at E3 2010 was also one of my first stops when hitting the show floor. Okamiden immediately caught my eye. The demo gives players a chance to try out combat, use the Celestial Brush, see how the partner gameplay works and experience all of Chibiterasu’s cuteness.

You walk around using the D-pad. Just like in Okami, there’s a trail of flowers that springs up where ever Chibiterasu goes. For the demo segment, Chibiterasu’s partner was Kuni, the son of and. The area I played through was fairly basic and harmless, with few enemies or dangers. Jumps are performed with the A button…

There are going to be a lot of DS announcements next week. It’s not surprising, since the DS is the most popular portable gaming platform. But trying to read and keep up with any possible DS announcement will become a chore. And E3 and gaming isn’t supposed to be a chore! So here’s a brief list of some of the best and most intriguing DS games that will definitely be appearing at E3 2010. This way you can have an idea of what games you might want to pay special attention to when all those news flashes start June 15, 2010.

Since all of the major developers and publishers’ E3 2010 lineups haven’t been announced yet, I’ll make sure to keep this post updated until E3 begins. That way you’ll know what news to keep an eye out for before Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

These DS games deserve to be watched…