Online reseller Play-Asia has received a first batch of Japanese Nintendo DS units 3 days prior to the official release and checked for various rumours.

As earlier announced and confirmed by Nintendo, the Japanese Nintendo DS also features a multi-lingual interface. You will be able to switch the language between English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese. Take note that the default language is set on 'Japanese'. The language option applies to all internal DS functions, including the built-in Pictochat application.

Play-Asia also tested for region coding. Playing American games on a Japanese DS worked perfectly, thus we can assume that the Nintendo DS is indeed region-free. According to the company, the same compatibility has been announced for the upcoming Asian as well as European DS models and games.

The next possible incompatibility could possibly exist for the wireless connections. Testing a link between a Japanese DS and a US version brought positive results. Despite earlier rumours, you can link consoles from different regions without any problems. The feature was tested using Pictochat as well as Super Mario 64 DS.

The only real difference noticed between the US and Japanese version of the Nintendo DS was the lack of a Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt demo.

Play-Asia claims to have sufficient supply available to satisfy the demand, no sold-out signs are expected.