The creator of strategy megahits such as Civilization and Alpha Centauri is casting an eye towards the dual-screened portable.

The fine folks over at DSCentral have dug up a tasty little morsel for strategy fans. Apparently on developer Firaxis' website, Sid Meier (a name practically all computer game and strategy buffs have seen adorning the boxes of many popular games) has a special Q&A column entitled "Ask Sid" where fans can get answers straight from the creator's mouth...er, typing hand. One enterprising fan thought that the DS would be finely suited to bringing games like Civilization to portable life...and it seems that Mr. Meier agrees:

Q&A segment from "Ask Sid" on Firaxis.com:
Question: Do you have any plans to develop for the NintendoDS? Firaxis' strategy games are a natural match for the dual screen, touchscreen enabled handheld. Other strategy games such as Europe Universalis II, Age of Empires, and Command and Conquer have been announced. Civilization and/or Alpha Centuari would fit in nice.

Sid: It's certainly something we're exploring. Our goal is to make great games and deliver them to players on whatever platforms make sense for the game. I agree that the Nintendo DS would be a good match for some of our titles�so stay tuned for more info. soon!

Though it is far from a certainty, it certainly is looking like a very tangible possiblity. Sid tells us that more news will be forthcoming "soon"...so wait we shall. In the meantime all is fair with a bit of speculation among fans. For instance, Alpha Centauri would be quite the portable treat played over Nintendo WiFi Connection...