Idolm@ster DS Appears To Be Japan’s First DSi Enhanced Game

The first Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars trailer is meant to introduce the new idols, but I think Namco Bandai inadvertently announced camera support.

Freeze frame the menu screen and you can see an option for “QR Code”. It’s the top item in the menu. QR Codes are these blotches of black and white spots, which act sort of like bar code hypertext. Point a camera phone’s lens on a QR Code and you’re whisked to a linked website.

A regular Nintendo DS can’t read QR Codes, but the Nintendo DSi and it’s two cameras can. At this point it is unclear if Namco Bandai plans to release Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars as a Nintendo DSi exclusive, a Nintendo DSi enhanced game or if this menu is a mistake. Remember, Nintendo DSi games are said to be region locked. The status of DSi enhanced games remains unknown.

Idolm@ster: Dearly Stars takes the stage in Japan this fall.