The biggest rival was Sony PlayStation Portable. Nintendo DS was available for sale between 20 and during its lifespan, it was sold in over 125 million units, making it one of the most common devices of all time. However, originally it was an acronym for Developers System. The famous DS stands for dual-screen, a more common alternative. The following year, in 2005 it was released globally. It was released back in 2004 in some parts of the globe. Nintendo DS is simply known as one of the best and definitely the most popular handheld gaming consoles of all time.