Sony has made it clear that they are not threatened by Grand Theft Auto hitting the Nintendo DS in just a couple of short weeks. What they might not have factored in, however, is the affect the release of Chinatown Wars on March 17th, and its close proximity to the April 5th release of the Nintendo DSi, and what effect they may have on one-another.

"The launch of a new piece of hardware into the DS family will garner a new level of buzz and get some more hype going for the system," says Rockstar UK General Manager Neil Stephen. "I think anyone releasing high profile titles on the DS will definitely benefit from that. We also think there is the potential to attract lots of new owners into the market, particularly from our fans who may have played our GTA titles on the PSP."

Sony's Koller estimates most DS users are under 12, but could the release of a new GTA get more older gamers to pick up the new system? We'll find out soon enough.