Rumors have surfaced that Nintendo plans to unveil a new version of its popular DS handheld game platform in July.

Those rumors stem from an interview with a Japanese magazine publisher who gave his prediction on what to expect from the giant gaming company during the upcoming E3 trade show.

Hirokazu Hamamura of Famitsu told Bloomberg.com in Japan he thinks DS will receive an upgrade because the timing is about right for one to happen.

The last DS upgrade came in 2006, and previous upgrades of Nintendo handheld systems appeared an average of every two years.

No word yet from Nintendo whether Hamamura is on the mark, but he has been dialed into the gaming industry for years and tends to exhibit more success at making predictions than most folks.