Music creation in your pocket -- and a little Metroid Hunters to boot? Believe it. The Nintendo DS is taking off as a platform for homebrewed music creation. First glimpsed via comments here, Tobw has launched his NitroTracker for Nintendo DS. Based on tracker-style sequencers of old, NitroTrack is a sophisticated mobile composition tool, with sampling capability (via the DS' mic), sample playback, and advanced song creation capabilities. In comparison to other game handheld trackers like LSDJ on the Game Boy, this one is a joy to use: you can just tap with your stylus to edit, rather than having to endlessly scroll with directional pads. The game even takes advantage of the dual screens of the DS for editing. I can't wait to try it; now I just need to figure out which is the best CF/SD adapter to get for DS, now that I have reason to use it. (You need a memory card adapter in order to load this and other homebrew software on your DS.)

NitroTracker homepage with downloads, screenshots, docs

There's plenty of potential for other homebrews on the DS, too. Here's just a quick overview of some of the possibilities:

NDS Homebrews: DS homebrew ROMS and reviews community, with plenty of links and resources; a good starting point for learning about homebrews (and yes, as always, there are caveats when you're learning to do this!)

Drunken Coders, news and resources for homebrew development on DS, GBA, SNES, and even Wonder Swan. Helpful if you're learning about homebrews or developing your own.

Tobw's simple sampling keyboard: Not as advanced as this tracker, but a fun toy

DS Wiki: Comprehensive info for homebrew users and developers alike; a must-visit

Make Blog How-To on running homebrew games with PassMe

Unlike Sony, Nintendo doesn't appear to be quashing this sort of development on DS, thankfully. Now I just need to clear an evening for some tracking goodness -- and Metroid, too. (CDM Metroid Wi-Fi clan, anyone?).