Rumour that a Nintend DS version of SEGA’s popular Arcade Street racer, Initial D, was in development surfaced last week after a listing appeared on the firm’s website. Little notice was taken from most circles (many citing the note as bogus), although now a set of screenshots have appeared that seem to confirm the project’s existence. And they don’t look that bad.

Based on the manga franchise of the same name, Initial D, developed by SEGA Rosso, a division of SEGA, has been around since 2001. There are currently six Initial D titles so far, making the DS version (named Initial D: EX DS) the seventh in the series.

The last version, Initial D: Street Stage for the Sony PlayStation Portable, was never released outside of Asia, but given that Initial D: EX DS’ appeared on SEGA of America’s website, we’re hopeful that it will receive a proper localisation.

There’s no information as yet, particularly on whether the DS build of Initial D will be a brand new game or a port of one of the numerous Arcade versions.