Yoot Saito, the creator of nutty Dreamcast title Seaman, is about to begin work on a Nintendo DS title.

"Nintendo DS is a wonderful handheld," Saito told Nintendo's European website. "I'm glad it comes with a built-in microphone. That's why we have things planned for it. We're working on a title that will use the network and microphone, but unfortunately I can't really discuss it yet."

Saito's currently completing development of Odama, a curious and long-standing GameCube project that mixes pinball with medieval Japanese combat. Much like Seaman, a barmy virtual pet game that involved chatting to a man-faced fish using Dreamcast's microphone, Odama makes use of the player's voice via GameCube's own peripheral.

So, will this new DS project be a networked conversion of Seaman, or is Saito simply obsessed with voice-led gaming? Stay tuned to find out. One thing's for sure - DS is proving to be the format of choice for gaming's eccentrics. Contact, an RPG crafted by the minds behind Harvest Moon and Killer 7, will be released at the end of the month in Japan, and we can confirm that it's as mad as a jumble sale in an asylum.