In the wake of Thursday’s announcement of the Nintendo DSi, analysts have warned investors that the system’s new downloadable games service could threaten traditional retail outlets like Best Buy and Gamestop.

BusinessWeek is reporting that in an investor note, Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew J. Fassler stated that the DSi’s online store presents a “tangible early threat” to retailers, and that “While content will be limited at first, we believe it will likely ramp up very quickly.”

While the DSi will see release in Japan in calendar 2008, a Nintendo of America press conference Thursday revealed the handheld will not see western shores until well into 2009. Online Store content revealed at that press conference included versions of Nintendo’s Brain Age software.

Circuit City stock hit an 52 week low Thursday before ending the trading day at 0.64, a 14.67% drop; this compared unfavorably to the overall Dow decrease of 3.22 percent.  Best Buy stock also dropped below the Dow average, losing 5.81 percent to close at 34.40. Stock in GameStop Corp fell 0.64 percent, closing at 35.81.