Nintendo Pressured Into 3DS Announcement

Last week Nintendo slipped out a press release in Japan informing the world that an all-new 3D-capable portable hardware is coming, with a full unveiling set for E3 2010 this June. Tentatively titled the 3DS, this glasses-free 3D device is pitched as the successor to both the Nintendo DS and DSi, and will use a “compatible cart” which will ensure backwards compatibility with the vast library of favorites from the older consoles. Nintendo mentioned an expected launch for the 3DS to be “during the fiscal year ending March 2011.”

Unofficial reports from Japan suggest the 3DS will have a parallax barrier 3D LCD from Sharp which has been tested on several devices in Japan already. Nikkei from Japan mentions improvements in WiFi transfers, battery life, as well as a new vibration function. There was very little information on a possible so-called 3D control stick(s), though it isn’t clear as to what that entails. Nintendo supposedly has secured patents for the new control methodology in Japan late last year.

The announcement unveiling a 3D Nintendo DS, the 3DS, was completely out of the blue and was announced just the week before the DSi XL was released in the United States. The events all of which summed up to an obsolete version of the console before it even hit retail. According to M2 Senior Analyst Billy Pigeon, the whole announcement was due to the Japanese media. “Apparently, the Japanese press was all over it and talked with suppliers there and Nintendo just wanted to get out ahead by breaking the news to prevent a leak.” Well, Nintendo accomplished the prevention of leaked info at the cost of hurting the US DSi XL sales.