14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo has confirmed that it plans to launch the 3DS handheld during the coming quarter in Japan, meaning that eager gamers might get their hands on the new platform before the end of October. The company is also saying that the pricing options for the Nintendo 3DS are set to be announced during a September 29 press conference. The company has not offered any more information on when the new handheld will be arriving in North America and in Europe, other than saying that the launch is planned for 2011.
The main new feature of the Nintendo 3DS is that it will allow player to experience full three dimensional gaming without the use of any specialized glasses or other peripherals, through some clever technology linked to how the screens of the device are built. The device was initially shown working at the E3 trade show during June and most of those who saw it in action were impressed about how well the three dimensional effects worked. Nintendo has not talked about the pricing options for the device but analyst Michael Pachter has recently said that it could be sold for more than 250 dollars, which is quite high for a handheld. The analyst also suggested that video games launched for the 3DS could be priced higher than current releases.
Nintendo confirmed the existence of the 3DS early during this year apparently fearing that the Japanese press was close to finding out about the device and its unique capabilities. Since then Nintendo has announced that most of its big franchises will get installments for the 3DS and there is also important third party support coming from other companies like Activision, Konami and Capcom.
The Nintendo 3DS would the fifth iteration of the company's handheld. The first DS arrived in 2004 on the Japanese and the United States market and the latest version is the DSi XL, which has bigger screens and two cameras.