Nintendo Announces New Nintendo DS - "3DS"

Nintendo has recently announced it's plan for it's new entry in the handheld gaming market. The company announced this news all before their newest addition to the Nintendo DS series, The Nintendo DSi XL has even hit shelves yet. It plans to unveil the new "3DS" version of the popular Nintendo DS portable gaming console. 


The most intriguing feature of the 3DS is its said ability to display games in 3D WITHOUT glasses. I put a lot of emphasis on without, because many are curious to learn how this will be done. Many are speculating that the technology will be based on face tracking technology that is actually being used in some games for the Nintendo DSi already. However, Nintendo wouldn't make such a huge announcement over something that has already been released. If the tech is based on face tracking, then it will probably be much more advanced than the methods used in the DSi. It's also entirely possible that Nintendo has something completely different in store for the 3DS. Altogether, the concept is really quite interesting.


This would actually be the second 3D gaming released by Nintendo. Many people often forget about the huge hype created for the "Virtual Boy" released in the 90's. This is due to the device being badly received by the public, and the fact that it just didn't work very well. We can only hope Nintendo doesn't make the same mistake here.


Fortunately for current owners of all models of the Nintendo DS, the 3DS will be backwards compatible with all games. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata stated in an interview with the popular Japanese newspaper, The Asahi Shimbun that the device will have very detailed graphics and integrate motion sensing. Nintendo did not make any further comments on the features of the system, but there is evidence supporting a few other rumors. These rumors includes 2 cameras (to support DSi owners), and the concept that the cameras will be used for motion tracking integrated into the games 3D capabilities.


The Nintendo 3DS will be formally introduced at this years E3 conference along with a complete set of details and hopefully, an official release date. Nintendo says the device should be available within the companies next fiscal year, April 2010 to March 2011.