3DS to pack a multi-media punch!

(CNN.com) – Nintendo 3DS, a glasses-free 3-D handheld video game system, arrives March 27 for $249.99.

But calling it a gaming console may be the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American public. Gaming, it turns out, might be among the least of the system’s capabilities.

The device will also deliver an array of other fully-connected entertainment experiences, according to Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime at the 2011 Game Developers Conference.

From 3-D movies to TV shows, digital music to augmented reality applications, the company is clearly assigning tremendous importance to non-gaming applications.

Though they won’t say it directly, Nintendo clearly plans to make the system a Trojan horse for the larger world of 3-D multimedia. This should scare the competition.

It’s an infinitely more practical, and reasonably priced, 3-D argument than a $1500+ HDTV that tethers you to your couch.

If Nintendo can make this portable device as common and trusted for 3-D entertainment as smartphones are for e-mail or Web surfing, it may single-handedly deliver the breakthrough that carries this technology to mainstream prominence.

Yes, the system will play 3-D versions of premium game franchises like “Street Fighter” and “The Legend of Zelda,” says Fils-Aime. Yes, in the wake of increasing pressure from tens of thousands of readily available free and 99-cent apps, it will redouble efforts to justify $39.99 average software prices by offering “premium experiences you can’t get anywhere else.”

But with free AT&T WiFi hotspot availability, Netflix movie streaming and the ability to create, download and physically interact with 3-D content among its arsenal of tricks, the company may have yet to play its trump card.

[Full article at CNN.com]

Santa won't be bringin you one for Xmas.

(Reuters) – Nintendo Co Ltd said on Wednesday the launch of its 3D-capable DS handheld game player will miss the busy year-end holiday shopping season, forcing Japan’s leading game machine maker to slash its full-year profit forecast by one-third.

Nintendo will launch the new version of the DS on February 26 in Japan and in March in the United States, by far the biggest market for the game machine maker.

The company trimmed its projection for overall DS sales for the year to March 31 to 23.5 million units from 30 million and lowered its estimate for Wii consoles to 17.5 million machines from 18 million.

“At first we thought it would be desirable to launch the 3DS within the year, so we made our forecasts on that basis. At this point it is clear that if we launch within the year, we will not be able to supply enough units,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told an analysts’ conference.

With sales of its DS and Wii fading, Nintendo is relying on the new 3D model to revive profits and help it fend of renewed competition from Sony Corp and Microsoft, whose motion-gaming peripherals will be on the market in time for year-end shoppers to buy.

[Full Article at Reuters.com]

Don't froget put on your 3D glasses.

Nintendo reveals 3DS

(Gamespot) – Nintendo has announced a new version of its DS handheld system that will support 3D games. The 3DS will play games with 3D effects “without the need for any special glasses”, according to the Japanese company. It will launch during its coming fiscal year, meaning it could arrive any time between April 2010 and March 2011.

Nintendo describes the system as a successor to the DS series, but it will also play DS and DSi titles. The 3DS is a temporary name according to Nintendo’s perfunctory press release, but more details on the machine will be revealed at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. This year’s show will return to the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 15-17.

Though Nintendo’s official announcement of the 3DS was light on information, additional details on the upcoming handheld appear to have surfaced from Japanese business daily Nikkei. The newspaper’s online edition reports that the 3DS will feature a thumb stick for controlling movement in a 3D plane as well as rumble functionality. The handheld will also reportedly feature greatly enhanced battery life, improved network connectivity, and a screen size that’s smaller than four inches.

Nikkei also narrowed the release window of the 3DS, saying it will arrive during the back half of 2010. However, it is unclear whether that date holds true for Japan alone or the rest of the globe as well. Notably, Nintendo released the DSi XL last November in Japan (where it is known as the LL), and it went on to sell some 700,000 units by year’s end. The system’s Western rollout, however, hasn’t come until this month.

[Full article at Gamespot.com]