Nintendo Announces 3D Gaming Handheld
In a surprising move, Nintendo announced today that the company will be releasing a new handheld platform sometime before the end of March 2011. More information will be revealed in a few months at the annual Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3), but we know the primary selling point of the system already: 3D gaming.
Currently called the “Nintendo 3DS” the new platform is an entirely new hardware line, although it will be backwards compatible with software from both the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi handhelds. Nintendo claims that 3D glasses will not be required to experience 3D on the device. Few other details have been revealed, other than that it will also feature two screens and both forward-facing and backwards-facing cameras like the DSi. Additional speculation about the device from tech site Engadget suggest that it may also have an iPod-like tilt sensor and higher resolution screens than previous DS systems.
After the success of Avatar and the advent of 3D televisions, it looks like 3D technology is here to stay. It’s unclear how Nintendo will offer up 3D without glasses, but their recent track record of innovation has earned them the benefit of the doubt for now. Let’s just hope this turns out better than the company’s previous attempt at 3D gaming, the Virtual Boy.
Source: BusinessWeek
