It seems like Nintendo wants nothing less than to maintain their dominance in the handheld market. I'm sure that's what they wanted to do when they announce their latest handheld device at E3, the Nintendo 3DS, the first 3D handheld that does not require 3D glasses. A very interesting concept, to say the least. Remember all the Nintendo DS2 rumors from last week? We were hoping for news from GDC but it didn't happen. Thanksfully now we have some details.

Like it's predecessor, the 3Ds will be backwards compatible with DS and DSi games alike. No other information on screen size, handheld size, or peripherals have yet to be announced and will most likely be unveiled at Nintendo's E3 press conference.

However, the target release date for the device is slated somewhere between April 2010 and March 2011. That's a rather large window, but considering the DSi is still relatively young, it would make sense to not flood the market with another handheld device - Especially since Nintendo is dominating that particular corner of the market.

Another interesting note is when asked about the latest Nintendo handheld, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated:

"[The Nintendo 3DS] will have highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing."

A motion sensor, he says? Definitely a leap in the technology, but fitting since the Wii is so motion based, especially with the Wii MotionPlus.

Below is the press release from Nintendo announcing their intent to showcase the 3DS at E3.

I'm sure the new device will wow and woo Nintendo fans and technophiles alike. I don't expect this new DS model to flop, but then again, Nintendo attempted to enter the 3D gaming market before with the Virtual Boy and everyone remembers how that turned out. But with the technology advancing a significant degree since then, I'm sure everyone will have something to look forward to when Nintendo reveals the 3DS to the world during E3 2010.

With this announcement, what's in store for the future of Nintendo's consoles?

[Update: Some new details are leaking out of various sources in Japan. Here's what we've heard:

Nintendo plans on including a stick for controlling characters in 3D. There are also plans to include rumble in the device, to better communicate strikes and attacks to the player. Wireless speed and battery life are said to improve greatly. There is also the potential for an accelerometer in the 3DS, for crazy tilting action. The screen is believed to be a Sharp 3D LCD panel, which covers the screen with a small film, creating the space needed for a disparity between your eyes. The screen will be close to, but less than 4 inches, which makes it much larger than the standard DS (2.5 inches), but smaller than the upcoming DSi XL (4.14 inches). ]

Source: Kotaku, andriasang

Header image edited from art by SFDK