Nintendo 3DS Price, Release Date Announced (VIDEO)

(BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP) NEW YORK — Promising to usher in a new era in 3-D entertainment, Nintendo says its glasses-free handheld 3DS will go on sale on March 27 in the U.S. for $250. That's the same price that the revolutionary Wii console cost when it went on sale in 2006.

The president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime, said Wednesday the 3DS is a "truly unique experience that doesn't exist anywhere else."

"This is a different kind of 3-D. Something you haven't experienced before. Not in theaters, not at trade shows." Fils-Aime told a crowd of journalists, bloggers and analysts in New York City. "Of course, there are no glasses."

The gadget features a touch screen on the bottom and a 3-D screen on top. It has three cameras, one facing the user and two facing outward. The latter two let you take 3-D photos, which can be instantly displayed on the screen. There's also an accelerometer and a gyroscope, which track players' movements and how they tilt the screen, so that they can see the 3-D games from different angles.

A "Mii Creator" uses photos you take of yourself to instantly create a cartoon avatar based on your image. Then you can adjust it as you like.

The 3DS includes new social features, including "StreetPass," which lets users exchange game information with other 3DS users nearby. For example, your Mii avatar or game high scores can appear on your friend's 3DS if they have also chosen to activate this feature.

Nintendo Co. said more than 30 games will be available for the 3DS by early June. Games will range from "Nintendogs + Cats," which adds feline companions to the popular puppy simulator to "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D" to 3-D versions of EA's Madden NFL Football" and Capcom's "Resident Evil: The Mercenaries." Older games, including those for the original Game Boy, will be available for download.

The 3DS will be available in black and shiny aqua blue. It can play games from older DS systems, but they just won't be in 3-D. The 3-D gradient is adjustable on the 3DS, or it can be turned off completely. If your eyes don't adjust to the 3-D screen immediately, it helps to start out the games in 2-D mode and then slowly turn up the 3-D slider.

Nintendo recommends that children aged 6 or younger should not play 3-D games because it could affect the development of their vision, similar to warnings issued by makers of other 3-D products.

But the American Academy of Ophthalmology says there are currently no conclusive studies on the short- or long-term effects of 3-D products on children's eye development or vision health. At the same time, if a healthy child develops headaches or can't see 3-D images, this could be a sign of an eye disorder, the group said in a statement this week.

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Online: http://www.nintendo.com/3ds

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Comments

[Cody Wetzel]

10:24 AM on 01/21/2011

Remember people the price is on par with the PSP when it released. I would say the 3DS is just a couple steps ahead technologically. Not to mention the lunch lineup with plenty of great 1st part AND 3rd party titles on the way.

[StansDad]

09:35 AM on 01/20/2011

This should have been released before christmas, or at least advertised more. I don't think there's must a hype for this expensive device that had an extreme PR fail after a letter was released by nintendo as an enormous health risk to children.

[NeoStar9]

06:32 AM on 01/21/2011

The warning from Nintendo puts them in a good light actually. It shows them being responsible. I also covers their own ass in the long run. They do warnings like this all the time. That was par for the course for them. Also it wasn't ready for this past Christmas. With Kinect being out it would have had to share the spotlight if it had been. In the end Nintendo still came out on top in terms of sales over Sony and Microsoft in terms of hardware and number of top games sold. Of the top 15 games sold during the holidays 9 were Nintendo Wii titles. They had 3 of the top 5.

Now the 3DS it's in a position to have all the attention for itself this coming Christmas. It will be the talk of this coming E3 convention. It will be the gaming device of this coming summer. Nintendo will also be ramping up advertising all over the world with hands on setups in malls, etc to show people first hand.

Nintendo of America's CEO has gone on record of saying that when the device is described to people they assume it might go for more then $300. That it's going for $250 makes it appear like a bargain. So pricing won't be a problem in the end. They also aren't doing away with the Nintendo DS either. Just how they didn't do away with the Game Boy Advance when the original DS first came out.

[Sol76]

04:23 AM on 01/20/2011

I want one but as soon as the iOS devices get similar 3D screens, I know that the 3DS will be gathering dust.

[JasonMcl]

09:48 PM on 01/19/2011

Does the price include epilepsy hospitalization and treatment?

[Blackageddon]

08:49 PM on 01/19/2011

$249? I think the 3DS is an awesome idea, but that's a lot of games for my 360 this year...

[YeOldeJacob]

11:51 AM on 01/19/2011

I'm interested in the 3DS. I think 3D makes more sense in video games than in film or TV. But I don't know if I'm $250 worth of interested. I only use my current DS for 3 or 4 game franchises (Pokemon, Zelda, Mario... essentially the big names) and don't invest all that much money in games on the system. The last game I bought for it was Pokemon SoulSilver, and I won't be buying another until March when Pokemon Black and White are released.

I suppose when my favorite hand-held franchises move on to the 3DS I'll be forced to pick one up, but by then it might be down to the $175-$200 range.

[Trickery]

07:48 PM on 01/19/2011

They have a good lineup of games on the way, even though they are of well known franchises. Street fighter, A new Resident Evil and another Mario is on the way soon.

[AmzRenBecker]

04:01 PM on 02/07/2011

I can't wait for PES 11 for 3DS. It will be available on 25 March. Yeah!