Nintendo held a press event in New York Wednesday to finally unveil the launch details of its much-anticipated new 3DS portable console in North America.

 

The 3DS will launch for $249.99 on March 27 and come packaged with a 2GB SD card, a charging cradle, and six augmented reality cards, called AR Cards. There will be two colors available at launch: Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black.

 

Pre-installed software will include:

 

Nintendo 3DS Camera: Take 3D photos with the 3DS' outer camera, and manipulate them with a variety of different lenses.

Face Raiders: An augmented reality game where you shoot at virtual targets that use a facial photo you take.

Mii Maker: Much like it is on the Wii, but now with an automatic generator based on a photo you take.

StreetPass Mii Plaza: "The place where Mii characters meet and greet," allows you to exchange Mii data with other 3DS owners.

Activity Log: Like on the Wii, the Activity Log tracks which games you've played and how long you've played them. It also acts as a pedometer, tracking your footsteps in exchange for Play Coins, compatible with certain games.

Nintendo 3DS Sound: This acts as both a sound recorder and an MP3 player. And since it's Nintendo, there are sound filters and effects to play with.

AR Games: Using the included AR Cards, these games use augmented reality tech to put in-game objects in your real world environment -- through the camera's lense, of course.

Nintendo eShop: A digital storefront that allows you to buy DSiWare software, new 3DS-exclusive downloadable games, and classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games via the Virtual Console.

System Transfer: This will allow you to transfer purchased, downloadable software either from 3DS to 3DS or from DSi to 3DS. There is, of course, a limit on how many times this can be done, but that limit has not yet been announced.

 

The first-party Nintendo games tentatively scheduled to be available around launch will be:

 

Pilotwings Resort

Nintendogs + Cats

Steel Diver

 

No word yet on a launch date for either Kid Icarus: Uprising or The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

 

The following third-party games are scheduled to be launched either on launch day or in the following weeks:

 

Dead or Alive Dimensions

Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D

Madden NFL Football

Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

Asphalt 3D

Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D

Ridge Racer 3D

LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

 

The Friend Code system returns, though in a simplified fashion, as there will be only one code per system with instant registration. No longer will individual codes be required for each game, it essentially works like an Xbox Live friend request.

 

From 1up.com

 

I really want one, even though it would be smart to wait until the second version is released. 3-5 hours battery time is terrible.

really tempted by one of these, mainly for Resident evil and LOZ, although £150-200 is expensive for a handheld. Probably be able to get some deals on release date tho, or wait a couple of months til they drop in price.

I'll wait until Megaman Legends 3 is released before getting one, hopefully the price will have come down by then.

 

Also I like how the 3DS is a concept that literally cannot be promoted in video or picture.

I read that this thing can **** up your eyes or something and you should only play for 20-30 minutes at a time.

We get it before the US, on the 25th :)

 

No news on price yet although online preorders place it above £200 (ouch) , its the usual dollar to pound exchange then add 50% I guess :)

£220 I believe. It's an awful lot for a handheld, not sure it's worth it at all.

Are the games likely to be more expensive?

Yep, they are meant to be $50 a pop in the US.

That's pretty much priced me out of getting one then. I'm guessing if I give it a year or so I should be able to get a second hand one in decent nick for a darn sight cheaper? Plus it'd be worth waiting to see what kinds of games are coming out. I refuse to be suckered into buying another Nintendo console based solely on being able to play a new Zelda game.

Especially when that new Zelda game is nearly 15 years old.

I'm quite happy with my DSLite, thankyouverymuch

DS's piss me off, dust gets stuck under the screen way too easily and it totally f***s them up, and considering I'm obsessive compulsive it means I spend most of my time cleaning the damn thing.

 

Think I'll pass on this one unless it undergoes a DRASTIC price drop.

DS's piss me off, dust gets stuck under the screen way too easily and it totally f***s them up, and considering I'm obsessive compulsive it means I spend most of my time cleaning the damn thing.

 

Think I'll pass on this one unless it undergoes a DRASTIC price drop.

 

 

There is usually an updated version within 12 months which irons out all the probelms and adjusts the look slightly. The DS, SP and even the GBC all had this , so I may wait to see what happens now ( at that price).

 

Remember how crap the first DS was....

There were some models on display in Japan, looks good, but probably not worth the money at the moment.

I read that this thing can **** up your eyes or something and you should only play for 20-30 minutes at a time.

 

Do they not suggest this about most video games? Even normal DS games suggest a 15 minute break once an hour. Also says if your hands or wrists become sore while playing, you should rest for several hours, but not many people do that.

 

I do want one of these, but likelyhood of getting one is nil, being as I don't use my regular DS all that much anymore, and they are so expensive. Wouldn't even be worth doing a trade in on my DS for. I do like the idea of

3D gaming though.

Do they not suggest this about most video games? Even normal DS games suggest a 15 minute break once an hour. Also says if your hands or wrists become sore while playing, you should rest for several hours, but not many people do that.

 

I do want one of these, but likelyhood of getting one is nil, being as I don't use my regular DS all that much anymore, and they are so expensive. Wouldn't even be worth doing a trade in on my DS for. I do like the idea of

3D gaming though.

 

This made me laugh my a*s off thinking of you trying to get part exchange on Darkstar for a younger model! :lol

But she'd be exchanging him for three more copies of him...

 

And she gets enough insults as it is!

This made me laugh my a*s off thinking of you trying to get part exchange on Darkstar for a younger model! :lol

 

Welcome to the first thing I think whenever a DS gets brought up on here. :lol

Do they not suggest this about most video games? Even normal DS games suggest a 15 minute break once an hour. Also says if your hands or wrists become sore while playing, you should rest for several hours, but not many people do that.

I'd prefer to risk having sore wrists and a slight head ache over permanent damage to my eyes as some people have suggested this thing may cause...

I think it's fair to say that most males from about 12 onwards suffer sore wrists at somepoint.

Has all this furore over 3D gaming got anyone else pining for a whirl on a Virtual Boy? Oh and in more important, breaking news there has been the shocking reveal that Super Mario Bros 3DS is in development. I love nintys franchises and all, but they really need some fresh ideas or at least go back to great franchises they haven't milked like Pikmin.