It is heard that Nintendo timed the announcement of its upcoming 3DS at a weird hour. Preempting the launch of the DSi XL by a launch in March, Nintendo said the system's glasses-free, 3D-capable successor would arrive a year or less later. Analysts quickly speculated that the announcement was a proactive measure to get ahead of unauthorized media leaks. It remains unclear what the 3DS will even look like. "It's a surprise--we were expecting it much closer to Christmas," a source reportedly told the site. "But I suppose it gives Nintendo the opportunity to get it front and centre in people's minds nice and early. In my experience, you don't launch a product that early to Christmas unless you're confident in it--and going to spend a lot of money on it. We're reassured that Nintendo is going to give it some decent backing in Q4." Nintendo is said to be planning on announcing the system's release date during its Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference on June 15. Also, CVG's report did not indicate whether the October launch was a worldwide rollout. While the publisher has in the past clumped together the European and North American releases for DS-branded systems, the Japanese launch often happens several months earlier. If the release schedule for the DS line of handhelds is any indication, Nintendo has no proclivity toward launching in a particular month. The original Nintendo DS landed in North America in November 2004. That release was followed by the DS Lite in June 2006, with the DSi following in April 2009. The DSi XL arrived stateside in March 2010. Also, an October launch window would make sense for Nintendo, were it to want to get ahead of high-profile hardware releases from Microsoft and Sony. Both companies have scheduled the launch of their heavily hyped camera-based motion-sensing add-ons for the holiday window. The official story: Nintendo had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.  |