Nintendo Announces Next-Gen Handheld, The Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo has just recently announced that they will be bringing a new handheld hardware to this year's E3 convention. Currently called the Nintendo 3DS, this is the successor to the Nintendo DS. Unlike the DS Lite and DSi, which are spin offs, or alternate versions of the DS, the 3DS will actually be the start of the next generation of Nintendo handhelds! This will be the fifth official generation.

Courtesy of Nintendo

Living in 3D

The Nintendo 3DS will offer the ability to enjoy games with 3D effects, but without needing to use any special glasses. It is not revealed how the 3D effects will work, but many are guessing that it will have something to do with cameras and motion sensors.

This is not the first time that Nintendo has tried to deliver graphics that pop out of the screen. In 1995, they came out with the Virtual Boy, which had a special visor that you looked into in order to play the games. However, this console did not do so well as the visor gave people neck strain and the graphics gave people eye strain. Learning from this, Nintendo has promised to do research in motion sickness and other effects of 3D gaming.

The Next Step

Being backwards compatible with all DS games, the 3DS will most likely have the two cameras that the DSi has. The device is also rumoured to have a "3D Joystick" and rumble for force feedback.

Nintendo will be bringing a working version of the 3DS to this year's E3, which will be on June 15th. Until then, details and more information about the new handheld will most likely be kept secret. They are hoping to release the new hardware to North America by March next year.

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