Nintendo reveals the release date of its new handheld console, the 3DS - and it’s set to arrive a little later than rumours had suggested...
A little over a week ago, we reported on the widespread speculation that Nintendo’s eagerly awaited 3DS handheld would be available in time for Christmas. While the evidence was admittedly thin, rushing the console out in time for the festive season would have made sense from a financial perspective.
Surprisingly, Nintendo has announced at its annual conference that the Nintendo 3DS won’t be available until next year - news that has forced the company to slash its forecasted earnings for 2010 by more than 50 per cent.
Instead, the 3DS won’t hit Japanese until 26 February next year, with a suggested retail price of 25,000 yen (roughly £189 in UK money). The console will arrive in the rest of the world sometime in March, though prices for other regions have yet to be announced.
For Nintendo, a company already experiencing a sales slump with its current technology, the Wii and the outgoing DS, the 3DS delay leaves them without any new hardware to sell over the potentially lucrative festive period.
Worst of all, it means geeks like myself will have to wait at least three further months before they can get their hands on Nintendo’s potentially ground-breaking new console. Shame - I had a big gap under the Christmas tree for it, too...
Telegraph