Nintendo to Launch the 3DS System March 27th for $249.99

That noise you hear is the sound of millions of kids all over the country begging to have their birthdays moved to March this year. And it has nothing to do with those screwed up zodiac symbols. On March 27, 2011, the next step in the evolution of hand held gaming arrives: the highly anticipated Nintendo 3DS will hit the shelves with a fury not seen since the Wii arrived on our shores more than 5 years ago.

Some gamers will say, “so what? it’s just another DSi!”. Others will just roll their eyes at one more thing tagged with 3D in its name. Regardless of what you think of Nintendo or the 3D craze, the elitist and the curious will have one thing in common this spring: they’ll want to see it for themselves. I’ve held one of these in my hands, played some games on it, even watched a clip from How To Train Your Dragon in 3D last summer at the E3 Expo. The 3D effect (without needing glasses!) is impressive to say the least and I’m hoping that they’ve put it through its paces so that it’s even more wow-inducing than it was 7 months ago (it did lose some of the 3D effect when I tried to tilt it, but only slightly).

Of course, the biggest draw won’t just be the 3D gaming, but also the ability to take 3D photos. Yes, the system comes with dual external lenses that allow you to take 3D pictures and use them in-game or whatever new way developers may come up with. Of course, you can only view them within the 3DS itself, which feels limiting, but I guess I can see why it’s that way. I won’t be surprised if some industrious developer out there somehow will find a way to make those 3D images viewable in 3D on other devices like your home computer, but I have a feeling that Nintendo has the hardware part of that equation rather tied up…

I like the additional SD card slot (comes with a 2 GB card in package), the new analog disc control pad, and the potential opportunity to watch 3D movies on it (again, without the need for glasses). Nintendo promises at least 30 titles will be available before the next E3 Expo in June, but what I’m really dying to play is a new Mario Kart and a brand new Legend of Zelda game (eventually… I already defeated Ocarina of Time a hundred years ago). Kid Icarus will have to do in the meantime, I suppose. But for those of you who can’t really stomach the world of 3D, the device comes with the option to tone it down, even to the point of shutting off the 3D feature (although that takes away much of the fun). A slider on the side lets anyone toggle the level of 3D effects to the level that works best for them.

The biggest quibble I have with the 3DS is with the price: $249.99 at launch. I realize that this is a groundbreaking technology, but that’s just a bit steep for a hand held device that doesn’t also make calls (although another company’s attempt a few years ago didn’t really Ngage people the way they wanted… and don’t get me started on Apple…). But considering that competitor’s earlier attempt, maybe it’s better if Nintendo just sticks to games. I don’t know if I should mention that Sony is bringing out the Playstation phone in February in an attempt to maintain their dwindling foothold on the hand held market, but it would have to be pretty astounding to get any notice in light of today’s 3DS launch announcement.

Of course, I’m such a Nintendo fanboy that, regardless of the price, I’ll eventually be snatching one up sooner or later (Black Friday sales maybe?). Until then, you can bet I’ll be hanging out at one of the planned pre-launch demonstration locations or just playing these promo videos over and over again…

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