New DS at E3 2010!

Today while looking around at IGN.com I discovered that Nintendo has told newspapers in Japan that it is planning to release a new Nintendo DS. According to the article on IGN's website the new system could hit Japan by March of 2011. There is currently no estimated release date for any other area but the site did say that Nintendo will be revealing more details about the new "Nintendo 3DS" at E3 2010, which is scheduled to take place from June 15th -- 17th this year.

So, what do we know so far? Apparently the reason for the name Nintendo 3DS is that this new system will offer some form of 3D imagery through the console without the use of any sort of special glasses. Also, there are rumors that it may use some form of motion control, although in this capacity it is more likely to be akin to that found on the iPod Touch / iPhone rather then that seen via controllers on the Nintendo Wii.

There are currently no launch titles, games in progress, etc. announced for this yet but I am sure that we will have lots to look forward to in the gaming community when Nintendo fully unveils this at E3 later this year. Hopefully (at least for me) this will be a DS moment and not a Wii moment. While I admire the Wii I am not physically able to play it. I will be paying very close attention to the development of this console as I determine whether or not I will make a purchase.

However, as much as I am always excited by new tech news, I do also find this announcement, and more importantly its *timing*, incredibly frustrating. The Nintendo DSI XL releases in North America this Sunday. While those in Japan and Europe may be cursing Nintendo right now, the reason that I am smacking my palm against my forehead is a little different. As a gamer with vision problems I am very excited about the Nintendo DSI XL and I want to see it do well. Why? Because the success of the XL may very well determine whether an option like this is ever given to those of us with vision problems again. With this new announcement, there is a strong likelyhood that there will be people who intended to get the DSI XL who will change their mind, or who purchased it in other placed and who will feel they were betrayed.

At the same time, though, I do think that the timing of this and the XL may have some form of connection after hearing what another user from YouTube had to say when speaking about the future DS console. What good will 3D actually be on a 3 or 3.2 inch screen? It will be interesting to see what size Nintendo will choose to have the screens be considering the technology that it seems to be adding to the system. I am certainly not saying that the screens are going to be the size of a netbook. For all I know Nintendo could cater soley to those who like small screens and give us postage stamps -- although that I will categorize as sarcasm since that would, even for those with impecable eyesight, be too small.

All in all, only time will tell what this new system will actually bring to the table. IF anyone would like to share there thoughts, feel free to post a comment. Thanks for reading!