3DS said to feature 3D control stick, Sharp LCD screens; will be playable at E3

by Ben Gilbert on Mar 23rd 2010 12:27PM

As if news of a new handheld device coming from Nintendo in the middle of the night wasn't enough, Engadget today spotted two reports out of Japanese newspapers Asahi and Nikkei detailing the 3DS' known hardware so far. Asahi claims that the handheld's 3D output (remember, sans silly glasses) comes via a "parallax barrier LCD" from Sharp, while Nikkei backs this up and adds that the device's screens will measure roughly four inches diagonally across (each).

Nikkei also claims the device will feature a "3D control stick," though this could presumably be an analog control stick, as well as rumble support and an upped battery life / speedier Wi-Fi. And while we heard last night that the device would arrive on retail shelves sometime in "Fiscal 2010" (before the end of calendar year March 2011), the report says it will arrive during the "second half of [calendar] 2010," owing the new handheld's reveal to slowing DS sales. In speaking with a representative from Nintendo of America, the New York Times confirmed that we'll get our first hands-on with the 3DS at E3 2010, so we'll get our chance to find out exactly what that hardware contains soon enough.

Source 1 - Asahi
Source 2 - Nikkei
Source 3 - The New York Times

[Via Engadget]

Tags: 3d, 3d-control-stick, 3ds, DS, Nintendo, Nintendo-3DS, parallax-barrier-lcd, sharp, touchscreen

Reader Comments (93)

Guess I'm holding out on upgrading my Phat, then.

You'd be 'replacing' your Phat, not 'upgrading'. This isn't a mere revision of DS hardware, it's new hardware.

... it's still an upgrade, especially considering it will run my current DS software.

No, because your DS won't run 3DS software.

Moot point, as there are no 3DS games at the moment. It's an upgrade since 3DS will run anything DS Phat will also run (just more stuff as well).

Did nintendo pull their first financial faux pas? By announcing another version so quickly on the back of the dsi xl release, they've sent that to electronic hell with all the sega 32x adapters. Who is going to shell out $200 now when everyone will be drooling over this in a few months?

You two are dorks.

My son was saving money for a DSi XL. Now we have to change plans, and probably save even more money while hanging on to our ancient DS Lite. Nintendo is getting worse than Apple with their endless hand held hardware revisions. But hey, who am I to argue with success?

Ugh. So now that my DS Lite broken, and I'm on the verge of purchasing a DSi this week, they announce this. Should I just suck up the few months and do something non-gaming? Blah. F***ing Nintendo man, they just put out the DSi less than a year ago.

@taedirk It's not a moot point, there were no DS games before the DS came out either, but it also ran GBA games. This is a new handheld that has backwards compatibility. When was the last time a game was announced for a platform BEFORE the platform was announced? You'll get a bunch of 3DS game announcements at E3, I'd wager.

lol at all you losers who "upgraded" from phat/lite to the DSi. Serves you right for being such tools to begin with.

I'll enjoy my lite until this comes out, then hit the DSware store and download the one or two games worth getting. That is assuming this handheld still has the camera gimmick the DSi had....

aang1818,

You are a tool. The DS Phat is crap, if someone did jump from that to the DSi I'd consider that a worthwhile upgrade. No adjustable brightness, bad form factor, power button in a horrible position.

From the Lite to the DSi though... I guess the double the CPU and 4x the RAM will make a difference down the line.

@ijustw1n

First? I guess you missed the part where the skipped out on going with the CD medium and letting Sony keep the tech.
Along with the GBA Micro + DS combo in the US.

I'd also list every single peripheral they've released, but someone they keep selling despite only ever working with one game.

I thought you have to buy 3 DS to enjoy this 3D feature.

You have to duct tape them together! ;-)

LCD + 3D = Bad combo.

You down vote me like you know any better.

Sharp's 3D tech is unsuitable for large screens, so who knows maybe it'll work. Best look at Japan's cellphones since that's where the tech is currently deployed.

Plasma delivers a crisper 3D picture and has no ghosting. Additionally you can still see the 3D image if you tilt your head. On LCD the image goes dark if you watch side ways in 3D.

Right. Let's slap plasma screens in a handheld! Why don't we put in an HDD and six speakers while we're at it!

youtube.com/watch?v=vKgamhgqqes

3D Control Stick.

so is it a ED DSi or a 3D DS Lite?

Nintendo is doing all they can to make the DS last longer than the GB....and they damn well might succeed....

Isn't it meant to be a successor and not a revision? If it is an actual successor to the DS then they picked the worst most confusing name for it possible.

Could be a slight jab at the iPhone.

damn my fingers.....meant "3D" not "ED"

so is it a completely new format where they will have it still support DS games for a few years and then cut that out and make us all buy 3D games?

This is not a new revision... this is a new system...

I really can't belive how people (specially people who reads gaming sites) can't understand the differences between a new system and a new revision.

A lot of people still don't understand that the DS, DS Lite, DSi and DSiXL are part of the same series, just new revisions... just like the PSP-1000, PSP-2000, PSP-3000 and PSP-Go, or just like PS3 Phat and PS3 Slim...

This new Nintendo 3DS is a completetly new system...

s fernando....I'm guilty of not reading that orignal post this morning in its entirety....

That's true Fernando, but I can see how they could make the mistake in this instance. This follows a similar naming scheme to the one Nintendo has used for their revisions, and I'm sure the article picture showing 3 DS's didn't help.

@Fernando Rocker

I'd argue that the DSi is more than a simple revision. The fact that it can't do things the older systems cannot more or less makes it a new system. Yes, the games are mostly the same, but there's a very clear difference between some tweaks to the shape and screens and adding things like DSi Ware and DSi Enhanced games.

but by that login Vid, we would have to say the PSP-Go is a new system too....and we dont want to do that

* the fact that it CAN do things

What can the Go do that the older systems cannot?

bluetooth allows it to tether off of phones internet as well as connect a DS3, even connect to the PS3 in other ways, even a printer if they wanted it to....

So, in other words, nothing related to portable gaming.

uhhh if you dont think playin online via your cellphone connection anything to do with portable gaming....then yea...sure

Come on, that's a convenience that hardly anyone would even utilize. It's like arguing that a new version with a longer lasting battery qualifies as a new platform. The bottom line is that the Go doesn't play any games that the older system can't. It's as simple as that. Anyone that already owns a PSP has no real imperative to get a Go as there are no games that they won't be able to play. This isn't true in the case of the DSi.

lol.....I know people that have a DSi and dont use the DSi Ware store....

however I also know people that tether their PSP go via Bluetooth when they are on the road....sure its only 5 people....but at the same time I only know 7 people with a PSP Go

I hope it's an analogue stick, I hate blocking my view when using an itouch. DS has the dpad at least so I used that whenever possible.

3D control stick? How is that different from the analog one? I'm confused.

I'm pretty sure they're putting an entire flight stick on this bad boy.

@cloud:

Is that a 3DS in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

@Winterfang

NGPC definitely had the best stick of any hand-held I could think of. Heck it beats the pants off of some console sticks too.

Oh god...oh god...oh god...the drool...its everywhere...

dunno what I am suppose to be seeing in that last link

Damn! Sharp makes some of the best LCD's around! If this is true, Nintendo is going all out!

Really? Last time I checked Samsung was still dominating the LCD market in terms of performance.

You threw up your ice-cream? Ewww....

And vanilla ice-cream at that!

Had to say, the 3 side by side DSes cracked me up a bit. I also haven't slept much, temporarily lowering my intelligence. Now's also the time to watch NASCAR and Happy Madison production movies to fully enjoy them

Can't wait to pet my 3D Nintendogs.

And my 3D Pokeymans.

They are called EyePets now.

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3DS said to feature 3D control stick, Sharp LCD screens; will be playable at E3

Reader Comments (93)

Posted: Mar 23rd 2010 12:30PM Uncontrol said

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