Nintendo 3DS Announced. Very impressive!

Nintendo unveiled their latest handheld device. Its to feature their venture into the newest trend, 3D. At their E3 press conference, the Nintendo 3DS is shown for the very first time to the world. It was such a special moment that it was lifted onto the stage on a shiny pedestal, complete with smoke and lights. And who else was there to introduce it but Nintendo's CEO, Satoru Iwata.

Ok. So basic specifications about the new Nintendo toy.
Features include:

• Similar design to NDS XL, 2 screens
• A large, 3.53 inch, 800x240, autostereoscopic 3D non-touch top screen (don't need glasses)
• A smaller 3.02 inch touch screen for the bottom.
• 1 front facing VGA camera like NDSi
• 2 outward facing VGA cameras to take 3D photos
• Collapsible stylus
• New analog stick above the D-Pad.
• Depth slider control to adjust the 3D view or turn it off
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Backwards compatible with NDS titles
• and many more...

As Nintendo explained, they basically combined technologies from both the Wii and NDS and the new 3D, into one handheld device. The 3DS has an improved graphics chip to take on more visually demanding games, and I think also to supplement the 3D. With the 3D screen, the 3DS allows you to watch 3D movies on the go, with companies like Disney, Warner Bros and Dreamworks already pledging support for the 3DS.

And of course, there's the games. Logically, the games cannot be demo-ed on the big screen (for obvious reasons). But Nintendo has assured us that many big name companies have already started developing games for the 3DS, to ensure that there are already a sizeable library of games to purchase when the device goes on sale later in the year. By the way, you can turn off the 3D if you want and view it as a normal 2D screen.

Just to get you excited, these are some of the games that are publicly announced at the press conference.

• DJ Hero 3D
• Assassin's Creed Lost Legacy
• Final Fantasy
• Kingdom Hearts
• Metal Gear Solid
• Resident Evil Revelations
• Fifa
• Madden
• Nintendogs + Cats

And these are some of the companies that are currently developing games for the 3DS.

• Activision
• Hudson
• EA
• Harmonix
• Square Enix
• Konami
• Capcom
• Ubisoft

Thus, looking at what's to be offered, I would say that the Nintendo 3DS has a huge potential in the gaming world. It currently allows you to play almost all kinds of games, both 3D and 2D, utilising the d-pad, analog stick, touch screen, accelerometer and gyroscope. That's a lot of possibilities for game developers. If all goes well, this is the device that would revolutionise handheld gaming yet again. Nintendo is out to prove that they are still strong in the gaming world.

PS: I'm guessing that you may start to see many iPhone games migrating over to this 3DS as this provides the same functions as the iPhone (with the touchscreen, accelerometer and gyroscope), except with more physical controls and a 3D screen. However, many games are free to download on the iPhone. Not too sure if it will still be free for 3DS. Nonetheless, those are only casual, on-to-go games, which is not what Nintendo is really aiming for.