By Andrew Liszewski
So it turns out that November release date rumor for the Nintendo 3DS was wrong, wrong, wrong. The 3D version of their dual-screen portable gaming system will actually be available starting in Japan on February 26, 2011, with a slightly vaguer ‘March 2011′ for North America and Europe. Not that long of a wait, particularly since it will give you an extra few months to save up ¥25,000 or around $300 which is what the 3DS will retail for in Japan. Hopefully that will be a little cheaper elsewhere, but still, ouch.
It will initially be available in two color choices, Aqua Blue and Cosmo Black, and will come with a charging cradle, telescoping stylus, 2GB SD card and some augmented reality cards that can be used with the 3DS’ cameras. Other revelations include the ability to jump to the home screen and access other features at any time without having to end or shut down a game in progress, the ability to transfer purchases from your DSi to the new system, and the one that’s got me most excited, a mini Virtual Console letting you buy old Game Boy, GBC and GBA titles!
At this point I guess I’m supposed to complain that the 3DS is going to cost more than a Wii, but I’m not going to kid anyone, I’ll have my pre-order in on the first day and will be there with credit card in hand when it’s finally released in North America.
