Nintendo 3DS misses Xmas launch window

Nintendo's upcoming 3D handheld console, the 3DS, won't debut until next year, the videogames pioneer has admitted.

Result: a lot of kids will get 'old' tech as presents this Christmas.

Nintendo's global roll-out kicks off on 26 February with the Japanese launch, with the gadget arriving in the US and Europe early in March - as yet, specific dates haven't been announced for these territories.

Japanese buyers will pay ¥25,000 (£189). Given the January VAT increase to 20 per cent, we reckon UK consumers will be paying £230-250 at retail.

The 3DS displays 3D without the need for special spectacles, using half of its 3.53in, 800 x 240 display to show the left-eye image and the rest for the right-eye picture, making for a combined 400 x 240 image.

The 3DS' secondary screen is a 3in 320 x 240 touchscreen.

It also contains three 0.3Mp cameras, one front-facing and two pointing outwards and together capable of taking 3D stills - plus 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, and a gyro sensor and a motion sensor.

Nintendo has already announced 3DS-specific versions of the Mario Kart, Nintendogs and StarFox 64 franchises, along with Kid Icarus, PilotWings Resort, Animal Crossing, Steel Diver and Paper Mario.

Other publishers will get in on the act too: Activision with DJ Hero 3D, EA with Sims 3, Capcom with Resident Evil: Revelations and Street Fighter IV, Square Enix with Final Fantasy, Namco Bandai with Ridge Racer, Ubisoft with Tom Clancy games, and more. ®