Nintendo Releases New 3D Gaming Console

Video gaming company Nintendo is aiming to ship four million of its new 3D-capable handheld game player a month after its release.

The 3DS is scheduled to go on sale in Japan on February 26, with the U.S., Europe and Australia launches set for March.

The Nikkei says Japanese sales alone will account for 1.5 million consoles.

Nintendo’s 3DS is the first mainstream gaming product to deliver three-dimensional images without the need for special glasses.

The Nikkei report cites company president Satoru Iwata as saying Nintendo is working to prevent supply shortages that plagued the launches of earlier versions of the DS.

Nintendo is hoping the 3DS will transform the gaming market like the Wii did in 2006, and also revive flagging sales for its mainstay DS handheld game console.

Sales have tailed off for Nintendo, with the company slashing its sales guidance for the year to March 2011 by 21 percent, and net profit by 55 percent.

Game console rivals like the Kinect, which Microsoft says sold eight million in the first 60 days… and Sony’s Move controllers have since improved on the Nintendo Wii’s motion-gaming technology.

Others like Apple and Google’s Android have started chipping away at Nintendo’s handheld gaming market share.

Foto: NTDTV