Nintendo 3DS coming in larger screens.Planning a new Wii U console, as well.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

Nintendo 3DS coming in larger screens. Planning a new Wii U console, as well.

Japanese game maker Nintendo Co. has upgraded its 3DS handheld to sport a screen nearly twice as big as the previous model amid hot competition against smartphones and tablets that are wooing people away from dedicated gaming machines.

The Kyoto-based maker of the Super Mario games and Wii home console said Friday the Nintendo 3DS LL, called 3DS XL in overseas markets, goes on sale in Japan and Europe July 28, and in the U.S. from Aug. 19.

It will sell in Japan for 18,900 yen ($236) and $199.99 in the U.S. It did not give a price for Europe.

The 3DS, which has a touch panel and delivers 3-D imagery without special glasses, has two screens — one is 3.53 inches and the other is 3.02 inches.

The LL or XL version's screens are 4.88 inches and 4.18 inches, according to the company. Screen inches refer to the diagonal measurement so LL screens are 1.9 times bigger.

"There were demands for a bigger screen, and so we are ready to respond with a size-variation model," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in a video on the company's website. "You can enjoy powerful 3D imagery."

It weighs a bit more and is slightly bigger than the previous model. But battery life was extended to up to six and a half hours for 3D games from the previous five hours, and up to 10 hours from eight hours for regular games.

Yusuke Tsunoda, analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities Co., said bigger screens are generally almost always a plus for game machines sales, and the affordable price adds to the appeal.

"People who already have the 3DS and those who don't may but it. After all, it's so cheap," he said.

Nintendo and Japanese rival Sony Corp. with its PlayStation Vita handheld are fighting tough competition from smartphones and tablets, which allow users to not only play games but also spend time on social media and other entertainment.

The bigger screens may help differentiate Nintendo's handheld from other devices, but the upgraded screen is still smaller than the iPad.

Iwata has repeatedly shrugged off the threat from smartphones.

"Nintendo doesn't want to compete in a sector other than where it feels its strength lies," said Tsunoda.

Nintendo has sold 17 million 3DS machines worldwide so far. Sony has sold 1.8 million of its PS Vita machines.

Nintendo is also planning a new home console called Wii U for later this year. It will have a 6.2-inch touchscreen controller that works separately from what's on the TV monitor. But it won't work as a portable like the 3DS or 3DS LL.

Games fans throw away 3D glasses at Nintendo 3DS launch.Video.

WorldWideTech & SCience. Francisco De Jesús.


Nintendo's launch of its handheld 3DS gaming system, the first device to offer 3D gaming without special glasses, was met with a big crowd, who throw away their 3D glasses . However competition from smartphones could threaten future growth.

Sony NGP vs Nintendo 3DS

WorldWideTech & Science.

New Sony portable console debuts

Sony's new handheld console, the NGP, is hoped to challenge Nintendo's dominance.



Related post. Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo 3DS first look video.

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Our colleagues of CNET had made a cool video first look of the Nintendo 3DS.

Nintendo expect the 3DS to get off to a rocket start. To debut in US for $250.-

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Nintendo 3DS handheld video-game player, boosted by the device’s high-definition graphics and titles that showcase its features.

The 3DS uses three cameras and a motion sensor to create the 3-D effect, which is adjustable by the user. More than 30 games will be available by early June, many of them in 3-D, Nintendo said.

The device will attract consumers ages “9 to 95,” Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America Inc., said in a Dec. 23 interview. Games will cost about $40 each, he said.

Nintendo has been predicting its lowest annual profit in six years for the period ending in March, following sales declines for the DS and the Wii.

Demand for the Wii, introduced in late 2006, outstripped supply for several years. The console broadened the game market to casual players with a controller that used hand motions to operate game characters. Nintendo sold 75.9 million Wiis through September 2010, according to company figures.

The 3DS is likely to lift Nintendo’s operating profit by 150 billion yen ($1.8 billion) or more a year, if the player can capture as many casual users as its predecessor and also appeal to core gamers, Yuki Nakayasu, an analyst at UBS Securities in Japan, said this week in a research note. Nakayasu, who recommends buying Nintendo, estimates profit of 190 billion yen this year.

Nintendo said in December that children younger than age 6 may experience eye problems when playing the 3DS. The company uses a technology that allows each eye to see a slightly different image, creating a sense of depth and the 3-D effect.

“There will be not only our own software, but also third- party titles, which have the photo-realism that will satisfy Western gamers,” Satoru Iwata said in a recent interview. “We expect the 3DS to get off to a rocket start, like the Wii’s debut.”

The 3DS will sell for $250 and make its U.S. debut March 27, Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo said yesterday in a statement. Sales in Europe are scheduled to begin March 25, Eileen Tanner, a spokeswoman, said. Japanese sales will begin Feb. 26.

Source: Bloomberg.