Rumor: 3DS to launch this October @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on April 20, 2010

News: Nintendo's next handheld may launch sooner than we think.

When Nintendo announced the 3DS, they also revealed that the successor to the DS would launch sometime before March 2011. Today, the UK rumor mill is cooking up a date that isn't so far away.

According to "industry sources" that have spoken to CVG, Nintendo plans to launch the 3DS this October.

One very senior publishing source told CVG: "It's a surprise - we were expecting it much closer to Christmas. But I suppose it gives Nintendo the opportunity to get it front and centre in people's minds nice and early. In my experience, you don't launch a product that early to Christmas unless you're confident in it - and going to spend a lot of money on it. We're reassured that Nintendo is going to give it some decent backing in Q4."

Aside from these short statements, not much else is known about the 3DS. The handheld will offer improved graphics and a new 3D display along with the ability to play the entire library of currently available DS games. Beyond that, we don't really know what Nintendo has planned for the system.

But we'll definitely learn more at E3.