The
Nintendo 3DS (ニンテンドー3DS Nintendō Surī Dī Esu?, abbreviated to 3DS) is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories.
[12] The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software.
[12] Announcing the device in March 2010, Nintendo officially unveiled it at E3 2010,
[12][13] with the company inviting attendees to use demonstration units.
[14] The console succeeds the Nintendo DS series of handheld systems
[12] and competes with Sony PlayStation Vita handheld console.
[15]
The Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan on February 26, 2011; in Europe on March 25, 2011; in North America on March 27, 2011;
[16][17] in Australia on March 31, 2011; in Korea on April 28, 2012;
[18]and in Taiwan and Hong Kong on September 28, 2012.
[19]
On July 28, 2011, Nintendo announced a major price drop starting August
12. In addition, consumers who bought the system at its original price
gained access to ten free Nintendo Entertainment System games starting September 1, 2011, and 10 free Game Boy Advance games starting December 16, 2011, both from the Nintendo eShop.
[20]
A redesigned version, the Nintendo 3DS XL, was announced on June 21, 2012. It primarily features screens that are 90% larger than the original Nintendo 3DS.
History
Nintendo had been experimenting with 3D technology since the early 1980s.
Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally was the first game developed by Nintendo to take advantage of the technology, and utilized special goggles with a liquid crystal shutter in order to make images appear to pop out of the screen, giving them a 3D effect.
[21] In 1995, Gunpei Yokoi, the creator of the Game Boy, began developing the Virtual Boy. The system was released much earlier than intended, so that Nintendo could allocate more resources to the then-Ultra 64, and the Virtual Boy went on to become a commercial failure for Nintendo.
[22][23][24] Shigeru Miyamoto
was dissatisfied with the wire-frame models the console displayed and
practicality of the system, feeling that the concept was ahead of its
time.
[25]
The failure of the Virtual Boy left many at Nintendo doubting the viability of 3D gaming.
[26] Despite this, Nintendo continued to investigate incorporating 3D technology into other products. The Nintendo GameCube, released in 2001, is Nintendo's second 3D capable system.
[27] Every GameCube system produced features the capability to display true stereoscopic 3D, but only the launch title
Luigi's Mansion was designed to utilize the technology. As 3D displays
were not widespread at the time and producing a compatible display was
deemed prohibitively expensive to consumers, this functionality was
never enabled.
[28]
Nintendo next attempted putting a display later used for the Nintendo 3DS into a Game Boy Advance SP.
[29]
However, the resolution for such a display was not sharp and precise
enough at the time, and Nintendo was not satisfied with the experiment.
[30] With the development of the Nintendo DS and at the insistence of Hiroshi Yamauchi, the company investigated achieving 3D visuals at an exhibition at Shigureden, a theme park.
[31]
Visitors navigate around the park with the aid of guide software on a
Nintendo DS system. Although nothing was produced, Nintendo was able to
conduct extensive research and develop the methodology that was later
used to develop the Nintendo 3DS.
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