Rumor: Nintendo 3DS Coming This Holiday Season

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Reputable gaming news site CVG is reporting that the 3D-capable Nintendo 3DS will be released this October, when it was originally anticipated for a release next year. They say their source is from the UK gaming industry. Allegedly, Nintendo is releasing the 3DS ahead of schedule to challenge the upcoming Project Natal and PlayStation Move.

Both Microsoft’s Natal and Sony’s PlayStation Move are seen as those two companies attempts to capitalize on the popularity of  the Nintendo Wii console. Both are slated for a holiday-time launch this year, and it looks like Nintendo wants to drop their own bomb on the tech news cycle.

CVG says the 3DS is coming this October, which would put it a full six-months ahead of the original March 2011 release timeframe (which came straight from Nintendo). A senior UK gaming executive 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.

When CVG contacted Nintendo for comment, they told them that an early release date was “rumour and speculation”. CVG has been right before and seem pretty sure on this, but until it’s confirmed straight from Nintendo, it’s still rumor.

To recap the Nintendo 3DS, it’s going to be a 3D-capable version of Nintendo’s popular touchscreen DS handheld. It won’t need 3D glasses like many 3D screens. Its announcement a few weeks ago came completely out of nowhere for those of us in the Western world – but allegedly, it’s been rumored for a while in Japan, and Nintendo officially announced it to beat an internet leak.