Nintendo Rides the 3D Wave: Releasing the 'DS2' in 2011

Gaming giant Nintendo has always been a radical innovator. The company’s early 1980s success – the NES, or Nintendo Entertainment System – won over audiences due to its innovative design and user-friendly approach. More recently, the Japanese video game giant has achieved massive success with its Wii home console, selling millions of units to gamers excited to bring real motion into action.

Now, the company looks to improve on another recent innovation. The Nintendo DS, now the leading mobile gaming platform of this generation, is due for an upgrade within the next year, according to Nintendo’s own rushed press release. Put out by Nintendo of American and Japan in the last 24 hours, the press release lays out some relatively vague details on the new DS, tentatively named the ‘DS2′ or ‘DS3D.’

That’s right – the new DS features a full-colour 3D display. Nintendo have claimed that the device is capable of displaying full three-dimensional action without the requirement of glasses or other visual devices. According to the popular technology website Engadget, the device will use Intel’s ‘glasses-free’ 3D technology to give gamers an immersive 3D experience without any bulky hardware or visual aids.

Given Nintendo’s past success with innovative console designs, the addition of 3D is hardly a surprise. Their most recent home gaming system – the Nintendo Wii – drew criticism from industry analysts for its lack of power and relatively new approach to gaming. After almost four years on the market, it seems as if the criticism was all but wrong – the Wii is now the sales leader in its category.

Nintendo’s current handheld gaming console – the DS, DS Lite, and DSi series of systems – are still highly popular. With the recent DSi XL edition completing the line-up, it’s unclear how much longer the current system will still be available with Nintendo’s product launch looming on the horizon. Their past systems, particularly the Gameboy Advance product line, have remained popular despite the release of a more recent system, giving many DS gamers hope that the current gaming system will linger on the market.

Of course, Nintendo have also promised a reasonable level of backwards compatibility in the new DS device. Using a ‘compatible cart’ storage system, it seems as if the upcoming DS system will be backwards compatible with older DS and DSi games. While specifications on the system are currently quite limited, the addition of DS backwards compatibility would hint towards a similar two-screen product design and game-play layout.

With hot competition from today’s leading smartphones, particularly that Apple iPhone, Nintendo have been forced to innovate to stay ahead. The DS and Wii have been massive successes in the handheld and home console marketers respectively. With a smooth launch, slick marketing campaign, and a remarkable set of launch gaming titles to back it up, it appears as if the new 3D DS could continue their dominant reign of the video gaming industry.

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