Nintendo Glasses-Free 3DS Arrives In U.S. March 27

The first major 3D gaming console is set to arrive soon in America and Nintendo is confident it's in a category by itself.

Nintendo, the Kyoto, Japan gaming giant, detailed its new 3D handheld gaming console, the Nintendo 3DS, at an event in New York. The device will cost $249.99 and be available on March 27 at American gaming retailers and March 25 in Europe. It will come in Cosmo Black or Aqua Blue.

Nintendo 3DS is a category of one, the experience simply doesn't exist anywhere else, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime, said during the 3DS press conference. You have to see Nintendo 3DS to believe it. And it's like nothing you've ever seen before.

The two screen, touch enabled device can display 3D images without the usage of glasses. The 3D imagery, which will be shown on the top screen, can be adjusted using a slider. Also to adjust for the angle of the 3D imagery, Nintendo added a 360 degree button on top of the usual control configuration for its handheld devices.The bottom screen will make use of a telescoping stylus, stored in the unit itself.

Nintendo did not limit the 3D capabilities to just games, although many of the system's traditionally popular titles will be available in 3D such as Zelda and the EA Sports Madden series.

There are three immediate payoffs to 3D, and the first is games. While Nintendo is recognized first as a video games company, we see ourselves as part of the entertainment industry, that's because second, it can do 3D video playback. Third, it can do 3D photography, and offer 3D display of those pictures, Fils-Aime said.

Along with 3D capability, Nintendo's 3DS will also come with a new feature called StreetPass. The feature allows owners of Nintendo 3DS to pass information on games with each other. Another feature is SpotPass, which allows users to connect through a localized wireless connection and update their games automatically.

The Nintendo 3DS will also come with augmented reality capability in the form of six AR cards. When the device's two outer cameras are pointed at the cards, they read the cards and superimpose images and animations onto the scene.

It will also come with an internet browser, the Nintendo eShop where users can buy games and put them directly on the device and built in parental controls. The 3DS will be able to play old Nintendo DS and Gameboy games.