Nintendo's trying to take back a claim that its 3DS handheld won't launch until 2011.
On the talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said the Nintendo 3DS will launch next year. That jibes with the company's original claim, made a few months ago, that the 3DS would launch in Japan by the end of the fiscal year, ending in March 2011.
But now, Kotaku cites unnamed sources who say Fils-Aime was "mistaken" in announcing a 2011 launch window for the Nintendo 3DS. However, the sources wouldn't provide any other information. This just clouds the issue.
My guess is that both sources are correct: The 3DS will launch next year in North America, where Fils-Aime is in control, but this holiday season in Japan, where Nintendo's handhelds usually launch first anyway. Still, that doesn't explain why Nintendo hasn't just come right out and said when the launch date will be, or why the company didn't make that announcement at E3 in the first place. Perhaps the company doesn't want to announce anything until it has specific launch dates nailed down.
In any case, I hope the 3DS is not rushed to market. I played around with the handheld for a few minutes at E3, and while I enjoyed the glasses-free 3D images, most of the games on display were mere tech demos. There were also some technical issues; One non-interactive demonstration of a Resident Evil game had severe ghosting issues, and several games looked best with the 3D effect turned down to about the halfway point. It's clear that game development has a ways to go, and the technical side needs some work as well. I'd rather see the 3DS in top shape, with great games, than have Nintendo commit to a release date that's too soon.
