I have always been a handheld gaming freak. I'm not even sure why. I would sometimes get into handheld mode and play nothing but handhelds for long periods of time. It's not like I dislike the home consoles, or have a bad setup. My setup is actually nice. I'll show you one day. To me though, there's nothing like sitting on my couch, popping in my earplugs, and vanishing into the world that's taking place in my hands.

Earlier this year in a press release, Nintendo had announced the 3DS. The press release basically just said "Hey! We got a new DS coming. It's called the 3DS and it's a glasses-less 3D handheld!" Yeah. That was about it. It wasn't until E3 that we got the lowdown on what this thing could really do. As a handheld gamer, this makes me happy.

Let's take a look at this thing, shall we? It does look A LOT like a DS, and that's because it is a DS. Think about it.  Nintendo has built it's install base around the DS name. People know what the DS is so when they see one with new buttons, they'll be willing to try it out. It isn't intimidating. It's welcoming. At first, the noticeable differences include a larger upper screen (which is comprised of two screens overlapping to give you that 3D image), a home button, and an analog nub to help play those new 3D games (polygonal, not dimensions). What you don't see is the slider to control the 3D effect (which you can turn off), and two front facing cameras.  Why would you need two front facing cameras, you ask? Well, they're stereoscopic so not only can you play games in 3D, but now you can take 3D pictures. How cool is that?

Now to throw out the bad news, I don't know how much it'll cost or when it will come out. However, , do know I will pay what they want and get in on release day.