Many months before the official unveiling of Nintendo's new 3D-without-glasses handheld, the 3DS, rumours started flying around the web that the new Nintendo console was on track for an October UK release - a rumour that apparently originated from a senior figure at a publisher, no less.Then, in a recent interview, Reggie Fils-Aime (the boss of Nintendo of America) confirmed that the system will ship before the end of the financial year, meaning that we'll definitely be getting it between March 31st 2011, but now it looks like things have changed again, as a "top UK retail source" has apparently told CVG that the 3DS will be being launched in December - albeit it in limited numbers.
"Early indications to us are that the launch is going to emulate (the) Wii in December," the source told CVG "We've been informed that Nintendo wanted a long run-up to Christmas, but now it's going to be a close-run thing. We're not expecting a lot of stock before next year."
A stock-shortage situation would easily make the 3DS this year's must-have Christmas present - as if it wasn't going to be already - and would also let people buy into the 3DS before the 20% VAT rate comes in.
In other 3DS related news, Nintendo of America boss Reggie has also said that the design of the handheld hasn't yet been finalized, meaning that depending on the feedback recieved from the recent gaming expo, E3, the system that we'll eventually get could look quite different - an announcement that shouldn't be too shocking, considering how different the DS ended up looking when compared to the originally unveiled one.
That's the original DS prototype on the left. Most people weren't a fan of it's rather "Fisher Price" appearance.
We'll be keeping an eye out for any reveals of the final release date, so be sure to check back here soon!
