Ever since Nintendo announced their new 3D-without-glasses handheld console, the 3DS, we've been clamouring for more information. Luckily, soon we'll be able to give our research monkeys a rest, as Nintendo are set to announce a tonne of information about the 3DS on the 29th of September. Hopefully, with pricing, launch dates, and a whole host of new information about the games that are going to come with it, our poor minds will be able to rest, safe in the knowledge the 3DS is on its way.
But, if you're like us, and a week's just too long to wait, here's our best guesses as to the 3DS's launch date - thanks to some puzzle solving and clue tracking that would make Layton himself proud.
Rumour No. 1 - The 3DS will launch in Japan this November.
At the moment, it seems there's an increasing amount of evidence that the 3DS will launch, at least in Japan, in November - helping get the console out in at least one territory just before the crucial Christmas period.
The latest rumour comes from Twitter, where an employee of Keys Factory, a Japanese manufacturer of peripherals, stated that his company would be launching a range of peripherals for the 3DS - and, as you can read above, they'll be launching on the 20th of November. Of course, there wouldn't be much use buying a shiny new 3DS case, or stylus, without having a 3DS to go with it - and coming from a source inside the industry, it seems pretty likely that what "nocchisan" says is true.
Likelihood - High
Rumour No. 2 - The 3DS will launch in the US in November
And, from one reliable source, to one that's, well, not reliable in the slightest. According to the little known nintendo3DSblog.com, an anonymous Gamespot employee posted on one of their stories with the following comment:
"The computers for Gamestop have added the Nintendo 3DS in the system now, along with 18 games and 14 accessories listed as available for taking pre-orders on September 29th. They also have a listed a shipping date of November 22nd. (Since postal services are out on weekends, the Nov 20/2010 Sat is the most logical release date, as the orders would be delivered on Monday the 22nd)."
We're not entirely sure what to make of this one. It's a blog that we've never heard of, so it seems likely this could be an exercise in generating some publicity for the site - but, at the same time, the previous rumour, and the following rumour give it some credibility. We'll leave this as "middling"
Likelihood - Middling
Rumour No. 3 - The 3DS will launch in the UK in November
Spotting a pattern here? We are. If we were just to come across the previous rumour on its own, we'd simply laugh and walk in the other direction, but when taken into account with this, and the first rumour, the evidence is quickly starting to build that we could be looking at a worldwide, November launch.
Recently, the UK retailer, GAME, added a 3DS game to their website that we've never heard of. Called Zhu Zhu Pets: Wild Bunch, this mysterious game popped up on their website a few days ago, with a release date listed as the 5th of November.
Of course, there are a few avenues you can check before proclaiming this to be the official UK release date. Firstly, is it possible that the entire entry is a mistake? A quick check of Amazon reveals that in fact, Zhu Zhu Pets Wild Bunch is actually coming out on the normal DS, on the same date, the 5th of November, with a search of GAME's website confirming that they only list two versions - the Wii version, and the 3DS. Taking this into account, along with the fact we had no idea this game was meant to be coming to the 3DS, it does seem quite likely that Game have simply ticked the wrong box - but it's not at all for certain.
Likelihood - Low
Rumour No. 4 - The 3DS will launch in the UK in March, 2011
This is perhaps the least likely of all rumours, yet at the same time, the one that would make us the least happy. Shortly after E3, a listing for Paper Mario 3DS popped up on the Nintendo.nl website, listing a release date of the 25th of March. Not wanting to see a return to the bad old ways, of the UK getting the same console as the rest of the world, just several months late, and usually at a higher price, we hope beyond hope that this one isn't true - and, in fact, it probably isn't. Almost as quickly as it went up, the date was removed, and replaced with a much warmer feeling "TBA".
Likelihood - We certainly hope not.
Either way, regardless of what the evidence says, we don't have long to find out the truth. If we had to make a guess, using our heads and our hearts, we'd be hoping for a worldwide November release - possibly even one that echoes the Wii's, which launched in the US first, on the 19th of November, followed by Japan on the 2nd of December, with Europe bringing up the rear on the 8th.
With any luck, we'll all be getting our hands on the new Nintendo console this side of Christmas. It's going to be a long six days, as we wait for the final verdict.
