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A few days short of four years – that’s how long it has been since the industry last saw a fully-fledged, stand alone hardware launch.
Of course, Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect provided a welcome boost in the closing stages of 2010. But the arrival of the 3DS in the UK today carries with it big hopes. If it can continue the remarkable form enjoyed by both the Wii and the DS then we’re in for a very special device.
As retail enters the last few hours on what has been a very hectic day, MCV revisits all the key news from both the run-up to day and the launch itself:
* The launch news:
Yarnton: Today 3D goes truly mainstream
It’s finally here – and Nintendo’s UK boss thinks today’s launch could be the biggest yet
3DS Midnight Openings: In Pictures
Nintendo fans flock to Oxford Street to be the first to buy the 3DS
3DS Launch Party: In Pictures
Find out what you missed at Nintendo’s shindig last night
Indies excited by 3DS launch
MCV asks independent retailers what kind of demand they’ve seen for Nintendo handheld
Thousands attend HMV midnight launches
CEO Simon Fox congratulates Nintendo for "wonderful" 3DS launch
Hundreds queue at GAME for 3DS
Midnight openings are a hit and early business is good as Nintendo’s machine flies of the shelves
* All the news from the run-up to launch:
3DS: The Trade Launch Guide
The games, the accessories and reaction from the industry inside
INTERVIEW: Dawn Paine & Andy Yates
Michael French sits down Nintendo’s marketing director and head of sales
Nintendo expects biggest ever hardware launch
Platform holder confirms pre-orders of 140k for pioneering handheld device
3DS launch price roundup
MCV lists all the big retailers’ prices for Nintendo’s new handheld
Tesco cuts 3DS to 175
Supermarket prepares astonishing offer ahead of colossal handheld launch tomorrow, MCV can reveal
Now Currys cuts 3DS to 179
How low can this go? Dixons Retail announces limited time promotion at midnight launch
The true scale of Amazon’s 3DS pre-orders
Retailer says machine is currently tracking at 71 per cent ahead of record holder PS3
GAME’s 3DS midnight openings detailed
482 GAME and Gamestation stores to open their doors at midnight on the night of March 24th
3DS gets 1,200 midnight store openings
Nintendo says portable "has the potential to be one of our biggest launches ever in the UK"
Sky to broadcast 3DS launch
‘Nintendo 3DS Ignition’ will air tomorrow night on Sky 3D and Sky 1 HD
SSFIV producer heads to 3DS launch
Yoshinori Ono will battle fans and sign copies of Street Fighter 3DS game tomorrow
3DS pre-orders already beating Wii
100,000 pre-order target in sight as innovative handheld demand grows and grows ahead of March 25th roll-out
* And some other recent 3DS-related news:
OPINION: What today’s 3DS launch says about retail
Who’s ever heard of such hardware price cuts before hardware is launched?
Ubisoft: Hardcore aren’t the only early adopters
Publisher also insists that Nintendo will offer great support to third party publishers on 3DS
