NINTENDO: No launch date for 3DS

Nintendo failed to give a release date for its new handheld, the 3DS.

The device was unveiled for the first time today at the platform holder’s E3 press conference. It was first announced back in March, with a targeted launch window of the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2011.

Most deemed it likely for the 3DS to be slated for a Q4 2010 release – competing with rival hardware launches such as PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360. However, with only six months to go, Nintendo kept mum on when the handheld would debut in any territory.

There was also little word on what software would launch with the device. The only first-party software shown in action was Kid Icarus: Uprising, with additional titles such as a 3D edition of Nintendogs mentioned in passing.

Third party support was confirmed with a number of titles revealed but, as with Kid Icarus and other first-party software, no release dates were given.

It is possible Nintendo could announce a release date closer to Christmas, most likely at its annual Fall Press Conference in Japan. In 2008, the company unveiled the DSi for the first time a month ahead of its Japanese release.