Nintendo to launch 3D-capable DS handheld

The new DS will launch as sales of the handheld are declining. In the last nine months of 2009 the company sold 23.4 million DS devices, a drop of 9 percent on the same period in 2008. Software sales during the same period were down by a quarter to 121.4 million units, according to Nintendo figures.

Nintendo most recently relaunched the DS in November in Japan, when it put out a version of the dual-screen handheld with larger screens. Each of the screens on the DSi LL is 4.2 inches in size, which makes them about double the area of the screens on the DS Lite and larger than the 3.25-inch screens on the DSi.

The timing of Tuesday's announcement is unusual because it comes just days before the March 28 launch of the larger DS in the U.S., where it is called the DSi XL. The handheld was launched earlier this month in Europe.

By disclosing its plans for a 3D version of the DS Nintendo risks potential customers putting off planned purchases of the DSi XL until it discloses more details about the upcoming 3D version.