Nintendo 3DS coming to US March 27 for $250

Nintendo has finally revealed US launch details for its upcoming 3D portable gaming system, the 3DS. In a press event in New York today, Nintendo of America’s President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime announced that the 3DS will hit American shores on March 27 for $249.99.

The portable console will launch in Japan a month earlier on February 26 and slightly earlier in Europe on March 25.

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Both the pricing and release date aren’t that far off from what gamers have been expecting. We’ve known for some time that the 3DS would launch at some point in March 2011, and the price seems justified given that it will be the first portable device to offer glasses-free 3D technology for gaming and media playback. The price is $100 more than what the Nintendo DS launched for in late 2004.

Nintendo says that more than 30 games will be released for the 3DS between its launch and the Electronics Entertainment Expo in June. There’s no word on which titles will be available for launch, but the company did show off Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, Dead or Alive Dimensions, a Madden game, Pilotwings and Kid Icarus.

Additionally, with the 3DS, Nintendo says the multiplayer process will become more streamlined. Every system will have a single “friend code”, which will only need to be registered once (instead of having multiple friend codes for every game). Much like Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation Network, you’ll be able to have a single group of online friends and see their activity online.

Via Engadget