Nintendo’s been having a tough time lately. The Wii has apparently passed its sales climax and the 3DS was slow getting out of the gate. Management is under pressure to create another success, leading to a drastic price cut on the 3DS just months after launch.
Well, things may be looking up, as Nintendo’s stock has risen around 9.7 percent in the past day. The reason? Bloomberg Japan (translated by Andriasang) is reporting that Nintendo will have a 3DS-centric announcement on September 13, just prior to the Tokyo Game Show.
Rumors are flying that the topic of this announcement is a hardware revision for the recently-released portable. French game site 01net, who has previously reported on Wii U and Vita rumors later proven correct, has said that the new hardware will include additional control options and a decreased 3D focus. According to the site’s anonymous source, Nintendo is looking to release a new 3DS unit in 2012 with a second analog stick. This unit will “radically tone down” the system’s 3D features, with a possible rebranding.
The company is also considering an add-on that will add a second analog stick to the system. Nintendo’s engineers having been working on the add-on, hoping to sell the unit for around $10.
Nintendo is reaching out to developers to make games for the system, but third parties remain disgruntled with Nintendo. The source reported that there is a lengthy waiting list for the 3DS dev kits almost six months after launch. To increase production, the development of new kits has been moved from the internal Intelligent Systems branch to Tokyo Electric and Marubeni.
A new hardware revision could significantly anger users who are already incensed that the system has already had a deep price cut. If the rumor’s true could Nintendo spin it in a positive light?
