A press release on Nintendo’s Japanese site confirmed the company’s new handheld system, the “Nintendo 3DS.” As the name indicates, it will incorporate 3D technology; but we’re unsure if this will be the name of the final product.

If the inclusion of 3D technology itself wasn’t surprising enough, what really gets us is that there is no need to wear special 3D glasses. Not much else, system detail-wise, was said in the announcement, aside from that this new system will have DS and DSi backwards compatibility. The only other solid info was that it is being released ”during the fiscal year ending March 2011.”

A couple of Japanese papers reported on the new system, and unveiled what we believe to be as more details (yet still unconfirmed). One paper said that the system will have a Sharp 3D LCD panel. The screen(s) will have a special film attached just above the screens, which will create a 3D effect for the player. The other paper reports on the control stick (which we’re unsure exactly what they’re talking about based on the translation, but we can assume it’s an analog control stick), extended battery life, rumble support, and faster wi-fi.

The Nintendo press release also confirmed that there will be an official unveil at this year’s E3, where it will be on display.

“…we must raise an even bigger question: has the Grand Theft Auto franchise peaked? Given the strength of GTA IV in 2008, the question may seem misplaced, but our concern is that the very highly rated new GTA content for Xbox as well as PSP and DS did not perform up to expectations in 2009. Now, we very clearly understand that these do not represent ‘true’ new GTA titles. However, the fact is that these were compelling titles, attractively priced, and reasonably well-promoted, yet they fell relatively flat.”

Now I have to agree that Schachter makes a good point. The GTA titles that have been released since GTA IV have had no where near the sales of GTA IV, but I have to think that’s for several difference reasons. Allow me to explain:

For one, the only full GTA title that have been released since GTA IV, Chinatown Wars, has not been released on major gaming consoles. It has only been released on the DS and PSP. Despite receiving perfect and nearly perfect reviews, it still sold poorly. One reason for this, in my theory, is that it is no where near the quality of the previous games in the series. The reason the other two PSP GTA games (Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories) sold so well on PSP is because they were of qualities that matched San Andreas. Another reason the sales were poor, in my opinion, is that most people that own a DS are not the type of gamers that would play a Grand Theft Auto game.

The only other GTA titles that have been released since GTA IV are the DLC episodes for GTA IV, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. DLC should not be expected to sale amazingly high numbers. It’s not like they are core game that cost $60.00.  Michael Pachter from Wedbush also had a few things to say about the DLC issue:

“Ben’s right that the DLC disappointed, but I suspect that the reason is that GTA games are so massive that a substantial majority of the GTA audience hasn’t finished the core game, so they don’t feel especially compelled to buy the DLC.

“My guess is that fewer than 20% of GTA owners finished the game so fewer were interested in DLC.”

I don’t think there is anything to worry about. The next big title, Grand Theft Auto V (if called that), will probably wow as like each major GTA title has since GTA III back in 2001. I believe the Grand Theft Auto franchise is going to be a major player in the market for a while to come. What do you think?

The live video of the conference will be provided right here on Division-Gaming.com, brought to you by one of our video providers (G4TV, Gametrailers.com, IGN.com, or Gamespot.com).

Although the player takes the role as a “cop” (going as far as having cop cars obtainable) the series has not lost it’s street racing appeal. It has similar gameplay, but with ramped up graphics and customizations. The police are much tougher, and with better AI (or so they said).

Despite all this, critics gave the game a bad score. The game is reported to have many (unnamed) problems. The few named ones include: being extremely easy, poor AI, and generally nothing that could separate it from other games. In fact, they took out some of the material that made all the other games enjoyable!

However, A few critics gave it good scores for reasons such as its frame rate; but other then that, this game could be classified as a “failure”. To those planning to buy it, don’t. At most rent it, as you will most likely beat it and get bored with it in a day.

• GTA IV has been rated “M” in the USA by the ESRB. Haha. Grand Theft Auto IV has been rated Mature for: Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Blood, and Intense Violence. Ahh, the perfect game.
• Guitar Hero is finally making it’s way to the Nintendo DS. The console spinoff has been cleverly named Guitar Hero: On Tour. IGN has all the details.
• Microsoft announced today that three new maps and an update for the Forge are on the way for Halo 3 on April 15th. The new maps are: Ghost Town, Avalanche and a third, unannounced location. The Legendary Map pack will cost you 800 Microsoft Points (US $10) from the Xbox Live Marketplace..
• The Sims 3 has been announced for a 2009 release. The announcement comes from the unveiling of the official website, which can be found right here.

We are sorry for the lake of updates lately. We’ll do better.

•  For handhelds, the DS has an estimated advantage over Sony’s PSP of around 8 million units. The Wii wins the estimate battle with 12 to 14 million
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl has had a successful launch over in Japan. It has totaled around 700,000 copies sold since it’s release last Thursday.
• Medal of Honor Heroes 2 may not have multiplayer after all. This feature has apparently been taken out of the game. More details are sure to come soon.

• The Cobalt Blue/Black Nintendo DS is official. We reported on this earlier this week and classified it as a rumor; but it has been announced it will be arriving in stores February 10th, 2008.
• Brand new screenshots were released for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Go here to see them.
• 1080 Snowboarding (originally on Nintendo 64) is now available for Virtual Console download on the Wii system.
• John Riccitiello, CEO of EA, confirmed that Rock Band will soon be coming to Wii.
• Owners of the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl game are apparently having more problems than just the earlier reports of firmware update errors. Nintendo is now getting reports of disc read errors and choppy video playbacks. Nintendo says the problem is being caused by dust and tobacco build up inside the Wii system. It is very difficult for Wii owners to fix this dust problem themselves, so Nintendo is offering to clean the system for free.
  Those who need this service for their Japanese Wii will have to send their system, warranty card, and copy of Smash Bros. Brawl to a Nintendo service center in Kyoto. Nintendo will be paying for the shipping, so there’s no loss for consumers, except for a one week period without Wii. Go to Nintendo’s Smash Bros. error page.

• The Cobalt Blue/Black Nintendo DS is official. We reported on this earlier this week and classified it as a rumor; but it has been announced it will be arriving in stores February 10th, 2008.
• Owners of the new Super Smash Bros. Brawl game are apparently having more problems than just the earlier reports of firmware update errors. Nintendo is now getting reports of disc read errors and choppy video playbacks. Nintendo says the problem is being caused by dust and tobacco build up inside the Wii system. It is very difficult for Wii owners to fix this dust problem themselves, so Nintendo is offering to clean the system for free.
  Those who need this service for their Japanese Wii will have to send their system, warranty card, and copy of Smash Bros. Brawl to a Nintendo service center in Kyoto. Nintendo will be paying for the shipping, so there’s no loss for consumers, except for a one week period without Wii. Go to Nintendo’s Smash Bros. error page.
• Spore, the long awaited multi-platform title, may be coming out before the holiday season of 2008. According to Electronic Arts Chief Executive John Riccitiello,  ”It’s going to be before the holidays.”
• Jim Ward, President of LucasArts since 2004, is stepping down from his position on the staff. Ward says he is leaving due to personal reasons. He will be completing his tenure over the next two weeks. Howard Roffman, President of Lucas Licensing, will be filling in during the interim.
• Half-Life 2 Episode 2, Portal, and Team Fortress 2 will soon be available as individual games as oppose to one big bundle in The Orange Box. The individual titles will be released on PC sometime before March 31st, 2008. *Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1 are already available as standalone retail packages.
• A Conflict: Denied Ops demo is now available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Daily news for January 28th, 2008.

• Brand new screenshots have been released for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Go here to see them.
• The 80GB Playstation 3 is officially being discontinued. 120GB/160GB may be on the way. Read more.
• Consumers spent $9.5 billion on video games last year. That doesn’t include the hardware used to play them. Read more.
• A new DS color has been leaked onto the internet. Read more.
• Jack Thompson agrees that the Fox News team should have done their research more thouroughly when talking about Mass Effect. Read more.
• 1080 Snowboarding (originally on Nintendo 64) is now available for Virtual Console download on the Wii system. Some reports are saying it will be available on Wednesday. How about you decide which it is if you care that much.
• Kingdom Under Fire II has been announced. It comes complete with a single player campaign mode, and a very, very unique Massively Multiplayer Online mode where thousands of other players can play alongside you. This is unique because this is a console game and PC game. No specific consoles were mentioned in this announcement except that it will be released on ”pc and console platforms.” It will release in 2009.

The listing for this DS has since been taken down off of the Circuit City site. While it was up, no release date was given; but the usual price tag of $129.99 was posted. We can expect an announcement from Nintendo very soon.