Nintendo delays launch of 3D machine

Children who were eagerly looking forward to Nintendo's new 3DS handheld machine on Christmas will be disappointed after the firm said it is putting off sale.




The Japanese gaming giant confirmed its new 3DS handheld console will not be released in time for the festive season.



The company said it had hoped to launch the Nintendo 3DS, which creates a 3D effect without the need for glasses, by the year-end but has not produced enough units.



The 3DS will go on sale in the UK, the rest of Europe and the US in March, missing the pre-Christmas shopping rush, reports the Daily Mail.



It will be released in its home country in February.



Nintendo had promised the 3DS for sometime before April next year, and so the announcement is not technically a delay. But its profit forecasts had assumed the machine would be on sale sooner.



Nintendo said that the strong yen, which reduces profits from overseas sales when brought back to Japan, and the timing of the 3DS launch were behind its decision to lower projections for this year.



Nintendo expects to sell 23.5 million DS machines by March, including four million 3DS, down from its earlier forecast for 30 million. It sold 27 million DS machines the previous year.