Nintendo announced today on their Japanese website that their new handheld console device will go on sale “during the fiscal year ending March 2011.” This is probably just the release date for Japan, though. The device will be called the Nintendo 3DS and is said to be capable of 3D-like effects at the software level without the need for any special glasses. The device should also be fully backwards-compatible with all DS and DSi games. Oddly enough, the official press release from Nintendo is a basic PDF with no details or images. It contains the following:

Instead of waiting for the E3 event in June, Nintendo has decided to release this information now with minimal information and only a hint that additional details will be forthcoming at E3. Why would they do such a thing? They are usually know for announcing things like this at events in front of crowds and this all seems pretty helter-skelter for such an important device update.

Cult of Mac speculates that this comes on the heels of a report that shows that the iPhone and iPod Touch have claimed 19% of the handheld gaming market from Nintendo, thanks to the App Store, in only 21 months. Seems like the heat is on and Nintendo has a lot of catching up to do. This may be a move to pacify investors who are alarmed at Apple’s seemingly sudden success.

According to Joystiq, Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata has been impressed with 3D gaming, but not so sure about the glasses. It’s doubtful that many gamers would want to wear special glasses for 3D effects, especially for a handheld console device like the DS series.

There have also been rumors regarding exactly how the 3DS will achieve it’s 3D effects. According to Engadget, the new 3DS will be equipped with a parallax  barrier LCD screen. This is a technology from Sharp that has already been released on a few mobile devices, and seems a good fit for the 3DS because of the small screen size (apparently, it’s no good for larger displays).

The screen itself may be around 4″ in diagonally and there has been talk of 3D control sticks. Not much information exists on how, exactly, these will be implemented, but Nintendo got a patent on the controls some time last year.