Since the Nintendo 3DS had its show-stopping debut at E3 2010, the talk of the industry has been just when the almost-assured next handheld success from the house that Mario built will be available for purchase, and just how much it will cost.

Well, it appears we have our answer. According to Bloomberg Japan, (as translated by Andriasang) Nintendo will announce in Japan the console's release, price point, and launch shipment numbers on Sept. 29. No word on if this is just for Japan, or if other territories will be included as well.

The article also revealed Nintendo's fiscal earnings for Q2 2010, and the numbers unfortunately aren't positive. Nintendo posted only the second quarterly loss in the company's history, as net sales, operating income, and net income all saw declines from this point last year. Still, the Wii and DS both saw sales of 3 million plus, bolstered by strong software support, including Super Mario Galaxy 2, which has officially sold over 4 million units worldwide.

But, turning our attention to the matter at hand, it was practically assured that Nintendo would announce release plans in September. The same was the case for the Nintendo DS in 2004, as well as the Wii in 2006. The only question will be if, like with both conferences previous, an identical one is held in North America to announce launch plans stateside - although one may not be necessary given NoA President Reggie Fils-Aime's "next year" proclaimation.


But while the price and launch date are big questions, perhaps the biggest of all will be just what gamers will be able to play when the console is made available. At E3, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata promised the biggest launch in Nintendo's history from first- and third-party providers, and hopefully he'll be able to keep his word on that. We all know that Nintendo has promised major launches before and not been able to deliver (the original DS springs to mind), not to mention Nintendo has twisted the truth a bit when it comes to major console releases in theory and in practice. For instance, Nintendo promised the Wii would not be the last console to market - but there it was on November 19, 2006 - the last of the three major consoles to hit store shelves.

At the very least, something for the hardcore would be nice from Nintendo itself, such as Kid Icarus: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, or Mario Kart 3D. A bunch of mini-games and tech demos just isn't going to cut it this time.

We'll have more on Nintendo's 3DS event (and hopefully, live coverage), as we get closer to Sept. 29.