WiiNoob

Rumor: 3DS Buttons to be Backlit?

Nintendo’s upcoming handheld, the 3DS may feature backlit buttons, if rumors are true.

Website Nintendo3DS.org says that a “reliable contact,” who happens to be working for a major developer (and is obviously working with Nintendo’s new hardware) says that the D-pad, A,B,X,Y, Start, Select, Power and the Home button, along with the 3D slider will be backlit, much like what is shown in the image above from EA’s My Garden Tokyo Game Show trailer.

They note that backlighting keys is pretty standard in devices such as cellphones, and that the pale colors of the markings on the buttons “are suited to backlighting,” so such an idea may not be far from the realm of possibility. Still, it’s rumor, and should be considered as such until we have more proof.

Without a doubt the device stole the show at E3 2010. The company was able to virtually make the entire expo about them based on that one handheld. Given, Nintendo’s DS line of products is one of the most popular gaming machines ever created (In terms of units sold, second only to the PlayStation 2).

The system was announced in late March of 2010, and promised a glasses-free 3D gaming experience. The device was not shown, and nothing was known about it aside from the fact that it was going to be the next handheld in Nintendo’s legendary line of portable gaming machines and that we would be seeing more at E3.

Gamers, and Nintendo fans especially, awaited E3 2010 in hopes of catching a glimpse of Nintendo’s new system. Many speculated about how the device would pull off 3D sans glasses. Everything from head tracking to a built-in accelerometer were mentioned as possibilities.

I myself, having been fortunate enough to see it close-up expected to be let down when I saw the screen close up. Now I feel for the model who held the handheld as I looked at that top screen. My jaw must have dropped to the floor in amazement.

I don’t want to hype it up too much, but the view was 10x better than anything I had imagined, and many attendees seem to agree. Even representatives from Sony and Microsoft and many of the other major publishers were anxious to check out Nintendo’s new machine.

Soon, we will all be enjoying the 3DS. For now, we must wait until September 29 for more concrete details from the Big N itself.

While you wait, why not enjoy the spookiest Zelda story ever, or just take a trip down memory lane with GamePro TV?

Via: Nintendo3DS.org