Final 3DS Design, Release Date, Price, And New Details Revealed

And you said it wouldn't be black and blue. Just moments ago, at the Nintendo Conference 2010 in Tokyo, the final design of the 3DS made its debut (pictured above). Outside of the analog stick looking more like a marshmallow, I can't see much of a difference. And I'm glad. I thought it looked great at E3.

Nintendo also revealed that the 3DS will come packaged with a 2GB SD card. And just like the Cylon detector from Battlestar Galactica, the 3DS will alert the player if another 3DS is in the vicinity by flashing a red light on the upper right hand corner of the unit. This light also alerts the player that the 3DS may have collected data from the passerby unit. The info exchanged between the two units includes how long ago you met the other user, how many times you've crossed paths, and also what the last game was that you played together.

The 3DS design is final, but plenty of new details are emerging about the system. What's left to announce? A release date, of course. The 3DS will land on Japanese store shelves on February 26, 2011 for 25,000 yen (roughly $299). We won't have to wait long to get our hands on it, either. Nintendo says the U.S. and European launches will be in March. No pricing was provided for those regions.

The image and details come courtesy of Mark MacDonald, industry veteran, all around great guy, and executive director of 8-4, Ltd. You can follow Mark on twitter here.