3DS preorders twice that of Wii - Analyst

On Sunday, March 27, the US market will finally see the release of the Nintendo 3DS, which went on sale last month in Japan. In that territory, the handheld sold 375,000 units in 48 hours and also dominated the software charts for the week. In Great Britain, the portable system was Amazon UK's most preordered system ever.

3DS demand in the US is also high. According to a recent note sent out by Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, preorders for the 3DS are roughly twice those of the Wii console during a similar time frame prelaunch. Sebastian did not provide exact preorder numbers but did say the ratio was confirmed by Nintendo itself.

Priced at $250, the 3DS features a 3.53-inch 3D-enabled top screen and a 3.02-inch touch-panel bottom screen. Its PICA200 GPU offers a 200MHz standard clock speed, while its battery supports three to five hours per charge for 3DS games, depending on screen-brightness settings. The system also includes a 2.4GHz 802.11 Wi-Fi connector and has a manufacturing cost of around $101.

The 3DS also supports a bevy of other features, including three cameras, a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope, a new circular analog control nub, and a 2GB SD memory card. As seen in GameSpot's unboxing of the device (below), gamers will also find a docking station, a stylus, and six AR cards used for augmented-reality games.

For a full rundown on what to expect from Nintendo's new system, check out GameSpot's 3DS Launch Center.