Nintendo hasn’t been doing really great. Whereas it has been able to sell a total of 17 million 3DS devices ever since their launch, the company’s overall performance is going down. And the reason for that can be seen in the booming business of smartphone devices which are becoming more and more integral to today’s gaming experience.

It is precisely because of this fierce competition from tablets and smartphones that Nintendo is losing the battle. It registered its first annual loss this April and the company’s shares have plummeted by a whopping 60%.

In view of all this, Nintendo is probably hoping that it may be able to launch a come-back with a revamped 3DS gaming console. The highlight of the revamp is that it is going to include a larger display for 3DS console, a display which will be twice as large as the one that is featured in current 3DS models.

The price of the revamped 3DS console will be 18,900 yen in Japan and $199.99 in U.S. It will hit the shelves in Europe as well as Japan by the end of July. Users in U.S. will have to wait until August 19 to lay their hands on it.

In the older model of 3DS, the display sizes were 3.53-inch and 3.02-inch. These will be revamped in the new model to new screen sizes which will be 4.88-inch and 4.18-inch. Moreover, it is also expected that the revamp will also enhance the battery life of the device. When running 2D devices, it may be able to run for 10 smooth hours whereas with 3D games, this time will be reduced to six hours.

Source: BBC