Less than a week before the latest — and largest — in the best-selling Nintendo DS series of handhelds hits streets, the company has unveiled plans for its successor: a new DS model capable of displaying three-dimensional images without the need for glasses. The new portable — currently named the “Nintendo 3DS” — will be compatible with all current Nintendo DS games, including those for the machine’s most recent model, the DSi. Nintendo plans to release more information on the new device at the E3 video game trade show in June and to release the device itself sometime before March 2011, the company said in a press statement. It’s not yet known how the 3DS will produce its visuals, but early speculation has centered around face-tracking technology, which uses a built-in, front-facing video camera to detect where the player is looking and shifts the perspective of the game’s view accordingly. At least one Nintendo DSi game, 3D Hidden Picture, already uses the tech, but it’s also possible Nintendo could have something completely new in mind.

 But although venturing into the third dimension is something of a surprise move for the company — which has been critical of the burgeoning 3D gaming trend recently — it won’t be their first portable 3D system. The Virtual Boy, released amid the mid-90s virtual reality craze, could display monochrome 3D effects using a separate screen for each eye. But doomed by a dearth of games and terrible consumer reaction, the system was rapidly discontinued. It’s still remembered as one of Nintendo’s few missteps. It’s also a curiously timed announcement, coming just a week before Nintendo’s new extra-large DSiXL goes on sale in North American retailers. The new machine will carry screens 93% larger than the current DSi, a larger stylus, and extended battery life, and will come with a suite of pre-installed software that includes two titles from the popular Brain Age series.