On the eve of the North American launch of the DSi XL, Nintendo of Japan announced its next portable, the Nintendo 3DS. The news came via a Japanese press release and, while details were scarce, a few key bits of information were revealed. The system will continue the company’s trend of using two screens.

In addition, the handheld will use some form of stereoscopic 3D screen, which will enable 3D effects without the use of special glasses. A firm release date was not given although Nintendo did mention it will be out sometime before the end of the company’s fiscal year. In other words, sometime between now and the end of March 2011. With E3 a little more than two months away, gamers are going to have to wait for more details and a possible glimpse at Nintendo’s latest handheld. Nintendo also noted that the system will be backwards compatible with existing DS software so it’s safe to assume it will include at least one touch screen.