Rumor - Nintendo 3DS out in October

UK sources said today that Nintendo will release its 3DS in October.

The date, rumoured by CVG, will apparently be announced at E3.

A publishing executive told the site:

"It's a surprise - we were expecting it much closer to Christmas. But I suppose it gives Nintendo the opportunity to get it front and centre in people's minds nice and early.

"In my experience, you don't launch a product that early to Christmas unless you're confident in it - and going to spend a lot of money on it. We're reassured that Nintendo is going to give it some decent backing in Q4."

Nintendo previously announced that the new handheld would be released sometime before March 2011.

If the source is correct, the holiday shopping extravaganza will indeed be an interesting time, what with Natal and Move also being available.

Nintendo said previously that 3DS would be playable in June, which points to E3.