Nintendo 3DS update delayed to December 8

Nintendo has delayed its 3DS update, set to bring 3D video recording and more to the dual-display handheld gaming console before the end of November, though the new functionality will still arrive in time for the holidays. According to Nintendo, the 3DS system update will now drop on December 8, with the "final stages of internal testing" blamed for the delay.

As well as the ability to use the 3DS' twin camera array to record video, rather than just 3D images as is currently possible, the new software will allow 3DS units to communicate between each other and transfer downloaded software and data. There'll also be new gaming content in StreetPass Mii Plaza, with the addition of Find Mii II among other things.

Announced last month, the new firmware is part of Nintendo's attempt to motivate sales of the 3DS; so far, that's something only dramatic price cuts have managed to do. The glasses-free 3D gimmick has not proved the must-have selling point that Nintendo perhaps expected it to be, and the company faces increasingly strong casual gaming competition on iOS and Android devices.