Nintendo may have a huge hit on its hands.  

The Nintendo 3DS – the company’s Hail Mary pass to turn heads away from the Apple juggernaut is a rare thing that seems able to live up to the hype – coming through on its promise to provide stereoscopic 3D without glasses and producing images that pop as much as they do on the majority of 3D TVs on the market.

It’s something that has the potential to shake up the gaming industry (and I say this as a doubted of the gaming/3D movement). Just as importantly, though, it could also mark an expansion of Nintendo’s interests into the non-gaming world. The company, at its E3 press conference Tuesday, hinted the 3DS may also become a portable 3D movie device. Though it announced no specific plans, Nintendo is showing trailers from films from Warner, Disney and Dreamworks.

“In case of the Nintendo 3DS, we are hopeful and anticipate it to have a large installed base as soon as we launch the system,” said Iwata in a post-presentation interview. “Nintendo is going to be in an important position to provide a device that may be able to show 3D movies with such a large installed base. … For the movie studios, we thought this could become a good business opportunity.”

There are still a ton of unanswered questions about the device. Price and street date were not announced – and will not be made public at E3. And the company is not discussing any of its tech partners – including who is making the 3DS screen.

The system will have heavy support from third-party publishers in its early days. Over 20 companies have vowed to create games for the 3DS, bringing several of their biggest franchises, including “DJ Hero” from Activision, Konami’s “Metal Gear Solid” and Capcom’s “Resident Evil” games.

But many of those third-party games aren’t being shown – and most of the ones that are here are not playable.

The 3DS itself is the same size as a Nintendo DSi. It will be equipped with a 3D camera built in, will be backwards compatible with all titles from the current Nintendo DSi handheld system and will have a gyroscope built into the system, giving it the same ‘tilt’ functionality as an Apple iPhone.

A slider along the right hand side of the system allows users to turn the 3D effects off if they chose – or lower the intensity. A second screen will be touch sensitive, offering some consistency from the existing DS system – which has become the best selling hardware in the video game industry’s history.

To get the most from the effects, you need to look directly at the screen. Viewing it from a slight angle tends to skew the 3D effects. It’s an annoyance, but not a big enough one in a short time with the 3DS to distract from its positives. Whether that would become more frustrating over long use is hard to say.

The system is due no later than the end of March 2011 – but many show goers are still holding out hope that we’ll see it on shelves before the holiday season.

Asked if this was possible, Iwata just smiled and said he wasn’t going to answer that.

There's going to be a flood of news this week in the video game world. We'll be doing regular write ups here on The Cut Scene, of course, but if you'd like to know it when it happens, I'll be Tweeting news and thoughts throughout the show. I welcome you to follow me on Twitter at @morrisatlarge. 
 

Meanwhile, don't forget to check out Variety.com's home page, as several stories about events and the industry will be running there as well, such as our  look at the latest gamer demographic figures, which you won't find anywhere else. 

And just like that, Microsoft’s Project Natal has a new name: Kinect

The company unveiled the retail name of its gesture-recognition controller Sunday at an over-the-top event that featured everything from a performance by Cirque du Soliel to an audience full of people wearing choir robes with lit up LED shoulderpads.

The event, which at its heart was a marketing film of what the system can do with Cirque’s unique flair, did not give any other real details about the device, such as release date, price or game titles that will release alongside it. (Some of those are expected later todat at Microsoft’s press conference.)  

While games were not formally named, there were several shown, though, including a sports title that seems very similar to Nintendo’s “Wii Sports,” a Star Wars game letting you wield an imaginary light saber and a dance title that judges your performance.

While all looked enjoyable, the event certainly made it clear that Kinect is geared towards families. The collection of Cirque performers featured throughout the show were the model of a nuclear family. Children played as many of the games as adults.

Curious about how Cirque interpreted the device? S recording of Sunday’s performance, entitled "The World Premiere Project Natal for Xbox 360 experience, as imagined by Cirque du Soleil," will be broadcast on MTV without commercials Tuesday at 3:30 P.M. ET. It will be rebroadcast later that day on Nick at Nite, mtvU, MTV Hits, and Logo at 9 P.M. ET.

Jason West and Vince Zampella, whose abrupt dismissal from Activision earlier this year shocked the gaming world, are teasing an announcement next week – in the heart of E3 – that has both insiders and gamers buzzing.  

“Big time announcement at E3 next week. stay tuned, kiddies!” the pair said in a Facebook posting.

After their acrimonious split with Activision, West and Zampella founded Respawn Entertainment – and struck a publishing deal with Activision’s arch-rival Electronic Arts. Several members of the team at Infinity Ward (who worked with them on “Modern Warfare 2,” last year’s top selling game) have subsequently joined Respawn.

The announcement is about all there is to chew on at this point. It’s possible the two could give a broad outline of what they plan to do during EA’s press conference – or could have jointly agreed to (with EA) an exclusivity agreement with one of the console manufacturers for whenever their game does ship. Or, heck, given how ugly the pair’s legal fight with Activision has become, it could be yet another countersuit.

Either way, we’ll know next week. 

Microsoft and Remedy will unveil more details about the next chapter in "Alan Wake" Wednesday, but they're already dropping a few hints.

A teaser for a live-action … something made its way onto YouTube a short while ago. And while it doesn’t answer any questions, it’s likely to get your blood pumping if you were a fan of the game.

Microsoft has already announced plans for three content packs this year. The first – entitled ‘The Signal’ - takes place after the events of the game, focusing on the dark world that imprisons Alan in the closing moments. It will be free to people who bought the game new (and 800 MS points for those who bought a used copy).

With this teaser, it appears 'The Signal' is about to shine.