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• Nintendo trademarks N3DS, 3DSWare and 3DSPlay

  

  Nintendo is preparing for the launch of its new handheld games device by registering a number of new trademarks in Japan.

  Although the company has yet to confirm the official name of the device we believe it will be called the Nintendo 3DS, and these latest trademark registrations back that up. Here’s the four trademarks relating to the 3DS:

  Nintendo 3DS

  N3DS

  3DSPlay

  3DSWare

  It could be argued that Nintendo is just trademarking for protection and may not use those names, but we haven’t heard another name used for the 3DS or seen any other trademarks being registered.

  The appearance of 3DSPlay and 3DSWare also points to Nintendo launching a couple of new services for the device. 3DSWare would clearly be linked to a download store, while 3DSPlay is more of a mystery, but could mean we are getting a package similar to Wii Play for the 3DS.

  Nintendo didn’t stop at registering 3DS trademarks though, and has also filed for nine new DS-related names including DS Sound, DS Name Card, DS Magazine, DSMovie, DSCamera, DSCinema, DSMessage, DSMusic, and DSAlbum. Protective registrations or a sign that the DS has a lot of life left in it?