New 3D version of Tetris arriving in October

New 3DS version of Tetris set to be unveiled at E3 2011 and on shelves later this year
New 3DS version of Tetris set to be unveiled at E3 2011 and on shelves later this year

Nintendo's 3DS has got off to something of a slow start since it launched in the UK back in March, although the promise of a 3D version of the system-selling Tetris this coming September may well soon change this.

Tetris, as most gamers are aware, was the game that sold the first iteration of Nintendo's Game Boy to a mass market of casual gamers way back in the early 1990s. For many gamers, casual and hardcore alike, it remains the definitive handheld gaming experience.

Virtual Boy flop

The first 3D version of Tetris was actually launched with Nintendo's Virtual Boy system in the mid 1990s. Marking one of the Japanese gaming giant's most spectacular hardware flops of the last twenty years.

Tetris was previously released in 3D on the Virtual Boy as two versions V-Tetris and 3D Tetris, with the latter making use of a 3D playing field allowing players to turn the blocks both horizontally and vertically.

Tetris for the Nintendo 3DS will be shown at E3 next week and will launch this coming October, according to a new announcement from The Tetris Company.

Anybody for Tetris soup?

The Tetris Holding Company, which owns the rights to license the brand, has also recently revealed that there are licensing plans in place for 12 different product categories set to arrive before Christmas - with plans to move the brand way beyond videogames with planned new Tetris-themed products set to include T-shirts, Halloween costumes, tabletop games, chocolates, candy, waffles, furniture and Tetris soup.

Yes. You read that correctly. Soup.

The Tetris Company claims that there has, to date, been up to 132 million paid mobile downloads of the game.

It looks like Majesco is set to be the North American distributor of the new 3D version of Tetris, following their success with the Wii and DS versions of the title back in 2009, and Tetris Party Deluxe on Wii and DS in 2010. No word as yet on a British distributor.

Expect queues to get hands on with the first demo of Tetris for 3DS which is set to be playable at Nintendo's booth at E3 2011 next week.

Via Kotaku

Adam Hartley