The Nintendo DS, much like the PlayStation Portable, is a system vexed by piracy. The DSi XL has some protection against copied games, but it's still a problem for Nintendo. It seems, however, that the 3DS has some nifty new technologies to make sure that gamers come by their software legally.

"The problem with the DS market in the last few years, particularly with the DS Lite, is that it's just been attacked by piracy. It's made it almost impossible to shift any significant volume. The DSi combated it a little bit, but the 3DS has taken that a step further," THQ's executive VP of global publishing Ian Curran told CVG.

Curran asked Nintendo to describe the technology, but was told the sophistication doesn't lend itself well to short explanations. Besides, any information on how exactly the hardware makes sure the games being played are legit would simply be used to try to crack the system; we don't expect any executive to wax poetic about the protection in any detail. Still, this is a great comfort to publishers who want to make sure the 3DS is a good investment for development, as a high installed base is useless if piracy is rampant.

"It's going to probably cost us more to do it all in 3D—so we want to make sure we get a return on our investment when we do it," Curran said.

It's an interesting cost-benefit issue: the 3D is more expensive, but if Nintendo moves a high number of systems—which seems likely—and can assure publishers piracy won't be a big factor, it should be a simple thing to build the system's library.