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Nintendo 3DS to add Web browser and online games shop in June update

The Nintendo 3DS is due for its first major update in a few weeks' time. On 7 June the glasses-free portable console will add a Web browser and the Nintendo eShop, for downloadable content.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
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Luke Westaway
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Good news for 3DS owners starting to get bored with endlessly washing virtual dogs -- Nintendo's excellent glasses-free 3D handheld is soon to receive its first major update, which will add a Web browser and the Nintendo eShop, significantly expanding your console's usefulness.

From 7 June users will be able to download the update over a broadband connection, by cruising on over to the 'settings' menu from within the 3DS' home screen, and letting the console search for updates.

The browser, as you'd expect, will let you surf the Internet. We're not sure exactly how this will look yet, but we'd hope it would be spread across both the 3DS' top and bottom screens, increasing the amount of Web page you can see at one time. We'll test it out as soon as it's live and let you know what we think.

The browser icon is already present on the 3DS home screen on the right of the top navigation bar, but if you tap it, you get a message telling you the browser is coming with an update.

The Nintendo eShop is probably the more interesting proposition for gamers, as it'll serve as a shop for browsing and purchasing games online. Virtual Console will let you download classic Game Boy and Game Boy Colour titles, while Nintendo DSiWare is for downloading new games and applications, both from Nintendo and third-party developers. It's kind of like an app store for the 3DS.

Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata recently announced that a 3D version of dirt-tracking NES classis Excitebike would be available from day one.

Traditionally Nintendo's not been great at serving up a tasty online offering, so we're hoping this update will open the floodgates to a world of downloadable jollies. Sony's NGP is bound to boast a smorgasbord of DLC goodies (assuming it ever comes out and assuming the PlayStation Network ever comes back online), so the pressure is on for Nintendo.

The date of the update coincides with the start of the E3 conference in Los Angeles, where Nintendo will be unveiling a new home console, a follow-up to the monumentally popular Wii.