Reggie Fils-Aime states that they are still judging feedback.
In an interview with IndustryGamers, Nintendo of America head Reggie Fils-Aime stated that the current design of their recently-revealed 3DS is not necessarily final.
He emphasized that part of what the company looks for at an event like E3 is feedback. "At an E3, our engineers are looking for feedback. You know, we have an army of Nintendo representatives out on our show floor talking to attendees, getting reactions to everything in the device: the depth slider, the buttons, the sliding pad that is, essentially, an analog-type stick. These are things that we’re looking to get reaction to, including the overall button placement. When we get all that feedback, then we’ll finalize the design."
Fils-Aime also expressed that Nintendo wished to gauge the E3 reaction to the 3DS before announcing launch and pricing details, as well as give themselves time to make "individual market decisions" for Japan, Europe, and the Americas before releasing the system.
He also reiterated that the device would ship in all major markets by March 31, 2011.