The Holy Grail of the consumer electronics world may be in sight for the gaming company Nintendo Co: glasses-free 3D video content viewing.

At the recently completed Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Nintendo, the company behind popular gaming systems like the Wii, debuted a product called the 3DS.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this new portable gaming device, which is forthcoming from the company may be the solution that drives 3D technology from the early adopter market and into the mainstream.

According to the publication, the gaming company is using a technology called autostereoscopic 3D to create 3D images that don't require passive paper glasses or battery-powered active shutter glasses.

At the heart of the 8-ounce portable gaming device is a 3.53-inch widescreen display, which Nintendo says provides users with the ability to game in 3D at a resolution of 800x240 or 400 pixels per eye for 3D content.

Enhancing the product's 3D gaming capabilities is the 3DS' 3D Depth Slider feature that adjusts the level of 3D to allow a full 3D gaming experience or for the ability to completely shut off the effect.

The Wall Street Journal says Nintendo has declined to name its video panel supplier, but it suggests that one possible partner for the company may be NEC, which it says has developed autostereoscopic displays as large as 12.1 inches.

Currently no release date has been given for the gaming system, but various Internet sources are speculating that Nintendo may release the product sometime during the first quarter of 2011.

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