Could Nintendo be readying its next portable platform for an earlier launch than expected?

Announced in a rather flippant yet sudden fashion last month, we can expect Nintendo to be very, very tight-lipped on the 3DS right up until its expected unveiling at E3. All we know for certain so far is that it is the true successor to the Nintendo DS, and boast 3D visual effects without the need for glasses. That, and the plan to make it available in Japan before March 2011.

And with that, we expected those of us residing west of Nintendo HQ would have to wait some way into next year before getting our hands on the new piece of hardware. However, "UK industry sources" have seemingly confirmed to CVG that Nintendo is planning a release of the 3DS here in October of this year, with an official announcement to be made at E3.

The 'very senior publishing source' had this to say:

"It's a surprise - we were expecting it much closer to Christmas. But I suppose it gives Nintendo the opportunity to get it front and centre in people's minds nice and early. In my experience, you don't launch a product that early to Christmas unless you're confident in it - and going to spend a lot of money on it. We're reassured that Nintendo is going to give it some decent backing in Q4."

Indeed, it would seem a given that Nintendo will unleash their full marketing force for their strongest brand no matter what time of year it released. Yet October would still seem surprisingly early for a system we've not even heard the smallest solid peep from third parties about.

But this is Nintendo we're talking about - anything is possible. Do you think an October release for 3DS is plausible?