Darn those pesky journalists! may have been compelled to announce its forthcoming handheld earlier than expected due to an unexpected leak to Japanese press.

CNBC has a fascinating read on the poor handling of the Nintendo 3DS reveal, which goes into detail on how Nintendo made the decision to announce the handheld atop the release of XL.

Analyst Billy Pigeon told the outlet, "Apparently, the Japanese press was all over it and talked with suppliers there and Nintendo just wanted to get out ahead by breaking the news to prevent a leak."

In short, the company made the calculation that harming the and European launch of DSi XL would be the lesser of two evils. So, hear you're buying a DSi XL?

By Tracy Erickson