My Garden horticulture simulation a 3DS launch title

Nintendo 3DS promises to break new ground with its 3D graphics technology and publisher Electronic Arts hopes to sow that fertile frontier with unusual simulation game My Garden.

It's actually less a game than digital plot within which you can cultivate your own personal garden.

If the concept sounds familiar, perhaps Nintendo's Pikmin rings a bell or more recently Flower Garden on iPhone and iPod touch.

My Garden is quite unlike both of those titles, though. More than 300 varieties of plants can be grown in 6 different settings including desert, courtyard and a rooftop garden.

This is far more involved than Flower Garden and dramatically different from the real-time strategy action of Pikmin.

In EA's title, you're guided by a fuzzy garden helper named Tanuki who provides you with simple objectives that unlock special abilities when completed, such as being able to attract butterflies to your garden. Eurogamer describes other abilities include whistling into the microphone to attract birds and shaking your handheld to scare away pests.

While the visuals are a mixed bag based on the screenshots released by EA, it's difficult to tell just how the game looks when running in full 3D.