Nintendo 3DS

[Ouenben]

Im pretty sure this is an April fools.

Lest face it, 3d like this isnt even being used in planes, army or navy yet. So its highly, highly doubtful that ninty have found out how to do it reliably, cheaply and practicably in a device the size of a DS.

In fact im pretty sure that in order to create a 3d image without glasses it requires extremely high definition outputs, one bottom and one top and a lot of power.

Hehe

Also the 3DS came out 1 year 2 days after that original post!

[abigsmurf]

Does anyone know if the free games will only include first party ones? I'm guessing so but it would be great if they included a few good third party ones too..

It'll be first and second party games. Nothing where Nintendo will have to pay any other developers royalties most likely.

[kryss]

Go check out the 3D pics thread!

http://bit.ly/rtl4CD

[Flabio]

Reasonable editorial on all this on Eurogamer this weekend. Don't agree with all the points it makes, but it's food for thought.

[Wil]

Reasonable editorial on all this on Eurogamer this weekend. Don't agree with all the points it makes, but it's food for thought.

That's a weird read and I think if he actually looked at a list of what Nintendo has released on all its consoles, from the SFC onwards, he'd have to admit that they've been pretty consistent with their mix of IP continuations and all-new ideas.

[gizmo1990]

Reasonable editorial on all this on Eurogamer this weekend. Don't agree with all the points it makes, but it's food for thought.

I dont agree with pretty much any of it personally! Laughable really.

Most sites have a massive hard on right now to put the boot into Nintendo. Imo its great news about the drop. Theyve been bold and quick with the only sane course they could take.

[teddymeow]

The price drop will also give them a bit of a distance from the PSVita as, at ?229, they were RRP'd at the same amount and that would have been more than a bit wrong.

[Baseley09]

they should have called it Virtual boy 2.

[kryss]

Do you have/have you ever owned a Virtual Boy?
Red Alarm on the VB is still the best shooting game ever in my book.

[Jebus]

Games like Dream Trigger 3D show why the 3DS is a viable platform.

To me, it has the same problems as the iOS platform did at early stages. People porting ill conceived cash-ins onto the device to try and make a quick buck. Forcing 3D into something that doesn't need it, because they can (a-la touch screen d-pads on an iPad/iPhone etc).

When people start making games that are, from the ground up, made for the device (like Dream Trigger 3D), people might understand what it's about.

[Neon Ignition]

That eurogamer feature is only really passable because it's clearly the opinion of a single writer. It's flat out factually wrong which is poor for someone in that position to be but it's reflective of a long standing position Nintendo has been in. Long standing gamers might not be so won over by Nintendo's releases of recent years as they're often developed with a wider market in mind that they used to be but to call them non-creative is to short sightedly overlook the perfectly pitched work Nintendo has done for that market.

Despite their earlier comments though I wouldn't be surprised to see a 3DS Lite emerge next year

[Flabio]

I think the most interesting point in it is the part about not being able to do anything too radical with the 3D because you have to also support running with it turned off.

[Jebus]

Despite their earlier comments though I wouldn't be surprised to see a 3DS Lite emerge next year

The biggest problems with the 3DS for me are;

1. The battery life. I don't care what they say - it's piss poor.
2. The form factor. Everyone I know personally that owns a 3DS has commented on how uncomfortable the corners are when holding the 3DS for a long period of time.

If they fixed those with a Lite, that'd be great! I wouldn't buy it though - I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm just not a portable gamer these days. Between work and home, I rarely commute on public transport, and if I play a game it'll be on 360, PS3, PC, or at a push, on my iPhone.

Smartphones are killing portable gaming systems imho - I'm just personally undecided if that's a good thing, or terrible thing.

[Neon Ignition]

I've never understood the complaints about the physical design of the 3DS. It's all but identical to the DS Lite and people love that, beyond weight there's hardly anything in it. For me it's mainly the menu system that needs overhauling but it's highly unlikely it'll change as Nintendo seem to love it.

As for the 3D effect, be it in cinema, tv or gaming it's always a pure visual effect and that's all it really ever can be. There's not much dev's can do gameplay wise as it's effectively a 2D plain with a visual overlay, not true 3D. Whilst that might not affect gameplay as much as the NDS's design did I still find the 3DS is over criticised in that regard too. People complaining about the lack of innovation in it's design is like complaining when the GBA, PSP etc came out. I don't feel Nintendo owes me wild revolutionary evolution every generation.

[abigsmurf]

I have three issues with the physical design of the 3DS:

I find the shoulder buttons uncomfy. But then I tend to find that of all handhelds. Probably holding them wrong.

The smooth slide pad. This would be a brilliant controll method were it not for the fact that my finger gradually slides off of it.

Horrible d-pad. Stiff, clicky, awfully positioned.

None of those are more than minor irks though.

As Flabio has said. I think the decision by Nintendo to force developers to make the 3D have no impact on gameplay was a serious mistake. Nintendo could've made a killing launching the game with "3DS play" with games designed to make you use the 3D stuff fully.