The Nintendo 3DS

[Sushi_b]

I know we have had a thread for this in the past but I figure that it's a little more significant now that the thing is coming out shortly. Will you be buying into the hype for the system and willing to put down your hard earned cash?


I am interested in getting one in the future but there are a few factors as to why I'm not getting it until either later this year, or next year. I think one of the biggest is the weak battery life. They have speculated that it can only last around a maximum of 5 hours on it's scaled up settings. That is an extremely short amount of time for me unfortunately. I am often on a subway or a bus and need to have something that can last for a long time usually. I think that is a real turn off for me. The other is I didn't find the 3D nearly as stunning as many other people. You really have to be mindful of the "sweet spot" and once you are out of it, it can give some strain to your eyes. Not terrible, but it can be uncomfortable as you are trying to readjust your eyes to find the right spot again. I managed to see one in action, not for long, but enough to think that I'll be playing the machine with the 3D off.

I think there will be some fantastic games down the pipeline in the near future even. I will wait to see as they trickle in though. Waiting for that first big RPG.

How excited/unexcited for the 3DS are you?

[CoolOtaku]

Could not care less about this thing. Nintendo seems like they're struggling for fresh ideas at this point.

The NGP, however, has caught my interest in full force. I can't wait to see what's gonna happen with it.

[Phakiel]

Its cute but I am more interested in having my aunt buy it for my cousin so that I can get her DS and play Pokemon.

However, I have to check it out, I just have to see this 3D thing in the flesh to see how it really is. Also, Pilotwings is tempting but I dont think this thing warrants a purchase, 3D on a handheld really is just kinda like pointless for me.

[Ges]

I put the deposit down, but nothing really interests me of the launch lineup.

Pilotwings looks less like the Pilotwings of old, and more like those dumb Mii games that have been coming out. That was the only game I was seriously contemplating.

So it's looking like just the AR stuff for me until Ocarina / Kid Icarus / Ace Attorney

[Sushi_b]

CoolO, what makes the NGP so much more interesting to you? What features have you excited?



Phak - What makes 3D on a handheld less appealing as compared to a TV or movie screen? I personally don't care for 3D as a whole and I don't really feel as though it's as great as the key industries seem to display it as. It almost feels as though it's just a quick gimmick to entice people and in a few years it will fade away again. Just like past 3D has.

[CoolOtaku]

Well, 3D itself has no appeal for me, be it a movie or a video game. The NGP is gonna have a lot of possibilities with the sheer amount of technology they're putting into it. A touch screen, a touch pad, dual analog sticks, 3G possibilities, near-PS3 level graphics, and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting. And let's not forget that the current PSP is the one that has Monster Hunter ;)

[Phakiel]

Honestly, all 3D doesnt interest the least bit, I think its a gimmick and does not add anything productive to the experience at this point, but I can see people shallowing it in big 3d tv displays, but not so much for a handheld, like that 3d 4g phone they are announcing, do we really need 3D on hanheld devices? I think not. I think we dont need 3D at all, its the whole graphics thing all over again, people focusing on making prettier games but with no substance. And ulimately, I buy games for the entertainment factor, not that mario jumps out of the screen.

[Poofy]

Picked mine up today. I didn't want to spend the money on it, however my DSi's top screen cracked 2 months ago so I figure it would be wiser to just upgrade now. :P


Uh.... The 3D effects are cool I guess, some programs pull it off way better than others. Like when you boot the DS up for the first time, it does this "Testing 3D effect", and it was just so underwhelming I thought I got a defective unit. After some digging around though (Especially with certain AR cards), I did see some neat effects. Now I'm basing this off of the software that came with the 3DS since the launch titles are about as exciting as watching grass grow, so as appropriate I didn't buy any games for it.

My verdict is it's going to be exactly like the Wii, there will be a few titles that use the "gimmick" to it's advantage, but there's also just going to be a flood of just pure liquified shit that try to cash in on it....

At least I don't have to play Pokemon White on my wife's pink DS Light anymore. :P

[Ges]

Getting mine after work tonight with Pilotwings.

Zelda looks snazzy for a few months from now, so I figure I might as well spend my tax return on it or I wouldnt get it by the time Zelda hit.

Not like I have any big bills (thanks, landlord) or anything in particular I was saving up for.

[Poofy]

Folded and bought SSF4 and Nintendogs.


Both are cool.. Little explanation needed.... But what sucks is paying over $80 for only 2 fucking portable system games. It's like the PSP all over again.


3d effects are neat in both games, but I'm still underwhelmed. Perhaps I'm just too dumb and bought too much into the hype (omgosh Bowser is gonna eat Reggie!)

[Sushi_b]

Folded and bought SSF4 and Nintendogs.


Both are cool.. Little explanation needed.... But what sucks is paying over $80 for only 2 fucking portable system games. It's like the PSP all over again.


3d effects are neat in both games, but I'm still underwhelmed. Perhaps I'm just too dumb and bought too much into the hype (omgosh Bowser is gonna eat Reggie!)

Remember...His body is ready!

9JmQFHUHCVU

As I've said before, I wasn't overly impressed by the 3D. Then again, I'm not interested in 3D pretty much at all anyways. I'm much more interested in what kinds of games will be lined up for the 3DS in the future. There is a good chance that, as you said Poofy, the 3DS will lose fire after about a year and a half to two years. By that time, perhaps there will be a much less cluttered market share of games as the general public stops being interested in the system. I really have high hopes that the lifespan of the 3DS will be as long and will produce some great great games for it.

[CoolOtaku]

Is it weird that I hope the 3DS will fail within a year or two? I want Nintendo to stop focusing on crap like this >_>

[moogle]

Is it weird that I hope the 3DS will fail within a year or two? I want Nintendo to stop focusing on crap like this >_>
I remember when the Wii first came out I was afraid it was going to fail because I was an early adopter, but as time went on I realized I would have been just as happy if it had flopped similarly to the Gamecube. I'd get the niche titles I like either way, in all likelyhood. So I don't really care too much about the success of any console anymore.

And related to the 3DS, I'm going to try it out today even though I totally can't afford it right now. I'm still really curious as to how well done the 3D effect is.

[CoolOtaku]

I was a fairly early adopter of the Wii as well. At the time I still had fairly high hopes for what people would do with it. Nintendo largely succeeded on their end. Most of the other developers did not -_-

And that's basically what I'm imagining will happen with this. It will end up as a DS with somewhat better graphics with a 3D effect that won't add anything significant to the game and won't be made use of properly by most anyway.

Feel free to prove me wrong, Nintendo.

[Phakiel]

So far word on the tubes is that SSFIV is pretty good but I concur, not many developers are gonna get the games right, it becomes one of those things where they are too focused on the 3D crap and not the quality of the games, they still fail to see that the core audience that supported gaming for years prefer Okami over Halo.

[Blackdragon]

I got mine today, but no games just yet. The 3D effects look cool and all but I'll more than likely be playing with them off.

I will be buying some of the more interesting titles down the line. (Resident Evil: Mercenaries, Splinter Cell.)

Now my girl and I, between the two of us, can play anything that comes out minus PC titles. Once again.

[Ges]

So I got mine a day later than I thought.

I may be the only one, but I think the 3D effect is pretty damn snazz. Haven't played much (of Pilotwings), but I'd say I am impressed.

Cave Story 3DS is gonna be awesome. Anyone know when that is supposed to hit?

[Blackdragon]

I'm seeing a June date on Gamefly.

[Sushi_b]

Is it weird that I hope the 3DS will fail within a year or two? I want Nintendo to stop focusing on crap like this >_>

Ouch, that is a little harsh! I can see a dislike for 3D effects, but I certainly don't want the 3DS to simply fail. I would be nice if the NGP could gain some ground and push Nintendo to focus on the quality being put on the console. One thing that has helped the DS is that Nintendo makes it clear that it's a gaming machine, despite having a few other features. There aren't a million other bells and whistles on it and I feel that is why it did well. The PSP was just trying too hard to appeal to such a broad range of people and no one cared. Since cellphones can pretty much do anything you would need, it will come down to the ease of the services, the quality of games and the prices that they command (in both retail and as downloads).

[CoolOtaku]

Haha, true, it's a little harsh. But I'm fed up with Nintendo. It feels like they're ignoring the fact that most developers do a very poor job of integrating the new things they've introduced to the market.

Let's not forget that the PSP has a very solid fanbase in Japan. I saw far more PSP's on the subway than I did DS's. In fact I can only recall ever seeing one DS. The PSP was hardly a success in the US though, in my opinion. Not sure how it is in South Korea. You see many PSP's there, Sushi?

It really does look like Nintendo is banking on their new technologies/ideas to drive their systems. That's not necessarily an issue, but if they're going to do that, they should at least try to keep up with the competition in the other categories. Instead we've seen Nintendo offer new technologies with half the power of its competitors. I imagine they do it to keep their own costs down and maximize profits, and it has obviously worked, but I can't say I like it. Aside from the one new thing they add with each console/handheld, they don't do much to advance the market.

I must sound like I hate Nintendo... but I don't! I swear!

[Sushi_b]

Haha, true, it's a little harsh. But I'm fed up with Nintendo. It feels like they're ignoring the fact that most developers do a very poor job of integrating the new things they've introduced to the market.


Well this news is probably just going to piss you off more then for the Wii 2 (project cafe)

http://wii.ign.com/articles/116/1162045p1.html

Seems like another gimmick in the works for the controller. If it can in fact play games on it, it almost seems to defeat the purpose of the 3DS (aside from 3D effects).



Let's not forget that the PSP has a very solid fanbase in Japan. I saw far more PSP's on the subway than I did DS's. In fact I can only recall ever seeing one DS. The PSP was hardly a success in the US though, in my opinion. Not sure how it is in South Korea. You see many PSP's there, Sushi?



I think in almost all of Asia, up until 2007-2008, there was a very solid PSP user base. Then Nintendo started to really push the DS hard in all markets and it's probably overtaken the PSP as a whole. As for Korea, there was no outlet to get a DS (which started with the DSlite until the DSi as of now) until 2007 when Nintendo of Korea set up shop. No one even knew was a DS was pretty much. There were quite a few PSPs then. Now every kid has a DS with an R4 card. Honestly, there is a very small (quite pathetic actually) library of games available to the public here. I don't think there are even 100 titles translated. The only thing I ever see kids playing is either Mario Kart DS or New Super Mario Bros.

There has been no mention of the 3DS at all just yet. I can't go to a game store and talk about it because the won't have a clue as to what it is. Regardless, I refuse to get one in SK because I'm positive that the library of available titles will be just as weak as the DS before it.

[CoolOtaku]

I saw GameSpot posted a similar thing as a rumor recently. Honestly, I'm not convinced that they will do what IGN is saying they will for the controllers. Nintendo has never been one to choose expensive hardware. Touch screens on all controllers? Can you just imagine how much a single controller would cost? That does not sound like Nintendo to me. I'm curious to see what they've decided when they actually announce it, but I'm already braced for disappointment.

[Sushi_b]

It's hard to say for sure at the moment on what exactly is going on. There are rumors that the next Nintendo console will be much more powerful the then PS3/360 (which I don't think comes as some sort of shock to anyone). I won't put anything past the big N at this time because almost anything could be down the pipeline. There seems to be some consensus that E3, or just prior to, will be the unveiling.

[CoolOtaku]

Let's see what ya got, Nintendo!

When is E3 supposed to be this year anyway??

[moogle]

I just have to say the augmented reality part of the 3DS blew me away more than anything when I first tried it out. If that's implemented in more creative ways I can see that becoming the main selling point.

[Sushi_b]

Moogle: I've heard good things about that part of the 3DS (and Face raiders(?) if I remember correctly) and that most people have liked that experience. Unfortunately, I'm willing to bet that Nintendo will probably drop support for that after a short amount of time. Nintendo often has some great new ideas but their track record of continual support of those ideas isn't very good. Cool idea though and it could be useful for some games in the future if Nintendo and third party developers take advantage of it.

[Phakiel]

I recently tried out the 3DS and I was not impressed. I think it was like gonna pop in your eyes not just be like background shit you barely notice. Truly worthless, the kids might like it and it will have all the IPs which maintain Nintendo stupid little gimmicks but its just not all that.

[Ges]

I've had mine for about a month now. Disgaea and Professor Layton have taken 50 hours of my life. Pilotwings 3DS? Just four. The 3D effect is done really well and is really apparent in Pilotwings, though. Probably one of the better instances out of everything that's out at the moment.

The 3DS will be good. But right now it ain't. There's just nothing out at all yet.

The AR stuff is really freaking snazzy, if a bit glitchy. I had a really hard time keeping the cards in focus. Maybe that was the background they were on, though. Can't wait for a fully-featured AR game.

[Baby]

I am sort of addicted to street fighter on the 3DS. I've had it for a while now but I don't think that there is anything worth playing out there yet. Still though, I'm waiting for the new professor layton, zelda, mario games etc. I'm sure it will be fun fun fun

[Ges]

I am contemplating SSF4, but is it worth getting for someone who has utterly played the console versions to death? Is the multiplayer good / not too laggy? How does the d-pad work for the moves and stuff?

[Baby]

I got every version of the game, including the ipad one but I like the Nintendo 3ds the best. It's portable and the multiplayer version is addictive. The collectable figures are fun to have. The animation is lovely and seeing the characters in 3d just adds another touch of fun to it. D-pad works great and you get two moves set on the bottom screen so all you'd have to do is touch the bottom screen but if you're accustomed to SF, you're never going to use them.

[Blue]

Apparently, SSF4 for the 3DS is one of the must have games for the system.

[Phakiel]

I played it for a while and it was fun.

[Ges]

My problem is that portable versions of console fighters have left me sad. Didn't like SF3:3rdS or Soul Cali on PSP - not because they weren't fun or anything - but because it didn't have functional, non-local multiplayer. Also the original PSP d-pad sucked.

The fact that SSF3:3D has online multiplayer is a big step in the right direction, but is it a good online experience?

I need a hardwired PS3 is all. Ad-hoc Party would fix a lot of my issues.

[Phakiel]

To be fair, i dont see the point of it if you already have SFIV for a console. I just bought SSFIV so when I played the game on 3DS was tecnically my first time playing SFIV so I wasnt aware of any limitation of anything.

I'll see portables might not be the best for fighters. Except King of Fighters 96, that game was the shit.

[Baby]

Apparently, SSF4 for the 3DS is one of the must have games for the system.

Probably because it's one of the only games out for the system :p

[Ges]

Hey, CoolO. I found something that would make you want a 3DS.

Click (http://www.1up.com/news/capcom-developers-talk-monster-hunter)

[CoolOtaku]

Haha, yeah, I heard about that. I can't believe they're making a Monster Hunter title with G rank (low rank -> high rank -> G rank) for the 3DS of all things. From the looks of it, it seems like it's a G rank version of Tri with a new monster and some old ones tossed in. I wouldn't be surprised if Capcom came out with a G rank version of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for PSVita/PS3 in the future. Tri and Portable 3rd have a lot in common, but they are certainly distinct entities.

Right now, I say "Bah!" to the 3DS and this Monster Hunter announcement. Not even MH could make me want to buy that thing. I mean, have you looked at the add-on controller thing? Ridiculousness.

Come on downloadable add-on for G rank content for Portable 3rd/HD! :D