back to article Hands on with Nintendo 3DS

When Nintendo invited us last week to an event to show off its three dimensional portable gaming console, the 3DS, I wasn't as excited as I should have been. A Nintendo fan since my first Duckhunt, I'd be lying if I said I was uninterested, but apart from a World Cup match in the cinema, 3D technology has never impressed me. …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How susceptible to movement?

    Other people that have tried this say the 3D effect is very hard to maintain. Anymore movement of head (either left/right/up/down), or movement of hands, or the distance between the 2 destroys the 3D effect significantly.

    If that's the case, it does not sound too good....

    1. Squirrel
      Happy

      not quite

      It is susceptible to movement and the optimal horizontal viewing angle is fairly small but it's a hand held device, you won't be looking at it from the side, whether it's resting on your lap or held up level to your face shouldn't make a difference though, just don't rotate along the Y axis and expect the 3D to stay.

      The average distance between adult EU eyes is 7cm, we'll say 9cm max. A young child's is probably a minimum of 5cm (guess). So it's designed to handle a eye separation distance of 5-9cm at a viewing distance of 20cm-80cm. That's a pretty narrow view angle from the users perspective but the point is; A) it's impossible with autostereoscopic approach to have wide view angles usable outside the expected ~10-15 degrees per eye, and B) it doesn't need them.

  2. D@v3
    Thumb Up

    Damnit...

    Not another new console for me to buy to play mario kart on!!

  3. Greg J Preece

    GBA Port?

    Does it still have one?

    1. Jordan Davenport

      Don't expect the GBA port

      The DSi lost them. Don't expect them to return. Nintendo stressed upon launch of the DS that it was not another Game Boy. The mistake they made in that claim was adding the GBA ports to begin with, making people associate it with being just another Game Boy. That said, having the second port was nice in that it instantly gave the DS a large array of playable games and offered newer games capabilities of linking with older games (Pokemon's usage and Mega Man ZX's usage, for instance). Game Boy Advance games haven't been produced in years though, so continuing support for it would be pointless. Even the Game Boy Micro, admittedly an utter failure on the market, lost support for the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, and it could still fit them.

    2. Greg J Preece

      Riiight

      "Nintendo stressed upon launch of the DS that it was not another Game Boy."

      Except that that's *exactly* what it is. You pick it up and play games with it. The rest of the feature list/firmware, at least on my Lite, is garbage, especially compared to my PSP. They should make it do games, and do it well. Their half-arsed attempts at giving it a longer feature list make them look like berks - the PSP is a media machine, the DS just isn't. Yet.

      The 3DS really interests me, but I do still play GBA games - hell, I still play Colecovision games - so that's a strike against it. And not sure whether I'd just rather have the larger screens of the XL... Looks like a better update than the DSi though.

  4. Ross 7

    Photographs

    I don't imagine photographs would be any use anyway would they? Kinda like those old SkyHD ads of old (well, 2 years ago) that tried to show you how good HD was. On an SD set :o/

    Still, nice to know it works well. Could be tempted...

    1. famousringo

      3D displays

      It's true, 3D photographs are useless without a 3D display.

      Good thing Nintendo's 3D camera comes attached to one. At least you can show off your 3D pics on the 3DS itself.

      I suppose you could perhaps export the 3D pictures into color shifted 3D and show them off with the ol' red & blue specs. Is there a standard file format for 3D images yet?

  5. A. Lewis

    Dammit Nintendo!

    I already bought a GB, then a GBA, then a DS, then a DS lite. When you brought out the DSi I swore: no more! Then when you brought out the DSi XL I felt vindicated in my resistance. So I refuse to buy a 3DS!

    Not that it matters to you, because you know I will crumble and buy one eventually. Especially if the N64 ports keep coming.

    1. Anomalous Cowturd
      Pint

      Those crafty Japanese will get you, one way or another...

      I recently gave way to pester power, and bought a Wii. My little princess has had a DS Lite with R4DS adaptor for two or three years. And a GBA before that.

      I have to say that I've not had so much fun with somebody else (with my clothes on) since Worms PC came out. Aahh, the joyful memories of kicking the crap out of / shooting / blowing up your mates / family members / loved ones never fade!

      Since buying the latest Wii version, I have jailbroken it with the Wii Hack Pack, installed the Homebrew channel, and installed the DVD player software. WTF don't Nintendo just enable all the capabilities of their superb little box of tricks from the word go, and save us from voiding our warranties for the sake of a few extra yen? I have also spent a good few drinking vouchers (that's cash, for our foreign readers) on Nintendo points, and WiiWare goodies.

      There's still no arguing that Nintendo have the right ideas, at the right time, and generally at the right price. More power to them. Well, not real power, but you know what I mean.

      Perhaps Sony and Microsoft should look more at playability and less at "Ooohh look, 17 squillion triangle explosions, with really good smoke and fragmentation effects"! I have learned from experience, and living opposite a Blockbuster Video outlet, that your average PS3 / XBox / PC fanatic /fanboi hardcore gamers do, in fact, generally look like lonely as fuck teens / twenty somethings with probably few, if any REAL friends, other than their online so-called buddies. Then again, without that kind of dedication, would I have been able to watch a youtube video of some pillock in a wooly hat showing me how to hack my Wii, and taking the time to put it all together? For what? Kudos? Not sure what point I am trying to make there, but there you go... Perhaps just a reminder to myself to try not to generalise! ^_^

      FUN! Remember that? Laughter? Getting up off your fat arse and actually moving about for the fun of it, not just walking to the fridge for another beer / choccy bar / lard sandwich?

      Just hope it doesn't give me an headache...

      And no, I don't work for Nintendo. I work primarily for the benefit of myself and family. My customers, I feel, are just lucky people.

      Now, I think I'll have a beer. My fingers are getting dry! (Flicks off feathers)

  6. Almo

    Adjustable 3D

    AC - there is a slider on one side of the 3DS that allows you to change the depth of the 3D. Although no-one will know for certain how good it is at keeping the 3D effect until the final version is released.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Troll

    Brain/Potty training

    something kids will no doubt fight over.... a great feature that will give children endless hours of fun...you'll probably want one regardless, I know I do...

    ...no we won't - were not 8.

    1. sabroni Silver badge
      Happy

      well I'm 44...

      and I want one. My DS has provided me with hours of entertainment! You don't have to stop having fun just 'cos you get older you know....

  8. OrsonX
    Thumb Down

    Only 1 analogue controller!

    Why dammit!?

    A FPS is MADE for 3D, it could have been brill... but having only one analogue controler makes it fit only for Donkey Kong & Mario.

    YAWN.

  9. JB
    Unhappy

    Bugger all this 3D rubbish!

    Yes, fine for most, but for losers like me with uncorrectable squint, 3D is a total waste of time. I worry a bit that all this 3D (or stereoscopic, I suppose) stuff is coming, and I and many like me will never see the benefit. Sorry to be a downer! Looks like a nice little hand-held, though.

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