I think I’ve said this before but in case I didn’t here it is… I hate 3D movies. I think 3D is just a gimmick, it doesn’t add anything to a movie and I find it ridiculous that we need to wear glasses to watch a movie. With that said when I heard Nintendo were releasing a 3D portable I thought that was just stupid. Now that I’ve actually spent time with the 3DS I can back that statement up.
Nintendo have managed to get 3D on the DS without the need for 3D glasses. The screen manages to display a 3D image but it only works at a certain distance and at a certain angle. Any position other than the perfect one will result in a blurry image. It’s also very difficult to get a perfect position since it’s a handheld and you’re going to be pressing buttons which moves the DS in your hands and out of the perfect viewing position. I was playing Rayman 3D which is a crappy game but since it has a 3D environment it was a good game to test out the 3D effect. Sadly, even when the 3DS is in the perfect position the 3D effect isn’t really that 3D. Nothing jumps out of the screen and it really wasn’t comfortable playing since I was seeing doubles the whole time. I kept fidgeting with the 3DS to get it into the perfect position and after awhile I realized I spent more time focusing on trying to get the 3DS in a perfect viewing position then I spent focusing on the game. It also messes up your sight, I am seeing double right now as I am typing this post because I was playing with the 3DS before I started typing here.
I personally think the 3DS’s 3D is going to flop in the same way the Nintendo Virtual Boy did. I can’t imagine anyone playing on the 3DS without getting a headache or double vision. Now I’m looking forward for Sony’s followup to the PSP, hopefully they won’t mess things up as well.
My Nintendo 3DS was a loaner from X-cite Electronics and if you’re interested in one they’re selling them for KD110. They have them in two colors, Aqua which is the one pictured above and regular black. They also have a few games now for sale as well with more coming in at the end of the week.
38 replies on “First Impression: Nintendo 3DS”
I too feel the exact same thing. Until some manufacture makes a 3D screen able to be viewed from all angles. Its going to be a failure.
It definitely won’t become a flop. The processing power is much better than it’s predecessor. The 3DS isn’t only about the 3D. You can always adjust the slider or turn of the 3D completely. The eshop is always gonna be a big plus once it’s out, with the virtual console and it’s other features.
The processing power might be better but compared to what? the old ds? If you would count the graphics as a highlight of the 3DS then it would fail miserably compared to an iPhone or iPod Touch and it will fail compared to the PSP2 (and I think the PSP1 as well). Nintendo was never about graphics power which is why I didn’t mention it in my review.
The virtual console will be amazing but I wouldn’t buy a 3DS just to play old games, I’ve got my Dingoo for that which btw is cheaper, has better battery life and I think like an 8GB internal memory.
btw if i was nintendo i would have made a deal with apple and basically created an iPod Touch with buttons and called it a nintendo iDS or something. Thats the only thing i think is missing from the iphone and ipod touch is the buttons. If it had buttons it would be one hell of a game console.
I think it is better if they actually created an accessory with buttons that attach to the iPod touch or iPhone to make the controls work like a DS and start porting their games to iOS.
Where’d you get that from? Just looked it up and looks interesting.
The main reason to get a 3DS imo is because Nintendo still makes amazing games. Right now it’s crap because they haven’t released any of the big franchises yet but I’m guessing the 3D won’t be correctly used until Nintendo starts releasing stuff like Mario and Zelda. I agree though, don’t like the large focus on 3D, especially when it does a lot of other stuff like Augmented Reality and has motion controls and a bigger screen over the old DS. I guess 3DS just sounds catchier.
I agree with you, i myself was never intrigues by it since its announcement, athough I haven’t really been a fan of Nintendo since the gameboy era, so not a really fair judgement from me, but biasness aside, the 3DS is much thicker than the DS, and apart from its 3D features, and few extra specs its just the DS pretty much. So a major disappointment like you I am looking forward to the PSP NGP(or whatever it is called) heck i’m even looking for to the xperia play lol.
Nonetheless i’m still gonna check the 3DS out at alghanim
PSWin
I hate 3D movies as well, but my experience with the 3DS was opposite of what you went through.
I played with it for an hour or so today, I didn’t really think it was annoying. I found the right position and distance to play with it and I was able to maintain that position for an entire level of Rayman. And if the 3D starts to bug you, you can always switch it off. With Rayman, I thought the 3D aspects of it wasn’t amazing, but it was interesting and added another depth to the game, as you’re exploring the levels, particles, and bugs that fly, move across the screen adding a whole new level of immersion with the game. It’s just another way to make the environments feel more alive.
The 3DS will only become a gimmick if developers let it become one. I really don’t think it will flop because of the line up of games already being prepared for the 3Ds. I don’t think Nintendo are stupid enough to make the same mistakes they made with the Virtual Boy, and fooling around with the 3DS shows that it wont be.
You failed to mention the Augmented Reality option that comes with the 3DS. You get a few cards, that you place on a surface, the 3DS camera reads the card and a “AG Reality Game” starts, which transforms the surface the card is on, into a game. I saw three modes of this, but there are more to unlock. One turns the surface the card is placed on into a target practice level, until finally a dragon pops out. Another turns the surface into a maze and you have to guide a ball to its goal. The third I saw has to do with other cards that come with the 3DS, they’re called “Star Cards” and they’re basically cards of popular Nintendo characters. So for example you place a card of Link on the table and he pops out of it, and you can make him pose and take pics. Pretty cool to see it interact with real life objects. I tried playing this on my dog, and his skin turned into a maze level, it was pretty trippy.
Also, there’s a camera mode in the 3DS that lets you take pictures that turn out “3D”. There’s also a Mii creator and a Mii plaza, and a mode to record and play around with sounds. There’s also a statistic that counts how many steps you take (in real life), and the more you walk, then when you reach a certain goal you get points you can spend in the Nintendo store.
So in my opinion, there is no way this is going to flop, just take a look at the line ups of games that are coming out and other peoples experiences with the 3DS. It’s a weak line up of launch games, but in a month or two we’ll have some great games to play with (Zelda OoT).
Hate the 3D, switch it off. The 3DS can still produce nice graphics.
You are paying the premium for the 3D. If you switch it off, you may as well save yourself a lot of money by buying the DS.
the 3DS is more powerful than the DS in more ways than one. You don’t need the 3D aspect of it to enjoy the games and the 3DS can produce good looking games.
You don’t even need to completely switch it off, the 3D switch is a slider, and you can specify how much “depth” you want.
Patrick, that’s not the point. Nintendo could make a more powerful DS for the same price. That’s how tech works.
All I am saying is that you are currently paying the premium (and it’s quite a premium) just for the 3D aspect; which according to most sites (including Mark) is just a gimmick.
Um Cajie…Nintendo’s not forcing companies to use the 3D feature. Companies can use the entire processing power of the PICA chip for non-3D games and essentially have a more powerful DS. So your “point” is moot.
Also it’s not a gimmick. 3D allows for more immersive gaming (When done correctly, which is rare) But of course, not everything requires 3D.
I’ve used the 3DS, and some games do 3D much better than others(Rayman 3D does not) Pilotwings however, does it better.
Mark judged the 3D to be a gimmick based off of Rayman 3D. He didn’t even try out the Augmented Reality games which use the 3D pretty well.
There are sites who have reviewed other games, and have actually enjoyed the 3D aspect of them. Just read reviews of Pilot Wings, Ridge Racer or even Pro Evolution.
The DS was made to use dual screens with touch, how many developers actually used that aspect of it well? Was it still a success? Was it still a very enjoyable system? Did it have a huge library of great games?
Not every developer will be able to use the 3D aspect well, there will be games that use it as a gimmick, but there will be games who will use it to its full advantage. There will obviously be developers who want to make a quick buck.
I’m not sure why some users are quick to rush to judgment over this when it’s barely been released.
Patrick I didn’t judge 3D to be a gimmick based off Rayman 3D. I judged 3D to be a gimmick based on my experience with 3D in movies and the 3DS.
This wasn’t a review of the system but more a first impression since you can’t review a system based on just 2 days of playing with it.
I am sure there are going to be a ton of great games on the device but based on my experience with the 3DS’s 3D I for one wouldn’t use it. It has nothing to do with the games or whatever being crap, its based on the fact that the 3D screen of the 3DS is not great and very difficult to get a decent 3D image from it without going cross-eyed.
Both the brothers hate it 😀
According to ign.com, they advised the gamers to wait for nintendo to release an improved model of 3ds because the good games won’t be coming until a year from now and most of the games being released now are just ports.
As for the 3d option, you can always turn it off.
As for me, i am sticking to my Dsi XL for now 🙂
I think one of the main issues was with the game itself Rayman is a very bad port and the 3D effects don’t do the system any justice.
I’ve had my 3DS for three days now and i’ve been playing it regularly, like you i never liked 3D and i always got headaches after watching 3D movies. I don’t think the 3DS is the same i had a bit of trouble at first and spent some time adjusting myself to the 3D screen just like you. However now that i’ve had it for 3 days it is much much easier to play in full 3D and i don’t have any trouble getting the focus right away (it does take some time getting used to and might be a bit harder for some people) over the past 3 days i played the following games
Super Street Fighter 4
Nintendogs + Cats
Super Monkey Ball
Pilot Wings Resort
Street fighter and pilot wings stand out with outstanding 3D, nothing pops out but the level of depth is outstanding especially in pilotwings
super monkey ball had some issues and i ended up playing it with the 3D off
i also agree with patrick, the 3DS comes with allot of features and is a solid system. and its selling out everywhere so comparing it to the virtual boy is a bit harsh.
Yet again everyone is entitled with their opinion, i suggest you give it another try with super street fighter 4 or pilot wings. Or wait a bit longer when better games come out like Resident Evil Revelations, Resident Evil Mercenaries, Kid Icarus, The legend of Zelda and Mario Kart
Mark nintendo will sue you now, im looking forward for that lol!
But seriously, you didnt do justice to the review and its all was based on the worest game, and like patrick said, why you didnt review the AR cards and the other flying faces games? or even the 3 photo capture? I think you didnt play enough. Im not taking any game console review from you, you just fail :p
Well there r a ton of websites that have reviewed the 3ds fully, i just wanted to talk about the 3d aspect since that’s what everyone really is interested in. This isn’t a review anyway, just a first impression.
Why Nintendo 3DS and PSP and all that stupid thingg’s, isn’t iPad 2 Enough for you ?? you just wasted your 110 Kd on a Toy i would say !
iPad 2 is a toy as well , with few things added to it xD
true.. its gonna mess up eyesights.. cant wait to test run the htc Evo 3D
I’m not interested in the 3D. 3D isn’t the only aspect of the 3DS. It’s just a single feature.
Tomorrow’s headlines:
Nintendo sues blogger for negative review 😛
Sorry Mark..I couldn’t resist 🙂
Pfft , no wonder you didn’t like it.
Rayman ? seriously ,I’m going to buy it only for Ridge Racer. No 3d Gimmic for me.
Well, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be all that wow and I guess in a way you validated that; but Patrick did make some valid points.
I guess the games will make or break the device, as is the case with everything else. For me, the PSP still does it in terms of pure gaming experience on the go; proper buttons go a long way in making the gaming experience enjoyable; well, except in the rare case where a game is specifically designed for touch screen devices – like everyone’s favorite flying birds shooter.
By the way:
ridicules that we need to wear glasses
Ridicules means make fun of.
Ridiculous is probably what you meant 🙂
Man up mark and publish my first post, i was expressing my opinion.
You are anonymous, I am not so you won’t get in trouble but I would.
The truth can hurt. I understand your stance and I apologize if you took any offense.
no its fine, none taken, thanks for understanding 🙂
Now I want to know what this was all about lol
NGP FFFFTTTTWWWWWW
You saw … Doubles while playing ? theres something wrong with your eyes Mark , i Played Nintendo 3DS Today , and no doubles what so ever
you might have had the 3D off
LOL no Mark , it was on all the way actually , played face shooters , nothing wrong with 3D .
Here is the 3D effect review of rayman 3D from IGN:
Cranking up the 3D doesn’t do much for the visuals, which look outdated even on the brand new 3DS. It’s neat to see some elements that once faded into the background have a bit more prominence, but jaws will not drop. No one is likely to be convinced of the power of the 3DS by looking at Rayman 3D. This is not the Avatar of gaming.
There are a few moments when the 3D does help the gameplay just a touch. In particular, the rare top-down sections, where you guide Rayman as he descends, benefit from the depth of field created by 3D. That’s about all Ubisoft could manage on this one.
Software makes the hardware, let’s talk about the 3DS when Zelda, Mario or Kid Icarus comes out!
And it really frustrates me when people compare it to the iPhone/iPad, I’ll play games on my iPhone when Nintendo starts making games for them.
Looking forward to reading the NGP review from you 😀