Thoughts: Nintendo 3DS

I got a 3DS when it launched last month, because I am a gaming junky and will play pretty much anything.  Here's my thoughts on the hardware itself.


The 3D Effect


I think the 3D effect is pretty cool, and the least eye-straining 3D effect I've seen.  I've been on 3D rides at Disneyland, I've been to 3D movies in the theater, I've seen 3D from broadcast television and Blu-Rays on brand new TV's, and they all kinda bother me in varying degrees.  The 3DS on the other hand, when held at a typical distance and angle from your face, works really well and I don't generally get the sense that my brain is fighting the illusion.  I personally found the effect to look its best when I turned the 3D slider on the device down to 50% or less though - when the effect is more pronounced it starts to get a little difficult to look at in some games.


All that said, some games don't mix well with the 3D.  Street Fighter 4 is probably the worst offender, because it involves vigorously entering in a series of spastic attack commands in order to succeed.  I found that it was fairly common for my button mashing to knock the angle of the device out of its 3d sweet spot in that game, though with others it was not an issue.


Is it a gimmick?  Yes.  Is it kinda cool?  I think so.  Does it enhance the gaming experience?  Only superficially, but the same could be said of a lot of new hardware generations.  Did adding more texture memory and polygon output to the PS3 make all PS3 games better than their PS2 counterparts?  Of course not.  Too much criticism of the device has been directed towards the frivolity of the 3D effect, which can be turned off if you really despise it.  If you take it out of the equation, its really just a DS with more horsepower, which they could have released and called it a DS2 and people probably wouldn't have made a stink.


The Launch Lineup


Pretty weak overall.  There are a few solid third party offerings, but nothing that's really a system seller, and all the heavy hitting 1st-party titles didn't make release.  My favorite is likely to be a bit of a sleeper hit, Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.  Its kinda like Advance Wars or Fire Emblem - turn-based, grid based tactical warfare with some light RPG elements.  I'm a sucker for those kinds of games and this one is competently done.  And while its pretty much a top-down perspective, the 3D actually works really well with this one, creating the sensation that you're peering through a window into a tiny diorama.  It'll hold me over until the inevitable Advance Wars: 3D at any rate.


Worrying Facts


I think the biggest issue the 3DS is going to face this year is its $ 250 MSRP.  The DS has never been a state-of-the-art beast, but its also never carried a state-of-the-art price tag, which is partly why everyone under the age of 12 has one.  To get the millions of players who already have a DS to upgrade at almost double the price is a tall order.  It also has miserably poor battery life, clocking in at around 3 hours in my experience.  And while it's graphical horsepower is a generational leap over the old DS, so is an etch-a-sketch.  It's 2011 guys.  An iPod Touch demolishes the 3DS in terms of sheer hardware capability, with an ever growing lineup of inexpensive, occasionally awesome games (*cough* Battleheart *cough*).  And it manages this with a lower price, more than twice the battery life, while also being the best music player on the market, a pretty decent camera, a video calling device... etc. etc.  I mean, I grew up on Nintendo games, and a totally buy into the belief that there's more to hardware than just "specs"... but this is getting pretty damn ridiculous.


Verdict


Don't buy one unless you're a gamer with disposable income who must have everything.  Otherwise, wait until the inevitable "3DS lite".