[Digital-Pride]

Just like the thread title asks, I like to get my fellow head-fiers opinion or perhaps simply have a discussion on the 3DS and or Nintendo's current direction.  I for one am extremely impressed with the specs and more importantly the upcoming games as they(well most..er some of them) look great.  I especially can't wait for the Resident Evil games as I've become a big RE fan(hate the movies though) over the years.  The prospects of having at least ps2 level graphics on the go, well just has me salivating.  Not to mention, it's other cool features like being able to listening to mp3s.  Who's going to replace their DAC or source with this bad boy?

  Anyway before I gush too much, what do you guys and gals think?  Or are you not into portable gaming or gaming in general?  Or pehaps you're more interested in Sony's(which does look REALLY impressive) upcoming portable?

 

[Kirosia]

1) I think it'll do very well money-wise, the 3D fad is still going on + consumer loyalty to the DS
2) I'm not a fan of N's habit for releasing pretty much the same games (I.e. Ocarina of time) as opposed to a true sequel. Course, I didn't finish any of the DS Zelda's, they were mediocre at best. In fact, I didn't really love any of N's staples on the Wii/DS, other than Mario Galaxy.
3) I'm also unhappy with N more or less ignoring the Wii for the 3DS, I mean a lot of these games could've probably been put on the former. (I own a Wii and had a DS for years)
4) I'd rather have an NGP. But, I only play games at home, and after the not-so-great support for the original (which I also have), there's a low chance I'll purchase one within launch.
5) Shovelware. All consoles have it, but N's seem more susceptible. How many times did I play a highly scored DS title only see that it was really just an overpriced flash game. 
6) It's somewhat expensive, especially for someone who doesn't care for 3D. If the NGP is only slightly more, it would seem like the better deal considering the hardware. 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

1) I think it'll do very well money-wise, the 3D fad is still going on + consumer loyalty to the DS
2) I'm not a fan of N's habit for releasing pretty much the same games (I.e. Ocarina of time) as opposed to a true sequel. Course, I didn't finish any of the DS Zelda's, they were mediocre at best. In fact, I didn't really love any of N's staples on the Wii/DS, other than Mario Galaxy.
3) I'm also unhappy with N more or less ignoring the Wii for the 3DS, I mean a lot of these games could've probably been put on the former. (I own a Wii and had a DS for years)
4) I'd rather have an NGP. But, I only play games at home, and after the not-so-great support for the original (which I also have), there's a low chance I'll purchase one within launch.
5) Shovelware. All consoles have it, but N's seem more susceptible. How many times did I play a highly scored DS title only see that it was really just an overpriced flash game. 
6) It's somewhat expensive, especially for someone who doesn't care for 3D. If the NGP is only slightly more, it would seem like the better deal considering the hardware. 

I agree, Nintendo's first party software, while usually very strong, tends to not really break new ground.  And that is the very reason I did not purchase the Wii for the longest time as frankly the DS had better games.  The NGP does look awesome and the fact the games will be on flash cards instead of discs will be a huge plus.  I too don't really care for the 3D aspect of it though, it's a good thing the effect can be turned off.

 

[marvin]

No second analog stick is a major issue. I'd happily trade the d-pad for a second analog.

Hardware is a bit low spec on the processor side. Should have gone with an ARM Cortex variant instead of the dual ARM11, if only for easier porting/crossdevelopment with iPhone/Android games.

Digital distribution strategy needs a lot of clarification. It really is the future of handheld gaming and Nintendo needs to firmly commit to having full retail releases on there like Sony has.

I'll still buy one, if only for the next Advance Wars and Fire Emblem iterations.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

No second analog stick is a major issue. I'd happily trade the d-pad for a second analog.

Hardware is a bit low spec on the processor side. Should have gone with an ARM Cortex variant instead of the dual ARM11, if only for easier porting/crossdevelopment with iPhone/Android games.

Digital distribution strategy needs a lot of clarification. It really is the future of handheld gaming and Nintendo needs to firmly commit to having full retail releases on there like Sony has.

I'll still buy one, if only for the next Advance Wars and Fire Emblem iterations.

Yeah, that lack of a secound analog could become an issue especailly when looking at potential first-person shooters on the system.

 

[JoetheArachnid]

I've played one, I've preordered one. The launch lineup is pretty laughable, but this is the one point in life I'll probably ever have where I get the opportunity to impulsively buy a brand new piece of expensive equipment on launch day. It helps that Star Fox 64/Lylat Wars is my absolute favourite game of all time ever. The prospect of a gorgeous 3D remake made me practically comatose for about a week after E3.
 
I've also never had an original DS, so I'm looking forward to exploring the DS backlog too.
If anybody wants impressions on the 3D I'd be happy to oblige, but there are plenty out there.
 
Oh, and I've also played LoZ: Skyward Sword. Suck that.

 

[Digital-Pride]

You actually played with one?!  Ah, I'm so jealous!

  I agree, outside of few games, the launch line up is underwhelming, but that seems to be case for most system launches.  Though, there have been some real stinkers, remember the Sega Saturn anyone?  I have to ask, how is the 3D effect?  Is it really all that impressive?

 

[JoetheArachnid]

I've preordered a device but still no game yet. If we got Steel Diver in Europe I'd probably pick that up, but as it is the best game is looking like Super Street Fighter IV 3D. Except I have a friend who's a huge Street Fighter nut and me buying that game would make him happy - so that's off the table.

 
Because I attended Eurogamer 2010 I was given the privelege of going to the 3DS' public debut in the UK in an obscure corner of London one weekend a few weeks ago. It was actually a pretty insane event, especially when this happened:

 
Two guys, one as Ryu and one as Ken. They had a proper mock Street Fighter battle and it was AWESOME. After that we got led through a room of T-virus infectees by Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine from Resident Evil. It certainly got you pumped.
 
The device itself is quite impressive - the buttons are tactile and it's got a good weight to it. The blue also looked much nicer than I expected it to. The 3D is really not anything like glasses 3D - that tends to start at the screen and have depth by coming towards you. The 3DS has depth inside the screen, like a tiny window into something much bigger on the inside. It's the equivalent of looking through the door of the TARDIS. It's often quite a subtle effect, but it always makes things tangibly better.
The games were all good and looked great, but the most interesting thing for me was the Augmented Reality - where you point the system at a card and then things come out of that card in real time, on screen. I played a game where you point and shoot arrows at targets, physically moving around to get the best angle to shoots at. Eventually a giant monster (possibly Bowser? I can't remember) came out of the card and you had to shoot him a lot of times. Incredibly weird but very cool. I hope someone makes good use of it, as the combination of 3D/3D cameras/accelerometers is the closest thing to VR we're likely to get for now.

I had to travel ~6hrs by train in and out of London, but considering that some people have queued that long for ten minutes and I got half an hour, it wasn't such a bad deal. Definitely see the system if you can - it certainly cemented my belief that I want one.

 

[Digital-Pride]

That...is...AWESOME!!!  As a huge RE fan I'm sure I would've loved the T-virus part of the show.  You know what's kind of sad though, the show was probably better than any of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil*cringes* movies ever released.  Just reading your description makes me want one even more!  *sigh*  Is it March 27th yet?

 

[TheAudioDude]

The capabilities seem incredible.  Just look at this video (the good stuff starts at around the 2:00 mark):
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Haha, you don't have to sell me.  I all ready can't wait!

 

[Kirosia]

Fairly in-depth review by Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/21/nintendo-3ds-review/

What's notable is that load times for normal DS games seem pretty bad:
 
Quote:

While 3DS games won't work in older DS consoles, a wee tab sticking out of the side ensures they won't fit, DS games most certainly do work here. And they work well enough, but we were surprised to find that load-times for these games is considerably slower than on a DS. Titles like Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Mario Kart DS hit the white Nintendo screen about two seconds on a DS Lite, yet took between eight and 10 seconds to get there on the 3DS. 

 

 

[earthpeople]

The information about battery life is really turning me off. There are no games for the 3DS that I really want to play right now so I'm just going to wait for the 3DS Lite, lol.

 

[Kirosia]

Another knock against it: http://www.destructoid.com/upgrading-to-3ds-don-t-get-rid-of-your-ds-just-yet--196897.phtml
 
Not the resizing part, but the dull colors compared to the DSi XL. 

 

[sari0n]

I played a demo briefly at bestbuy.  The 3d is somewhat annoying, there's maybe a 6inch range or even lower that the 3d will work in.  What I mean is that your head needs to be in a pretty specific spot in order to get the 3d effect; otherwise the top screen will just be entirely out of focus.  It will also be nearly impossible for your friends to watch you play over your shoulders unless you turn 3d off.
The 3d is definitely interesting, like someone above said the images pop into the screen instead of out of it.  To be honest though I'm not super impressed.  I think I would take a high res screen over the 3d screen.  The demo game I saw (I think it was some mario game) made sort of cheesy use of the 3d.  I don't know if all games will be like that but the 3d parts were all really "flat".  It looked like a bunch of 2d cardboard castles at varying depth inside the screen.  Still pretty cool though.