3DS Thread

[Consignia]

I got Dead or Alive at the weekend, and it's actually really quite good. The 3D effects are excellent, and it plays quite well on the handheld,  especially when compared to SSFIV. The problem is, it looks even better when switch the 3D effect off because it runs at 60fps.

[madhair60]

I got Dead or Alive at the weekend, the 3D effects are excellent

I bet they are, wahey etc.

[Consignia]

I assure you, sir, I have no idea what you are talking about. This is a wholesome and brain stimulating game fit for all the family.

[glitch]

...people will always buy Nintendo stuff whatever the price...

I wouldn't be so sure, the N64 dropped by ~£100 in price about a month or two after launch because people weren't buying them.

[weirdbeard]

I wouldn't be so sure, the N64 dropped by ~£100 in price about a month or two after launch because people weren't buying them.

Apart from me at £250, the bastards.

[Santa's Boyfriend]

I had a go on a 3DS at the Bristol Comics Con, it was very wierd indeed.  3D without glasses?  How the fuck does that work?  It hurt my eyes after just a few minutes, in a similar way to how wearing red and green glasses hurt your eyes after a while, or working on a monitor that's not refreshing fast enough.  Getting 3D and staring beyond the screen felt very weird, even though the 3D didn't go all that deep.  It works, to be sure, but my eyes were definitely not relaxed - I was staring pretty intently and the feeling in my eyes reminded me of staring at those magic pictures that were all the rage 10 years ago.

Will be interested to see what others think of the 3D effect.  It's a technology that's clearly still in its infancy, the kind of thing we'll look back on in 15 years and laugh at. But I'm glad I had a go.

[I accept the terms of the]

3D without glasses?  How the fuck does that work?

Like one of those rulers you would get free in cereal packets that would show a different picture when you tilted it. Except on its side, and tilted in a way that means that both eyes see a different picture at the same time.

[Santa's Boyfriend]

IT'S THE WORK OF THE DEVIL, I TELL YOU!

[turnstyle]

Good news early adopters, we're getting 20 free games:

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-07/28/nintendo-3ds-price-cut

The Nintendo 3DS is to receive a hefty price cut in Japan, North America and Europe this summer, slashing the console's cost by "around a third" on 12 August 2011.

The handheld, which can spit out 3D visuals without the need for the user to wear those silly glasses, will have its price cut by 10,000 Yen in Japan, $80 in North America and " around a third" of the UK's £170 price tag.

To compensate those early adopters who have already bought the console (Nintendo calls them its "most loyal customers" and "3DS ambassadors"), the Japanese firm will be giving away 20 classic games for free, to download and play on the system.

Ten of those games are for the NES, Nintendo's first home console from 1985. Those include vintage must-haves like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Jr., Balloon Fight, Ice Climber and The Legend of Zelda. These games, Nintendo says, "are slated to become paid downloadable games, but ambassadors get them early for free."

Another ten will come from the Game Boy Advance, including such fine titles as Yoshi's Island, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, WarioWare, Inc and Mario vs. Donkey Kong. "Nintendo currently has no plans to make these ten games available to the general public on the Nintendo 3DS in the future."

To make sure you qualify for these free games you'll need to own a Nintendo 3DS and connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 12 August. If you don't have the eShop, just head to the system's settings panel and download the latest update.

From September 2011 through to the end of the year, your complementary games will be made available in the console's virtual shop.

[Consignia]

While the GBA games are nice[nb]even though I already have most of them[/nb], I would prefer some actual, decent 3DS games. I'd pay human money for them and all.

[Ignatius_S]

Nintendo has announced that 3DS will now have free Wi-Fi via The Cloud hotspots.

[Beagle 2]

Now the price has dropped on these, and bearing in mind I never ever use my x-box, I was thinking of trading in and getting one. Are people still playing theirs? Does anyone use the 3D effect for more than about a minute before it becomes irritating? Is the new PES as good as they say?

[Consignia]

I'm still playing mine, but the games selection is severely limited. I've found the 3D effect is actually quite negligible, except in Zelda which gave me a severe headache with it on. It's nice piece of kit but you're probably best waiting 6 months and see if you are interested in any games that are coming out. There's a couple I've got my (strained) eyes on, such as the new Mario game.

[turnstyle]

I'd echo Consignia's comments.

I have purchased two retail games for my 3DS since June, one of which I'd played before anyway (Zelda OoT).

I've been relying much more on the downloadable titles, and have had a blast with Donkey Kong 94, Zelda Links Awakening and Mario Vs Donkey Kong. Again though, these are games I've played before.

I'm looking forward to the 20 free games that are coming up, but only the titles I didn't play the first time around.

It seems a bit backwards to me that this brand-spanking new console is being used as a glorified Gameboy Advance. However, Super Mario 3D Land is out in a few months, so that's something to look forward to.

My advice though is to wait it out until there are 3/4 retail games that you actually want to play, before you purchase.

EDIT: Also, I never bother with the 3D. After the first 5 minutes of being impressed by the technology, you start to see the flaws and realise that it is essentially pretty pointless.

[Barberism]

Bump

New Ambassador games are available for download today:

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
Mario Kart Super Circuit
Mario vs Donkey Kong
Metroid Fusion
Wario Land 4
WarioWare Inc: Mega Microgame$

Some brilliant games there. But for the most part better than any 3DS games available. Nintendo should really have dropped the 3D and gone for the 3DS as a DS MK2. They should have pushed backwards compatability and the 3DS as an all in one storage device for all your favourite Nintendo games.

I love the fact I can access Game Boy, GBA, N64, NES, and SNES games on one console. But it is kind of hard to recommend it to people on the fence. If you really love Nintendo then get one. But otherwise wait for the revision or the below £100 price drop.

[Consignia]

The GBA game selection is much better than the NES selection. I've just had a trot through a couple, and they are brill.

However, I don't think Nintendo should have pushed the 3DS as a best of Nintendo. Perhaps less emphasis on the 3D, but I'd rather they explored new exciting experiences, rather than retreads. Anyway, at the moment unless you are an early adopter the only old Nintendo games[nb]DS backward compatibility not withstanding[/nb] you can play it are GB and GBC games. I don't think there's any plans in the short term for SNES, N64 or GBA games to be on the Virtual Console either.

[Blinder Data]

What's the point in releasing more free games for 3DS 'ambassadors'? It's not going to increase console sales. Is it trying to convince 3DS buyers who came late to the party to buy quicker next time? I understand and respect the decision to reward early adopters with free games, but to continue to do so is rewarding only a select few and won't encourage more people to become 3DS owners. It's pissing me off, for a start.

Let me buy Yoshi's Island, Nintendo cunts!

Has anyone had a go on Pullblox/Pushmo yet? Made by the same people as Advance Wars, it's been getting great reviews across the board:



IGN Review - http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/121/1214344p1.html

I might have bought it already if my eShop wasn't acting screwy. It'll be interesting to see in the future how often the eShop can release games seemingly as good as this.

[Ignatius_S]

What's the point in releasing more free games for 3DS 'ambassadors'?...

Nintendo said it would give 20 free games in total, so it's just doing what it said it would. At one time, it looked like the final ten would be next year, rather than this.

BTW ta for the tip about Pullblox/Pushmo.

[jutl]

I'm really enjoying Pullblox - a lovely combination of simplicity and ingenuity. I'll maybe make a new thread for it if I get around to generating any level QR codes.

[Ignatius_S]

It's been announced that Zavvi has the exclusive on the Resident Evil: Revelations and 3DS Circle Pad Pro - it's charging £30 all in, which is less than than the price for the game on its own at most places.

[buntyman]

That add on thing is looks so ugly and has put me off buying a 3DS. The 20 game giveaway isn't going to seem so generous when Nintendo announce the remodelled 3DS in a couple of months with current owners having to clip on that plastic monstrosity to be able to play most of the subsequent releases.

[Ignatius_S]

That add on thing is looks so ugly and has put me off buying a 3DS. The 20 game giveaway isn't going to seem so generous when Nintendo announce the remodelled 3DS in a couple of months with current owners having to clip on that plastic monstrosity to be able to play most of the subsequent releases.

Hands-on reviews have been very positive about how it feels and works - that's the key thing for me. It's an interim measure, nothing is going to change that, but it works.

It's far too early to say that "most of the subsequent releases" will require the control system and even when it is incorporated into future hardware, it's unlikely going to be used in games by default.

At the moment, I think there is only one other title (a Metal Gear Solid game) that will be using the system, so for the vast majority of the time, 3DS owners wouldn't be using the thing - or obviously, not at all if they don't play either of those games. Developer kits have meant to be very scarce, in which case, there's little in the pipeline. Also, if you look at the Motion Plus controller for the Wii, there are only a handful of games that used it – this isn't to say it'll be the same situation, but there will a larger user base without either the add-on and the playability aspect will vary, so it may not make economic sense for developers to use the different system en masse.

The speculation that a new unit will be coming out this Spring is based on an unsubstantiated report in a Japanese mag. That's suggesting a 'lite' version, rather than something completely overhauled and it's just making an educated guess. One French site claimed fairly recently that the next major revision (and said where the focus of changes are) will be at the end of this year – no way of knowing if this is true, but it's been bang on the money about details for the Vita and Wii U.

[jutl]

That add on thing is looks so ugly and has put me off buying a 3DS. The 20 game giveaway isn't going to seem so generous when Nintendo announce the remodelled 3DS in a couple of months with current owners having to clip on that plastic monstrosity to be able to play most of the subsequent releases.

As Ignatius says (and I did too up there^) previous add-ons indicate that this will not be the case. Having only just got a reasonable installed base through loss-making sales, Nintendo would be insane to split that base any time in the near future.

[buntyman]

If Nintendo weren't planning on it being a key component for use with their future releases, why would they design and release the accessory themselves rather than let the makers of Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid go to the trouble? It's a bit of different situation compared to the Motion Plus accessory which was released quite a long time after the Wii came out so was clearly going to have less of an impact overall. Releasing this now shows that they are admitting an oversight rather than offering a new innovation.

[jutl]

If Nintendo weren't planning on it being a key component for use with their future releases, why would they design and release the accessory themselves rather than let the makers of Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid go to the trouble?

...because they were struggling for market share at the time and the Monster Hunter games are huge in Japan. Going forward, it seemed reasonable to assume that some third party devs might want to create designs that could work on both the Vita and 3DS. That seems less likely now that the Vita is stalling after only a few weeks (outsold by PSP this week) and even AAA Vita launch games are selling really badly. At the same time the original 3DS hardware is now established in the market.

edit to add: Actually I think a more apt comparison (rather than Motionplus) is the 'analog nub' that the original DS had on its strap. Nintendo built it in to give developers an option for analog input, and used it themselves for Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunters, but phased it out when it became clear no-one really wanted it. If all third party games start needing the second analog stick then I'd agree that Nintendo will be forced to amalgamate, but how likely is it that third party devs will choose to develop for a control scheme that is - right now at least - off-putting and not universal across the user base?

[Ignatius_S]

As Ignatius says (and I did too up there^) previous add-ons indicate that this will not be the case. Having only just got a reasonable installed base through loss-making sales, Nintendo would be insane to split that base any time in the near future.

Sorry, didn't spot you said that!

If Nintendo weren't planning on it being a key component for use with their future releases, why would they design and release the accessory themselves rather than let the makers of Resident Evil or Metal Gear Solid go to the trouble?...

The new control system being incorporated into future hardware design would be a pretty good reason.

However, that doesn't make it a 'key' component. In a Nintendo title like Nintendogs, would the new controller offer a superior user experience?

.... It's a bit of different situation compared to the Motion Plus accessory which was released quite a long time after the Wii came out so was clearly going to have less of an impact overall. Releasing this now shows that they are admitting an oversight rather than offering a new innovation.

Sure, but similar in the respect that not all games will benefit from using the newer control system and there is an installed user base using just the older control methods.

It is also similar because not all games will be designed to use the different control system or benefit from it. (For example, a game from the Professor Layton series or Ghost Recon.)

.... Releasing this now shows that they are admitting an oversight rather than offering a new innovation.

With the benefit of hindsight, Nintendo probably would have done things differently. However, when the rumours started arising about a second analogue pad, it wasn't exactly everyone was crying out 'It's about time!'

Jutl mentioned the Monster Hunter series – I was chatting about that recently and was told that Nintendo getting it for the 3DS is the primary driving force why it's introducing the second pad.

...because they were struggling for market share at the time and the Monster Hunter games are huge in Japan. Going forward, it seemed reasonable to assume that some third party devs might want to create designs that could work on both the Vita and 3DS. That seems less likely now that the Vita is stalling after only a few weeks (outsold by PSP this week) and even AAA Vita launch games are selling really badly. At the same time the original 3DS hardware is now established in the market. ..

Yup, I'd go along with that.

....edit to add: Actually I think a more apt comparison (rather than Motionplus) is the 'analog nub' that the original DS had on its strap. Nintendo built it in to give developers an option for analog input, and used it themselves for Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime Hunters, but phased it out when it became clear no-one really wanted it. If all third party games start needing the second analog stick then I'd agree that Nintendo will be forced to amalgamate, but how likely is it that third party devs will choose to develop for a control scheme that is - right now at least - off-putting and not universal across the user base?

Again, I'd go along with that being a better comparison. Personally, I would bet money on Nintendo incorporating the second analogue pad in the not too distant future, but feel a lot of games won't use it.

[buntyman]

I would agree that the second analog stick won't necessarily be employed in every new release game, quite probably very few - thinking about it, that would make the touch screen would be made pretty much redundant if both hands are being used to twiddle sticks. However, if even it's only essential for a couple of must-own 3DS games (in my opinion there were only a handful of these for the DS), then having to turn a attractively designed portable into a bulky eyesore is a pretty poor solution, hence the likelihood of a redesign in those circumstances.

[I accept the terms of the]

Looks rubbish. Almost rubbish on purpose. The stick doesn't belong to the right of the action buttons and shoulder buttons. That's borderline unusable.

Dual stick model with the stick in a sensible place will be announced as soon as people are getting used to the stick-requiring games.

[jutl]

Dual stick model with the stick in a sensible place will be announced as soon as people are getting used to the stick-requiring games.

So far there are no stick-requiring games.

[I accept the terms of the]

Yes.