Topic: Maximum Number of Games /UI design defect?

[leahsdad]

Anyone else  with a 3DS and a LOT of downloads notice that there's a finite amount of pages for icons?   I haven't run out yet, but after organizing my screens for the upcoming GBA Ambassadors, I noticed that if you scroll a certain number of pages you can't scroll anymore--  you just reach the end-border for the menu interface.  I thought maybe if you put some icons at the very end it may auto-extend, but no luck.

I'm guessing this means that once I've downloaded enough apps/games to fill every single blank space in my menu, that's it.  No more downloads, unless I do some fridgecleaning, despite the fact that I have a huge 16gb SD card with plenty of free blocks.

I haven't found anything online about this, and I can't be sure if this will actually happen, because I still have about 50 blank spaces for icons, but with 10 more ambassador games coming up, that's only about 40 weeks of Thursdays that I have room for.  Is there anyone with a 3DS with a whole lot of downloads (Uncle Bob?) who's come close to or hit this limit?   Does the menu autoextend if you fill every blank space, or does a pop-up message come up saying "Thanks for giving Nintendo so much money!" ?   Or are we back to fridgecleaning, and for the stupidest of reasons?

(I realize, of course, that I can simply remove the games that I've already finished playing, and there's no real reason why I must carry around 200 VC, eshop, and dsiware games on my person at any given time, but damnit, 16 gb SD card!)

[ejamer]

It did autoextend for me recently, after I hit a certain number of downloads. But I'm only up to 120 total spaces available so far. Presumably other people will have more downloads and can offer more useful comments.


As a side-note, I don't think that forcing a limit on the number of spaces is dumb - in fact I'd suggest that a limit is necessary to prevent memory issues in extreme cases. The questions become "how big is the limit?" and "how will the system behave when that limit is met?". My guess is that the limit is big enough that normal gamers (yourself included) will never bump into it...although that's just a guess.

[leahsdad]

My guess is that the limit is big enough that normal gamers (yourself included) will never bump into it...although that's just a guess.

I hope so.  I'm wondering how big that limit will be, myself.  I typically purchase something, eshop or VC, every Thursday, once in a while skipping because the offering that week sucks (Hello Double Dragon!)  but lately there always seems to be something good (exactly one thing).   I imagine that this is fairly typical among core 3DS owners, including a lot of people in these forums.   

The thing is, if the limit is something like 120 (and that's how many total spaces are on my 3DS as well) then people will hit that in 2 years, especially when taking into account spaces taken up by pre-installed apps, downloaded apps like netflix, demo videos, and if Japan is a good indication, then downloadable demos as well.   Also figure in that a lot of people tend to go on a slight spree with the very first e-shop purchase (I went through $60 that first night).  I wouldn't be surprised if the average new 3DS owner takes up more than 20 or 30 icon spaces in the first few weeks of purchase.

If I hadn't owned a Wii before the SD card menu, then I would have said "I can't believe Nintendo could be so stupid."  Because while this isn't exactly like that situation, it's somewhat similar.  I'm thinking of calling up NOA customer service, but I'm afraid that they'll give me some really stupid  answer, like "Yes, there's a limit, but you can always delete and redownload when you want through the eshop."

[Ceric]

I think Insanolord has actually filled his at one point and can tell you.
I wouldn't be too surprised that if this becomes a problem Nintendo doesn't implement a page system with an update. 

So you hit your limit and now can flip to a totaly new page which would do the initial loading stuff when you originally start the 3DS with a different set of Downloads.  Of course it would still show some of the special icons (Mainly Gamecard.)

[NWR_insanolord]

I own almost every 3DS game in the eShop (all VC, all eShop originals, most of the 3D Classics), plus as much DSiWare as I can fit in the memory, the Ambassador games, and all the videos of future 3DS games they did a while back. I am approaching the limits of where it currently stands.

[TJ Spyke]

Yeah, but you are on the extreme end. I doubt more than a few dozen people are in your same situation.

[leahsdad]

I own almost every 3DS game in the eShop (all VC, all eShop originals, most of the 3D Classics), plus as much DSiWare as I can fit in the memory, the Ambassador games, and all the videos of future 3DS games they did a while back. I am approaching the limits of where it currently stands.

Yeah, but you are on the extreme end. I doubt more than a few dozen people are in your same situation.

[*Raises Hand*]

"As much DSiWare as I can fit in the memory" is not a lot.  I've got maybe 8 or 9, and that's it.  Mostly big ones like Shantae, Mighty whatever's, etc..  Why can't we save DsiWare to the SD card, I don't know.  So you're limited to 512mb (I think?) of internal system memory for DSiWare.  Sucks.

Insanolord, just to compare, I've got most VC, minus 4 or 5 titles like Battleship and Baseball, all the 3D classics save for Urban Champion, and all the eshop stuff save for Pyramids and Let's Golf.    And both "sets" of demo videos.  And the ambassadors, of course.   I don't really see that as a lot, personally. 

And I was thinking buying something every Thursday was more the norm, and not an exception.  Maybe I'm wrong?

[ejamer]

I own almost every 3DS game in the eShop (all VC, all eShop originals, most of the 3D Classics), plus as much DSiWare as I can fit in the memory, the Ambassador games, and all the videos of future 3DS games they did a while back. I am approaching the limits of where it currently stands.

Yeah, but you are on the extreme end. I doubt more than a few dozen people are in your same situation.

[*Raises Hand*]

"As much DSiWare as I can fit in the memory" is not a lot.  I've got maybe 8 or 9, and that's it.  Mostly big ones like Shantae, Mighty whatever's, etc..  Why can't we save DsiWare to the SD card, I don't know.  So you're limited to 512mb (I think?) of internal system memory for DSiWare.  Sucks.

Insanolord, just to compare, I've got most VC, minus 4 or 5 titles like Battleship and Baseball, all the 3D classics save for Urban Champion, and all the eshop stuff save for Pyramids and Let's Golf.     I don't really see that as a lot, personally. 

And I was thinking buying something every Thursday was more the norm, and not an exception.  Maybe I'm wrong?

I take back the "(yourself included)" part when talking about normal gamers. Sounds like you are clearly on the heavy side of things...
 

[UncleBob]

I appear to have 77/120 slots filled.

I have a bunch of DSiWare titles, the ambassador games, the preview videos, all the free stuff and a small handful of 3DS-only purchases (want to buy more, but waiting for the next Club Nintendo year or when I don't have much else to play)...

Will the ten GBA games put anyone here over the top?

[nickmitch]

A folder system would be really ideal. I hate having to organize my crap and it would allow for more stuff.

[leahsdad]

See, I'

I appear to have 77/120 slots filled.

I have a bunch of DSiWare titles, the ambassador games, the preview videos, all the free stuff and a small handful of 3DS-only purchases (want to buy more, but waiting for the next Club Nintendo year or when I don't have much else to play)...

Will the ten GBA games put anyone here over the top?

See, I'm not completely sure if it's possible for any 3DS owner in the world to have all 120 slots filled yet.  There hasn't been enough 3DS eshop/VC/3Dclassic software released yet, and the system memory limit really restricts the number of DSiware games you might have, even if you have nothing but small filesize games.  But within a year, I think we might see people hit the 120 club.   

I'm really curious/worried about what will happen then.   Will 120er's be unable to download new software?  Will there be some kind of error message?  And what happens if there's a new system update that also adds an app to the menu, but there's no space?  Will the update be smart and ask the user to uninstall something, or will it just crap all over itself?  Oh, and the most hilarious scenario:  Nintendo issues an update to create a folder system or expand the menu or in someway solve the 120 problem, but the update is rolled up with something that adds an app, so people at 120 can't even install the update without running into an error.

I'm sure Nintendo would be smart about this.  You'd think that they'd considered this possibility, right?  Like, doing quests out of order in Skyward sword....

Oh no.

[ejamer]

I was worried about the limited number of slots initially... but more software and apps were downloaded, the system expanded that number and now I've got a ton of extra slots to fill.  Based on that observation I have a hard time worrying at this stage.


Your questions are all good ones though, and it would be interesting to know the answers, but I'm taking a "cross that bridge..." approach until it becomes more than a theoretical issue.

[NWR_insanolord]

I've got 80 of my slots full, so I'll still have 30 of them left after the Ambassador GBA games. It's been pointed out, but Nintendo has already expanded the field at least once, so I imagine that if it becomes a problem again, which it will, they'll address it then.

[UncleBob]

Okay, it *can* be done.

If you've had your system since launch, you should have
21 Ambassador Icons
5 Free Downloads (Including Four Swords - 112 of your DSiWare Blocks)
13 System Icons
20 Video Icons (including the three new videos)

That's 59/120

There have been 33 titles (by my count) released for 3DS.
That would bump you up to 92/120, meaning you'd only need 28 DSiWare downloads.

Using Wikipedia and some spreadsheet-fu, it appears you can download about 50 DSiWare titles in the system's memory *IF* you download the smallest titles.

So, if someone wants to buy me some 3DS Pre-Paid cards, I could make this work and see what happens for ya.

[MegaByte]

This should be even easier on a Japanese 3DS... not including Ambassador, video, or built-in stuff, they've gotten 82 3DS download/VC titles.

[UncleBob]

Hm.  I wonder if anyone in Japan has done it yet then.

Messing around, if I deleted my four largest DSiWare titles, downloaded the 5 3DS eShop titles I want, I have the space to download all the smallest DSiWare games (I don't already have) and bump my menu count up to 121.

Not going to do it - because the process of transferring titles from my DSi systems that have all the credit is a PAIN... and really I don't want want to delete Starship Defense, Plants vs. Zombies and Four Swords (wouldn't mind deleting Rummikub) to download the following:

Touch Solitaire
Photo Clock
Paper Airplane Chase*
Hard-Hat Domo
Master of Illusion Express: Mind Probe
Nintendo DSi Metronome
Mario Calculator
Calculator
Animal Crossing Clock
Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner
Fizz
Animal Crossing Calculator
16 Shot! Shooting Watch
Whack-A-Friend
Master of Illusion Express: Shuffle Games
Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche
Crash-Course Domo
Sudoku 4Pockets
Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face
Crazy Sudoku
Ante Up: Texas Hold'em Poker
White-Water Domo
Electroplankton Varvoice*
G.G Series DRIFT CIRCUIT
Electroplankton Nanocarp*
Master of Illusion Express: Matchmaker
Fire Panic
24/7 Solitaire
G.G Series Z•ONE

*=Games I've already downloaded on my DSi and wouldn't mind having.

[UncleBob]

Another follow-up.

If I downloaded ALL the 3DS eShop titles, I'd only need five more DSiWare titles to hit that magic 121 number.  I have 90 free DSiWare blocks, so I could easily do this.

To download all the 3DS eShop titles I don't have, I'd spend $109.94.  I currently have $25.02 in credit on the eShop and one $20 card I haven't redeemed yet - so $45.02... so I only need $64.92.  Who wants to buy me three eShop cards?

[NWR_insanolord]

There are more than 33 3DS titles available in North America. There are 26 VC games, 5 3D Classics, and at least 4 original eShop titles.

[UncleBob]

There are more than 33 3DS titles available in North America. There are 26 VC games, 5 3D Classics, and at least 4 original eShop titles.

We may be double counting some things... I can post my list when I get home...

[NWR_insanolord]

I can take a photo of my 3DS home screen that will show more than 33 3DS download games, and the only one of those I didn't pay money for is Excitebike (and I suppose Xevious if you don't count Club Nintendo coins).

[TJ Spyke]

Not counting the Ambassador games or DSiWare games, there are exactly 35 games on the eShop in North America.

[NWR_insanolord]

That sounds right, as I have 34 of them and I'm pretty sure the only one I don't have is Urban Champion.

[leahsdad]

Not counting the Ambassador games or DSiWare games, there are exactly 35 games on the eShop in North America.

Okay, baby's asleep, wife and daughter#1 are giftwrapping, so I've got time to do some accounting here:

3d Classics [5]

Excitebike
Xevious
Twin Bee
Urban Champion
Kirby


Eshop [4]
Let's Golf 3D
Pyramids
Freaky Forms
Pushmo

VC [26]

Radar Mission
Alleyway
Super Mario Land
Donkey Kong 94
Tennis
Qix
Fortified Zone
Side Pocket
Pacman
Burgertime Deluxe
Kirby's Dreamland
Game and Watch Gallery
Mario's Picross
Avenging Spirit
Gargoyle's Quest
Golf
Baseball
Mega Man
Super Mario Land 2
Catrap
Double Dragon
Balloon Kid
Metroid 2
Adventure Island

Link's Awakening
Blaster Master


For a grand total of 35 3DS exclusives.  Of course, we're only counting exclusive games, which leaves out things like Netflix, 4 Swords, and DSIware.

Oh yeah, the 15 minutes I spent on this was totally worthwhile.

[Spenczar]

So, the UI isn't coded to expand automatically?  While this is nintendo's best interface to date, you think they'd listen when people complained about running out of channel windows on the wii..


Personally I'd like  the ability to organize your games/apps somewhat like how the eShop is set up. Where you could select a slot and have many slots within selected slot.  You could organize your apps/games by game or genre or system or  whatever. 

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't think many people complained about running out of channels on the Wii, because you were a lot more likely to run into the storage limit well before that.