Topic: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

[ShyGuy]

I heard we won't even get 3D on launch day, it's coming in a patch two months later.

[NeoStar9X]

I don't really think the price will be as much of an issue as some think. 

[Adrock]

Me neither. While I think it affects demand, there are still more than enough people who want a 3DS and are willing to pay a premium for one. Each shipment of 3DS will probably consistently sell out for the rest of the year since it takes months to increase production. The difference is that most people who want one before the holiday season will most likely be able to get one at some point this year without having to resort to price gouging sellers on ebay. I don't think it'll be like the Wii at all where even over a year past launch people were having trouble finding one.

[Guitar Smasher]

The difference is that most people who want one before the holiday season will most likely be able to get one at some point this year without having to resort to price gouging sellers on ebay. I don't think it'll be like the Wii at all where even over a year past launch people were having trouble finding one.

Not until Nintendo releases a killer app.  You never know what they'll show at E3.

[NWR_insanolord]

It's bugging me more and more that there's no baseball game at launch. The system comes out less than a week before the start of the season, and baseball seems, at least to me, like it has more obvious ways to be improved by 3D visuals than most other sports (think of the usual view in a baseball game, from the catcher's point of view looking at the pitcher: wouldn't it be awesome to see depth there, from you to the pitcher, and then back to the stadium behind him?). We're getting a Madden game, despite the fact that the season will have been over for almost two months and the new Madden will be coming out just over four months later, but there's no game for the sport that will actually be in season. There's even a Power Pro baseball game coming out in Japan, a Konami series that has been brought to America with the MLB license in the past, but I guess they didn't want the easy money that comes with being in the launch window.

[Shaymin]

2K has the license for third-party MLB games, so Konami would either have to negotiate with 2K (which they did for Power Pros) or Nintendo (who haven't published a licensed baseball game since the N64) to get a new Power Pros out.

As for the sales of the 3DS, it'll be fine. Tech nerds will buy it for the 3D/AR stuff at launch along with the Nintendo fanbase, which will carry it until the first price drop. At that point, it'll be cheaper than an entry-level iDevice and will last longer (5+ years v 2) so parents will see it as a safe investment for the kids.

[GoldenPhoenix]

It is like history repeating itself, I remember people complaining that DS was rushed. Seriously when has NIntendo ever released a product that wasn't at the very least technically reliable. GameCube was "rushed", DS was "rushed", N64 was "rushed", etc etc, and yet all were reliable hardware wise. 3DS will do fine, it has a comparable price to what Wii was, with DS it was only $50 cheaper then GC at launch, and it had hardware comparable to N64. Also keep in mind, people here and elsewhere were complaining about Wii's price, saying it would hurt it, guess what? That couldn't have been further from the truth.

So I think a lot of people will be eating their words.

[Enner]

People like playing doom and gloom forecasters

I don't think there is much doubt that the hardware will be sound. It's the software and the online features that everyone seems to be talking about.

[EasyCure]

It is like history repeating itself, I remember people complaining that DS was rushed. Seriously when has NIntendo ever released a product that wasn't at the very least technically reliable. GameCube was "rushed", DS was "rushed", N64 was "rushed", etc etc, and yet all were reliable hardware wise. 3DS will do fine, it has a comparable price to what Wii was, with DS it was only $50 cheaper then GC at launch, and it had hardware comparable to N64. Also keep in mind, people here and elsewhere were complaining about Wii's price, saying it would hurt it, guess what? That couldn't have been further from the truth.

So I think a lot of people will be eating their words.

For a gothic dark princess, you're pretty positive

Am I the only one really fighting the urge to buy one at launch and wait for a revision? The price isn't an issue, because I know they'll only drop the price of the 3DS (original) when they release a "3DS Lite" meaning you'll still pay the same price for the revision. I just reeeally hate having to wait for the inevitable. I don't wanna pay for a slightly different, but ultimately superior, version twice ya know? At the same time I'm sick of missing out on so many games; I didn't buy a DS until Mario Kart DS came out which was right around the time the DSL either came out or was announce (and I had no idea, so I bought the red DS PHAT) and because of this I missed a lot of those launch games because once I got into it, there were bigger and better games out.

I've never been a big portable player so while I've had interest in checking out some older games (even the Mario 64 port for some odd reason), and I'm sure it'll be the same thing with the 3DS; I'll buy it, and only own a handful of games, most of which I'll never even complete. Why go through that again? Why spend the money on a new handheld and a few new games? Because Nintendo has become a drug to me and I know down the line I'll need my fix.

This thing comes out in March? Is that just the Japanese launch or is that US as well? I haven't been following the news much because I'm really trying to stay off the wagon. Besides a slimmer form factor, what do you think the revision will have? Maybe a second front-facing camera? I don't think thats even worth it for me, i barely use the camera on my DSi.. should I just wait or should I just cave in and preorder one now!?

I think we need a forum support group. Who wants to sponsor me?

[GoldenPhoenix]

Yeah waiting for a revision is something I can understand, it is sad that it is the norm for about every system out there. It is no longer a slight redesign of the "look" of the system, but better features, most of the time things that should have been included in the first place.

I guess with 3DS I don't see anything that is really glaring besides the battery, and I have no doubt there will be a 3rd party solution to that.

It comes out at the end of March in the US.

[BlackNMild2k1]

2K has the license for third-party MLB games, so Konami would either have to negotiate with 2K (which they did for Power Pros) or Nintendo (who haven't published a licensed baseball game since the N64) to get a new Power Pros out.

Don't forget that Nintendo has a completed baseball game that was supposed to come out a while ago just sitting on the shelves back @ Nintendo HQ.

[Flames_of_chaos]

Yeah waiting for a revision is something I can understand, it is sad that it is the norm for about every system out there. It is no longer a slight redesign of the "look" of the system, but better features, most of the time things that should have been included in the first place.

I guess with 3DS I don't see anything that is really glaring besides the battery, and I have no doubt there will be a 3rd party solution to that.

It comes out at the end of March in the US.

Even though Nintendo was revision happy with DS, I can't see them revising the 3DS that much. With the DS redesigns, you saw that Nintendo made  better screens, slimmed it down, added multimedia features, and digital game downloads. With 3DS they are having all that functionality and more from the get-go, any other feature they would want on the system can be technically included via a firmware update, the original DS didn't have the luxury at all and thus you saw all these revisions for all of these functions. The only thing that can be considered missing on the 3DS is bluetooth which could of been useful for some kind of peripherals, then again that kind of feature can be built into 3DS game carts for games that would require it just like the Pokemon typing game for the DS.

The only revisions I can possibly see is a XL model with a slightly higher battery capacity, but that might on the other hand I don't really see that happening, because a bigger 3D LCD would probably be too expensive for that to become a reality (at least for a while).

[BlackNMild2k1]

what about  an inward facing 3D camera set-up for video chat? How about added RAM for improved OS background operation. More onboard flash built in. New and improved screens with wider viewing angles. All of those would be good for a revision.

[GoldenPhoenix]

what about  an inward facing 3D camera set-up for video chat? How about added RAM for improved OS background operation. More onboard flash built in. New and improved screens with wider viewing angles. All of those would be good for a revision.

Those really aren't that important except for better screens. Also Nintendo doesn't seem overly big on adding more flash memory to systems, they'll just have a solution like the Wii has. And background OS, I doubt it will be slow in the first place, Nintendo usually is quite good about making responsive menus.

[Flames_of_chaos]

what about  an inward facing 3D camera set-up for video chat?

I can't see that happening.

How about added RAM for improved OS background operation.

Technically Nintendo can lower the OS RAM footprint if they ever needed it, but I highly doubt that Nintendo will improve the RAM on later models for OS background operation since that can easily divide the user base in a significant manner.  Anyways Sony improved the RAM from 32MB to 64MB when transitioning to the PSP-2000 and later models but the extra RAM was only used for UMD caching in an attempt reduce load times.

More onboard flash built in.

Since games supposedly are able to be executed straight from an SD card this would be pointless. In addition to that, this generation all of Nintendo's devices all had the same amount of internal storage available. 

New and improved screens with wider viewing angles.

With the nature of the 3D technology that Nintendo is using, it's would be hard to achieve a better viewing angle for the 3D effect.

[BlackNMild2k1]

When the DSi released, it had more RAM inside and the addition of cameras.

I could see a 3DSi getting released that not only has a new updated screen with slightly better viewing angles, but more ram and a 3D inward camera.

The extra RAM could be used for all sorts of camera related things including video chat and 3DSi enhanced casual games.
More internal flash added ontop(and extra GB or 2 will cost nothing) of that and you have a bunch of bullet points to justify a slightly higher price than the original 3DS at launch.

[GoldenPhoenix]

When the DSi released, it had more RAM inside and the addition of cameras.

I could see a 3DSi getting released that not only has a new updated screen with slightly better viewing angles, but more ram and a 3D inward camera.

The extra RAM could be used for all sorts of camera related things including video chat and 3DSi enhanced casual games.
More internal flash added ontop(and extra GB or 2 will cost nothing) of that and you have a bunch of bullet points to justify a slightly higher price than the original 3DS at launch.

The DSi had more ram because it had a whole new user interface and more features. It was basically a bridge system between DSi and 3DS.

[Adrock]

I was playing with my DSi the other day and I really like the form factor. It's simple, minimalistic, and the matte finish is a much better choice than the glossy outer shell of the DS Lite. There's really no way to make the DSi any more compact than it already is. Besides potentially cutting some depth (the space above the top screen and below the bottoms screen), the 3DS is pretty compact. I'm not sure a Lite version is even necessary. If anything, I think a revision similar to the backlit GBA is more likely where it looks the same aesthetically but some of the insides have been changed for the better. Obviously, with time, the chipset can be made smaller and more energy efficient and with that extra space a larger battery could even be put in, further improving battery life.

Additionally (and less likely), Nintendo could skip the Lite stage and go right for a DSi-esque revision with bumped up specs. In my little dream world, I would hope for larger higher-res screens with the extra RAM and processing power used to take advantage of said screens instead of just larger screens at the same resolution like DSi and DSi XL. I'm not suggesting 3DSi (for lack of a better name) specific titles. Rather, games could run a 3DSi-mode for sharper visuals. Better screens would also call for better camera and a larger form factor would allow for a much large battery. This could also bridge a graphics disparity between 3DS and NGP. Wishful thinking, but it's fun to think about. I would totally buy this version, no question.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Here is part of the reason I'm in no rush to buy the 3DS and I'm sorta hoping for a 3DSLite redesign if not a 3DSi one instead.

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interview.html#/how-nintendo-3ds-made/2/0

I wanted to change it more. I thought about a completely new three-layer structure that you see when you closed the system. Each layer would be a slightly different color in a three-tone gradation.



There were also reasons of functionality for having three layers. For the top layer, we want players to open their Nintendo 3DS system very often, so in order to make it easy to open, we wanted to use a distinct reverse taper.

[...]
By boldly using that shape for the top layer, without having to add in a niche for your finger, you could easily open the lid at any point along its edge. For the second layer, it was decided to put a sound volume slider and LED lights on the side, so in order to avoid accidentally hitting buttons when operating the system or carrying it around, we decided to concentrate them on that single layer and make the whole layer a bit of an indentation, which would make the top layer even easier to open.
[...]
Then for the bottom layer, I wondered if we could adopt something like the sign system at airports. I thought putting icons or lettering on the third level for the buttons and LED lights on the second level would be a good way to make everything clear to users.

I would love for a more flush like design. Something that doesn't have 3 distinct layers and a top that sticks out. I would also like for the analog slider to be the same color as your system. Not sure if those are things that would be addressed in a redesign, but those are reasons that I won't be lining up on Day 1 to go pick one up unless some really enticing can't miss software makes its way to launch.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Here is part of the reason I'm in no rush to buy the 3DS and I'm sorta hoping for a 3DSLite redesign if not a 3DSi one instead.

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interview.html#/how-nintendo-3ds-made/2/0

I wanted to change it more. I thought about a completely new three-layer structure that you see when you closed the system. Each layer would be a slightly different color in a three-tone gradation.



There were also reasons of functionality for having three layers. For the top layer, we want players to open their Nintendo 3DS system very often, so in order to make it easy to open, we wanted to use a distinct reverse taper.

[...]
By boldly using that shape for the top layer, without having to add in a niche for your finger, you could easily open the lid at any point along its edge. For the second layer, it was decided to put a sound volume slider and LED lights on the side, so in order to avoid accidentally hitting buttons when operating the system or carrying it around, we decided to concentrate them on that single layer and make the whole layer a bit of an indentation, which would make the top layer even easier to open.
[...]
Then for the bottom layer, I wondered if we could adopt something like the sign system at airports. I thought putting icons or lettering on the third level for the buttons and LED lights on the second level would be a good way to make everything clear to users.

I would love for a more flush like design. Something that doesn't have 3 distinct layers and a top that sticks out. I would also like for the analog slider to be the same color as your system. Not sure if those are things that would be addressed in a redesign, but those are reasons that I won't be lining up on Day 1 to go pick one up unless some really enticing can't miss software makes its way to launch.

I better hold off on one too, I want the analog stick to be multicolored, and the system to have my name on it. Those are big deals to me!

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm not too fond of that design, but I know there's no way I'm going to be able to wait for a redesign, or even a price drop, so I'm just going to go ahead and buy it right away.

[Caterkiller]

I wont be a sucker this time around either! I'm only buying one at launch!

[BlackNMild2k1]

I better hold off on one too, I want the analog stick to be multicolored, and the system to have my name on it. Those are big deals to me!

Be sarcastic all you want, but unless there are all sorts of software that I just can't wait to have at launch (we still don't know what is going to launch with the system), then I can wait till Xmas when someone else will buy it for me. I'm not too fond of how the system looks and would love for a slight re-design. If it doesn't come before the must-have software, then so be it, but I have no problems not rushing out on Day 1 at this point.

[Stratos]

I didn't rush out on day one for any handheld. And I recall the launches for both the GBA and DS had lackluster launch titles. GBA's standout was Castlevania and DS didn't have a true exemplary title until Mario Kart in my opinion. Nintendo seems to launch their handhelds with remakes.

GBC had Link's Awakening DX
GBA had Mario Brothers 2
DS had Mario 64 remake
Now 3DS has StarFox and Zelda64 (and maybe Pilotwings)

Or am I forgetting some titles?

[King of Twitch]

GBC had Super Marry-oh Brothers DX

Or am I forgetting some titles?

Fixed; and you forgot Gamecube: had Resident Evil Starring Luigi