Topic: Nintendo 3DS Specifications Updated

[MaryJane]

The 3DS is using a 1300mAH battery, the PSPhone is using a 1500mAH battery, and that makes it likely that the PSP2 will be using an even bigger battery so it's unfair to say the PSP2 will have any worse battery life, in fact it will probably be about the same as the 3DS.
As someone else mentioned, Nintendo's estimate is likely of the 3DS being fully taxed. Like let's say you were playing a game, and also switching between taking pictures and surfing the internet and playing music, that would probably net you 3 hours, while gaming and interneting gets you 5 hours. Gaming alone would probably bring that up to 6 or 7 hours.

Hopefully Nintendo will release a breakdown (or perhaps NWR can do it if they don't) of how long the battery lasts with each individual task, and with multi-tasking.

[KDR_11k]

Either way it's not as bad as the iPod Touch (2 hours).

2 Hours?! What the heck are you doing with it?

Gaming.

[UncleBob]

I'm not too worried about the battery life.  Because I know a secret.

Lies! You tell us right now or nobody will believe you!

I must admit, my secret isn't all that exciting.  It doesn't have anything to do with Nintendo specifically.  But it's something I'm excited for.

[Kytim89]

I'm not too worried about the battery life.  Because I know a secret.

Lies! You tell us right now or nobody will believe you!

I must admit, my secret isn't all that exciting.  It doesn't have anything to do with Nintendo specifically.  But it's something I'm excited for.

Can you shar it with us, Uncle Bob?

[Spinnzilla]

Nintendo should just package a car charger along with the system.  As I take my DSi with me almost everyday to class I figure a car charger to charge on the way to places will pretty much be required now.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Nintendo should just use standardized ports for charging like almost every cellphone out today uses mini-usb.
They couldn't possibly make that much money of proprietary power cables.

[ThePerm]

Nintendo should just use standardized ports for charging like almost every cellphone out today uses mini-usb.
They couldn't possibly make that much money of proprietary power cables.

well expect that on 3DS second edition

[Kytim89]

Y have feeling that we will be dependant on the charging cradle, which is not what I want from the 3DS because I want to plug directly into the 3DS to recharge the system.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm hoping the charging cradle works exactly the same as my media center for my phone.

It's a stand for the phone and the power cord plugs into it. It's not internally attached so I can detach it and plug it directly into my phone.

[Kytim89]

I'm hoping the charging cradle works exactly the same as my media center for my phone.

It's a stand for the phone and the power cord plugs into it. It's not internally attached so I can detach it and plug it directly into my phone.

This is what I am hoping for with the 3DS. BnM, are you going to get the 3DS on launch?

[BlackNMild2k1]

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/forums/index.php?topic=33053.msg649443#msg649443

probably not.
unless the price is right

[Ian Sane]

I remember a time where we didn't really make excuses regarding the battery life of a Nintendo handheld.  We didn't have to.  Even the conservative number was pretty damn impressive.  If we're now at a point where we're saying "well three hours is with full brightness and all that..." and that really isn't acceptable.  So what is the real number then?  10 hours?  Wasn't that the sort of "worst-case-scenario" battery life Nintendo said about the DS?  So now the conservative estimate Nintendo gave us for the previous handheld is our best-case-scenario "hope and pray" number?

The price is going up and the battery life is going down.  Nintendo has a reputation for being cocky bastards, even when they aren't doing so hot.  I think they're gypping us because they think they're indestructible.  And maybe they'll get away with it.  But then with stuff like the iPod and smart phones now competing for the same dollar, they possibly won't.

[Kytim89]

I remember a time where we didn't really make excuses regarding the battery life of a Nintendo handheld.  We didn't have to.  Even the conservative number was pretty damn impressive.  If we're now at a point where we're saying "well three hours is with full brightness and all that..." and that really isn't acceptable.  So what is the real number then?  10 hours?  Wasn't that the sort of "worst-case-scenario" battery life Nintendo said about the DS?  So now the conservative estimate Nintendo gave us for the previous handheld is our best-case-scenario "hope and pray" number?

The price is going up and the battery life is going down.  Nintendo has a reputation for being cocky bastards, even when they aren't doing so hot.  I think they're gypping us because they think they're indestructible.  And maybe they'll get away with it.  But then with stuff like the iPod and smart phones now competing for the same dollar, they possibly won't.

Nintendo could get seriously burned if they are not careful. Apple is slowly gaining on their terrotory and so Nintendo is going to have to play it smart this time around or they might suffer the same fate as SEGA.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Nintendo could always make the price go higher and make the battery life go up and increase the size of the unit 3X.  Similarly sized electronics have more battery life, don't do 3D, and won't play your Pokemans.

I remember a time when gamers got everything they wanted.  Sony wanted $600 in exchange.

Go fit a cactus up your asses, guys.

[MaryJane]

It's not like the price is going up and the battery time going down arbitrarily.

For those stoked about the 3D aspect, (the single biggest selling point of this system) that is the reason for the rise and fall of the price and battery time, respectively.

Not to mention there are THREE cameras, a richer internet experience (that we need to hear more about), Wifi, another level of wireless communication for StreetPass and multiplayer (an always-on drain on the battery, and I'm just assuming that they're the same radio), lots more software (DS emulation, AR, possible VC), AND better hardware.

It is well documented that Nintendo has gotten by with inferior hardware on their portables, much to the chagrin of certain people "hem hem". So now when they come as close to cutting edge as they have EVER done, people are bitching about the battery! What did you expect?

3 hours of 3D gaming/interneting/photography is pretty damn good.
Unless of course you can tell me about some other dual screen, portable 3D gaming/interneting/photo-taking device that lasts longer on a 1300mAH battery.

Edit: The only real competition Nintendo will have is when Apple releases the 3DiPhone and it can be bought on contract for $300. In the 3D world $300 is a very competitive price, and as I alluded to, there really isn't much else out there in the 3DSs class. Nintendo has done well with release date and price; before most other glasses-free devices, and a one-time price that is in the non-3D, cutting edge, mobile device, price range.

[Ian Sane]

I understand the fact that higher end equipment will eat up more battery life.  But didn't Nintendo more or less raise the price due to the positive reaction from E3?  Could they not potentially improve the battery, keep the price as is, and have a smaller profit margin?  Or maybe they could lower the price to make up for the lower battery life since they seemed to have an entirely different and lower price in mind prior to E3?

The problem is Nintendo having their cake and eating it too.  Either put in a better battery or lower the price.  Don't charge us a big mark up at the expense of a weaker battery.  The same bullshit pissed me off with the Wii, too.  They wanted a low price and a huge markup so they skimped huge on the hardware.

I would also argue that the cameras are a pretty lame feature and that if the choice is between those (which will be as useless as the DS microphone) and a longer lasting battery, the battery should be a high priority.  I would think a beefed up DS with an analog stick and 3D screen would have been a sufficient enough upgrade on its own.

Battery life used to be Nintendo's number one priority with their handhelds.  The whole reason the black and white Game Boy succeeded in the first place while facing competition from backlit colour screen competitors is because it had good battery life.  Making some super beefy mega-handheld that can potentially have a lower battery life than the amount of time it takes to charge seems like the exact opposite of what the Game Boy was all about in the first place.

[MaryJane]

The DS microphone useless??? We're obviously not playing the same games. But even if Nintendo doesn't allow people to email the pictures/video(?), or otherwise remove them from the 3DS (which actually, the PCMagazine impressions say that is the case) they are still used to provide 3D AR.


Why are you surprised that Nintendo wants to make money? They are a business, and as a business there are a number of factors to consider when pricing a product, and public reception/anticipation is one of them. Just like with the Wii, Nintendo is hoping word of mouth will drive system sales.

You may recall that the Wii at E3 received skeptically positive reviews, and flew off the shelves once in people's hands. The 3DS is loved by everyone who has touched it, and so Nintendo is rightly thinking they can sell it for profit and still actually sell it.

And you may also recall that the 3DS was meant to be of a different philosophy than the GameBoy line. Times have changed since the original GB (as you sort of alluded earlier by saying Apple is also competing for Nintendo's dollar) and Nintendo has made a system in response to that change; the 3DS. Like all things Nintendo, it is  a break from the ordinary, like its counterparts it is a powerful little machine whose battery may struggle to keep up with it.

[Ian Sane]

The DS microphone useless??? We're obviously not playing the same games.

Obviously not.  I have never EVER played a DS game that used the mic that did not use it just for some lame ass blowing.  Ugh.
 

Why are you surprised that Nintendo wants to make money?

I am not surprised, I am just upset with their recent approach to making money.  I feel they compromised the Wii significantly by making it as cheap as possible while having the highest profit margin.  The third party support sucks because they more or less refurbished a last gen console.  That affects me as a Wii owner.  I feel like they swindled me.  They gypped me out of the third party that any market leading console should have so that they could skimp on the production costs.  And they got away with it which just gives them further incentive to continue such practices.
 
And now we're seeing the same thing here.  Battery life is really important for a handheld.  And yet they are cranking up the price, based entirely on positive feedback, and the price raise is all profit.  The product is compromised.  The goal seems less to provide a good product and more to provide the cheapest product at the highest profit margin and that any corners that can be cut on the way should be cut.  The goal is to do whatever you can get away with.
 
I feel that Nintendo's focus on casuals has corrupted them.  They prey on an audience too igornant, stupid or indifferent to notice.  Back when Nintendo just made games for gamers, and this blue ocean market wasn't being targetted, they cared about battery life and hardware that had some increased processing power that justified the creation of a new console and responsive controls and games with real meat to them.  I first observed Nintendo jerking their customers around with Pokemon.  They knew the kids who ate that stuff up were stupid so they released all sorts of junk spin-offs and third versions that any fool should now see coming a mile away.  That was a bad sign and, sure enough, once they found another audience that is equally oblivious they started jerking them around too.
 
If back before Iwata took over and started talking about non-gamers or blue oceans, when the GBA was current, if Sony had released a handheld with 3 hours of battery life with a 3.5 battery charge time we all would have ripped them to shreds.  We would laugh at how incredibly stupid such a design would be.  But Nintendo does it and that's all cool?
 
The whole reason I became a Nintendo fan is because I associated them with high quality products.  Handhelds with **** battery life are not high quality products.  They are the sort of **** product that Nintendo fans used to be happy that Nintendo did not make.

[King of Twitch]

Battery life is really important for a handheld.  And yet they are cranking up the price, based entirely on positive feedback, and the price raise is all profit.  The product is compromised. The goal seems less to provide a good product and more to provide the cheapest product at the highest profit margin and that any corners that can be cut on the way should be cut.

WHAT

[Stogi]

Wow, Ian. At first I thought you had a point, but you went off the deep end, pimpin.

I don't know where you get your facts from, but I would love to see the one about "Nintendo inflating the 3DS price due to positive feedback." That sounds like blatant paranoia.

Secondly, you are trying to lump in the Wii, the third party bane - the console which we know you hate but still own for some reason, with a handheld that has seen plenty of third party support already. I don't know what your point is.

Is it that Nintendo is making something of poor quality? Is it that Nintendo is taking advantage of its consumer base? Is it that third parties aren't supporting Nintendo?

Seriously, what is your point?

[TJ Spyke]

I don't know where you get your facts from, but I would love to see the one about "Nintendo inflating the 3DS price due to positive feedback." That sounds like blatant paranoia.

I agree with most of your post, but Satoru Iwata himself said that part of the reason for the high 3DS price in Japan was because of the enthusiastic response to the system at E3: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24211

[GoldenPhoenix]

I'm sure there will be some 3rd party battery solution. Then some individuals can move on to whining about something else.

[BlackNMild2k1]

If we can find a compatible 2300mAh battery, everyone will be happy..... until they see how much it cost.

[Stogi]

In the same report, Iwata commented on opinions that the 3DS price was set too high at 25,000 yen ($300), saying that the system price was set by considering a number of factors, including the enthusiastic response at E3"

Ok, this just proves my point though. This is Ian's post:

"And yet they are cranking up the price, based entirely on positive feedback, and the price raise is all profit."

"Including" to "Entirely"

Paranoia.

If we think about it rationally, Iwata probably set the bar for the price at "We need to make a profit". The engineers probably came back and said, in order to include all our plans, the system will breach our normal price for handhelds. At which point Iwata said "Since the system was so enthusiastically received at E3, we may be able to get away with something higher."

[TJ Spyke]

I personally think the system will be much cheaper here, maybe even $250. That would still be the most expensive Nintendo handheld, but about the same price as the PSP was.