Nintendo 3DS Hands On In Tokyo

On March 25th Nintendo will release it's new handheld gaming console, the next generation DS, now in 3D. So is it as good as they want us to believe? Should we trade in our older boring two-dimensional DS's and upgrade to 3D goodness?

In January I was walking around Akihabara's biggest digital tech store and I bumped into the 3DS show stand. Literally bumped into, I was looking the other way at a shiny red Wii (I sold my Wii to help buy a one way plane ticket, worth it but I still miss it...) and I walked into the back of the display. That was how much Nintendo needed to advertise their new console in Japan, everyone knows about it. Walking around the other side I saw there wasn't much of a queue. Ah. Lunchtime. Everyone has lunch at the same time here. So I decided to join the mini-queue and have a little play.

I say little play, and I mean it. I got 2 minutes on the toy, even though there was no-one waiting. Doesn't give people enough time to form a negative opinion after the initial wow factor I'm guessing, or maybe it was because I am obviously a foreigner and nowhere near as obsessed as the locals.

So, 2 minutes. I got to play one bout of Super Street Fighter 4, and I can say I was impressed. The 3D slider probably needs adjustment for every individual but it is hardly a bother, and the 3D does exactly what it is meant to. It really does add an extra dimension to the game. Alas, it is not the third dimension.

When I say that, obviously the 3D effect is 3D as we know it, but this certainly is no Avatar. The 3D did not "pop-out" at me and make me duck and dive as the punches and kicks kept coming (I did pretty badly and lost the first round in less than 15 seconds). What it did do was compensate for the "lack" of graphics. I put lack in inverted commas as this really is a comparative statement, the DS was never intended to compete with console or PC gaming, it is aimed at short semi-intensive play-time fun. Instead, the 3D effect got me more involved in what was going on, even in Street Fighter! I do like it.

However. How should I put this? I hate glossy screens. If there is one thing I despise on a laptop it is a shiny screen. I don't care if it gives me a better contrast ratio, I don't use my computer exclusively with the lights off, and I do open the curtains during the daytime. These glossy screens seem to have a vendetta against me to always shine the light directly in my eyes no matter where I position myself. Unfortunately the 3DS suffers from the same problem. As I moved the Nintendo I would get strip lighting, led lighting and my face reflected back at me. I don't know if the gloss is required for the 3D effect but it really is a problem for me. I fully realise that others don't have that problem and it is not as bad on this console as it is on the Asus netbooks, so definitely try before you buy.

Picture from www.techrepublic.com

Overall I have to say I am impressed with the Nintendo 3DS, but I will not be buying it on launch day. [Incidentally, you may be thinking that March 25th is a strange day to launch something as big as the 3DS, but it makes perfect sense - in Japan. Here the school year ends on Thursday 24th March, so Daddy can by his son the new toy on the Friday after work as a well done present. Lucky Japanese kids.] Much like when the original DS Phat was launched, I will be waiting until at least the second revision. I currently have the DS XL, having upgraded from the DS Lite, and the larger screen size is something I love.

So this is to you Nintendo, make the screen less glossy, and make it bigger and I'll buy it. Heck, I'll buy two, one for me and one for my sister.