Nintendo 3DS: The good and the bad

There’s been a serious buzz about the 3DS since early last year, when rumours about the handheld first surfaced. Now that we’ve had the chance to spend a bit of proper hands-on time with the unit, we’re getting an increasingly clear picture of where the machine’s strengths and weaknesses may lie. Read on for our thoughts on both sides of the fence.

Good: The tech is genuinely impressive

Above all else, it’s the stereoscopic effect that remains the main feather in the 3DS’s cap. However you may currently feel about 3D, your first encounter with Nintendo’s new toy is a moment you’re unlikely to forget. More encouragingly, the effect remains impressive after repeat visits – though it’s debatable whether anyone’s yet found a genuinely good use for the visual depth. All the same, it’s an impressive trick – and unless Sony is really hiding something, it’s one that the PSP2 won’t be able to emulate.

Good: The connectivity has potential

The 3DS’s Spot Pass and Street Pass functions may be awkwardly-named, but both have the potential to be genuinely innovative. Essentially, the former allows your console to surreptitiously download data whenever you pass a WiFi hotspot, while the latter allows your machine to interact with other 3DS units that come into range. Both features can work while the 3DS itself is in sleep mode, so it’s possible you’ll turn on your machine and suddenly find new levels/content to try.

Clearly it’ll be a while before we see just how these tools can be used, but Super Street Fighter 4’s odd figurine-battling game demonstrates one approach. In a nutshell, you set up a team of fighters, each carrying different stats, then head out into the world and go about your business. When you pass someone else with the game (which will be free to download, even if you’ve not bought SSF43DS), your models will automatically battle theirs. If you win, you’ll gain more figurines to use. It’s a strange idea, but it could work brilliantly with something like Pokemon – and you know that’s got to be in the pipeline, somewhere.

Good: Strong launch window line-up

Only the staunchest of cynics would question the names on the 3DS’s launch window line-up. Street Fighter, Rayman, PES and Splinter Cell are rumoured for release day, with a further 30 titles due for the months leading up to E3 in June. A revamp of Ocarina of Time is among these latecomers; with so many big names aboard most gamers, should have something to look forward to. The other advantage of these ports is that we already have a good idea of what we’re getting – provided the jump to 3D goes smoothly.

While it’s fair to criticise the line-up for being far too reliant upon old material (as I’ll discuss in a moment), the obvious advantage is that these established, successful games can be seen as relatively safe bets for Joe Consumer. If they sell, that will encourage developers and publishers to carry on supporting the platform, perhaps with more original ideas.

Good: Build Quality

There’s something rather sexy about the way the 3DS looks. Clearly it’s not a million miles away from its 2D predecessor – it’s almost exactly the same size as a DS Lite – but the unit has a shiny, sparkly finish. It makes us think of fairground dodgems. There’s something instantly appealing about the new Circle Pad, too – it’s a lot more comfortable and satisfying than the PSP’s little nub.

Aside from the C-Pad, there are also the three cameras to consider, as well as the internal gyroscope and accelerometer. While none of these features are exactly platform-sellers in their own right, they help to create the sense that 3DS is a machine that offers plenty of creative options to developers – especially when you throw in the aforementioned connectivity tools.

Good: You get a free game built-in

One of the better surprises at Nintendo’s recent showcase, Face Raider is a free game built into the 3DS itself. It’s a simple affair, but an endearingly daft one too: first you take a picture of yourself, and then your image is distorted and plastered over floating spheres, creating simple but freaky enemies. The game itself plays out as an augmented reality shooter, with foes laid over the top of a real-time feed from the cameras on the back of the 3DS. You then whirl about on the spot, desperately searching for ugly faces to blast into oblivion… just like you do every Saturday night.

While no-one is going to buy a 3DS for Face Raider alone, it’s a fun little distraction that helps to show off the handheld’s capabilities. Given the inherent problems in advertising a 3D product on 2D screens, it could be a handy selling tool – if only to casual gamers who still buy things from bricks-and-mortar shops (pah, dinosaurs!)

Bad: The Battery Life

Five hours. 300 minutes. 18,000 seconds. However you frame the figures, the battery of the 3DS is a numerical tragedy. And this is the upper end of the scale we’re talking about: The official figure is three to five hours, dependant on the brightness level and whether you’re using the 3D, which is clearly the main reason you’d want to have a 3DS in the first place. Given the diminishing returns of rechargeable batteries – and that you’ll be charging on a regular basis – it’s painful to think what kind of longevity we’ll be getting after 12 month’s use.

It’s also worth pointing out that this is the lowest battery life of any Nintendo handheld, ever. Since the original Game Boy, the big N’s portable consoles have been known for their longevity – but no more. Even the Virtual Boy was supposed to offer six hours of play… provided you could last that long without yakking up all over your shoes.

Bad: You need to keep it still

If you keep the 3DS in front of you, flat, at a normal distance, the stereoscopic effect works fine. If, however, you tilt the unit – even by half an inch or so – the images will start to skip about or double up. While this might sound like a serious problem, it’s not going to be an issue as long as you’re holding the 3DS in a relatively normal way. Nintendo reckons that you should be able to play whilst riding the bus, but I’m not so sure. You certainly won’t be able to use it while jumping up and down on a bouncy castle. And that sucks.

Alright, so that might not be such a serious issue – but I can still see it as a possible source of irritation. It’s a portable games console, for crying out loud; you’re supposed to be able to play it anywhere. Even on an inflatable medieval citadel.

Bad: Where are the new games?

The launch window period may be packed with revamped classics, but there’s a distinct lack of new material on the list of forthcoming releases, particularly from Ninty itself. Pilotwings looks pretty neat, but the long-awaited Kid Icarus seems a bit limited – and the control setup seems tailor-made for inducing hand cramp. It’s not yet clear whether Mario Kart and Paper Mario will be re-hashes or if they’ll contain new content, but I’m crossing my digits that it’s the latter.

Earlier I suggested that the “safe” ports could win easy sales, and thereby foster further investment, and original IP. The counter argument is that successful ports will only encourage further ports. Still, a good revision of Snake Eater is still a more enticing prospect than cheap, original shovelware.

There’s also a disappointing lack of an App Store-like service. Yes, you’ll be able to download titles in the same way you can on the Wii and DSi, but in an age when consumers are used to spending 59p on iPhone apps, it seems like Nintendo has missed a trick.

Bad: My eyes are bleeding!

Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it’s certainly true that playing the 3DS for prolonged periods has a tendency to make people feel a bit… odd. It’s probably pointless to be too specific, as the precise effects seem to vary from user to user, and indeed from game to game. Speaking personally, I find that titles designed from the ground up for the 3DS seem less problematic than certain ports – specifically those where the camera moves around a lot. Ocarina of Time’s Deku Tree dungeon made me feel particularly uncomfortable, for example.

The symptoms seem fairly minor (vague discomfort, rather than an actual headache), so it may simply be a case of learning to adjust to new tech. More than anything else, it just feels like you can’t relax as much while playing a 3D game; that your eyes have to work harder than normal. For the record, this is also how I tend to feel during 3D films (with glasses), so if they give you no bother, you may well be fine.

Bad: The price

Along with the battery life, this is the bone of contention that’s received the most attention over the past few days. Nintendo’s reluctance to declare a European RRP was puzzling; if it was hoping to deflect attention away from the cold figures, it’s clear that this tactic has failed. Select retailers are now offering pre-orders for just less than £200, but this is still a hefty chunk of change. Still, to an extent this criticism is tied in to everything else I’ve mentioned so far. If the 3DS emerges as an indispensable piece of kit, the price won’t matter… much.