Nintendo 3DS Review | Digital Trends

Nintendo 3DS

“The Nintendo 3DS is a powerful and unique gaming device that will enthrall gamers, despite its poor battery life and weak camera.”

Pros

3D works well
Much more powerful than the DS
Incredible amount of potential.

Cons

Very short battery life
Low-resolution camera
Missing a lot of software

Whether you love the company or hate it, it is hard to deny that Nintendo is currently the king of gaming systems. Arguments can be made against them, especially when it comes to pushing the boundaries of the industry, but it is hard to overlook the insane amount of success the company has had recently with the Wii and the Nintendo DS.

The look and design

The design of the 3DS is slightly bulkier than the original DS by necessity, in order to fit the new 3D cameras on the front as well as the 3D screen. To be fair, the previous DS wasn’t the most comfortable device ever made, and it was never really a good fit to throw in your pocket. It could be done easily enough, but the square edges and overall width of the device made it easer to carry in a bag. The 3DS is worse.

The 3DS is just a larger device. It’s still light weight, and it isn’t really an issue to stick it in your pocket, but it is uncomfortable, and should be done only with baggy clothes, or you risk damaging the device and possibly your poor, unprepared leg. The hardware jammed inside makes this a necessary evil, but rounded corners would have been a nice addition. Still, no one is going to pass up a 3DS just because it is an awkward fit in the pocket.

Along with the added size, there are a few new improvements, though. The first is the inclusion of sliding bars that control the 3D image strength, another for the volume, and one for the Wi-Fi. The slides are easy to use, and well located. Another addition is the analog circle pad. The D-Pad has always been a source of pride for the DS, and the 3DS builds on that with an analog stick that reacts well and encourages smooth movements. It makes complicated moves in games like Street Fighter IV fairly easy, and the slight resistance is a perfect balance for movement.

The shoulder buttons — once a source of annoyance on the DS — have been raised and make a click to indicate that they have been pressed. It sounds like a minor addition, but it transforms the shoulder buttons from an irritation into an integral part of the DS.

The touch screen is something of a mixed blessing, and Nintendo designed the device to require a stylus. That isn’t a bad call, especially for some of the games and software coming out for the 3DS, but in a world that is going more and more touchscreen crazy, most gamers will simply use their fingers. The 3DS will usually be alright with that, but it’s not designed for it, and that occasionally shows. The touchscreen also comes with a start, select, and home key, all of which are good to have, and yet all of which require an odd amount of pressure to activate. That is a minor quibble, but it could lead to the keys wearing down sooner than they should.

The 3D in 3DS

The first thing most people will want to know about the Nintendo 3DS is simply “How well does the glasses-free 3D work?” The answer in a nutshell: It works very well, but you have to be prepared for the realities of it.

The 3DS uses what is called autostereoscopy, which is a style of 3D similar to the 3D you see on printed 3D images. DVD and Blu-ray covers, for example, use stereogram 3D, which is similar in the sense that if you move from side to side, the 3D image disappears.

When you are playing a game on the 3DS, especially one that requires a lot of movement, you will frequently move the device just enough that the 3D effect will disappear. It just happens, and it is inevitable with the technology. But putting that aside, the 3D can also be awesome at times.

A lot of the success of the 3DS will come down to the games themselves, but the technology is there and ready. Sometimes the image can be overwhelming, reminiscent of the old 3D images made of dots, which forced you to star at the center and relax your eyes to see the full image. The same is true with the 3DS, but the sliding bar that controls the intensity of the 3D can help with that. The system also recommends that you rest your eyes for 10 minutes for every 30 minutes of gameplay, and it is a warning you should heed, or risk eye strain and headaches. It isn’t something that will always happen, but it will happen now and again.

Wi-Fi

The 3DS has a Wi-Fi option that is better than the DS. Along with a more streamlined friends software setup, it makes gaming with friends much simpler. However, the range seems limited to about 20 feet away at most, and for a strong signal you should be within 10 feet. With no 3G connectivity options, this may turn off some gamers, but that is more a limit of technology in general than a problem with the 3DS. That might sound slightly like an apologist’s approach to the 3DS, but the Wi-Fi connectivity generally works extremely well, and offers a lot of potential for the device, even if its range puts it on a short leash.

Battery life

But then we come to the battery. You can almost be certain that of all the reviews for the 3DS that come flooding out over the next week or so, there is one thing they will all be united on, and that is a loathing of the short battery life. Nintendo claims that the battery is good for around five hours of use, and that is being generous. If you are using it fairly intensely, with the brightness turned all the way up, the volume at full, and the 3D as high as it can go, plus you are connected via Wi-Fi, you will probably run out of juice in less than three hours.

The 3D simply drains the power from a device, and to use a longer-lasting battery, it would significantly impact the weight of the handheld. We still expect to see third-party manufacturers jump to correct this issue with additional and replacement batteries, but to replace the battery you would need to open the case — it is not designed for people to switch them out.

Most people will find themselves frequently relying on the charging cradle, and Nintendo wanted to make that as painless of an experience as possible. While it is still possible to plug the 3DS directly into a wall socket, you can also charge the device by simply setting it in the cradle and letting it power up. From empty to full will take around three hours.

But for as much focus as the poor battery will draw, it is important to note that you can extend the life significantly by simply turning off the 3D. In fact you can extend it by almost twice the life.

Camera

Another addition to the 3DS is the 3D camera, which uses two small lenses on the outer case to take pictures. Playing with the 3D camera is a lot of fun, and the pictures are often amazing, but the poor camera quality limits this from being little more than a gimmick. Along with an inward facing third lens, the resolution of each camera is 640 x 480, with a .03 mega pixel count.

Display

Nintendo has improved the display significantly from 256 x 192 resolution on the original DS family has been replaced by 400 x 240 per eye, which the brain processes as 800 x 240 pixels. It is something of a cheat to use the 800 x 240 listing, but however you label it, the display is much improved. The improvement of 16-bit color to 24-bit color capable of 16.77 million colors also helps.

As a result, many games look awesome. Nintendo has never been over concerned about graphics, but they look impressive at times. Again though, much of that comes down to the software, and thanks to backwards compatibility with the DS, even older games will look a bit better, although they are not 3D compatible.

As far as memory goes, the SD card slot means that the amount of memory will be up to you. Data from older DS systems can be wirelessly streamed from DS to 3DS, so switching cards won’t be an issue.

The software…what there is of it

This is where Nintendo stumbled. The games are a different issue, and we will review those separately, but the missing software is just sad for launch day. The most notable absence is the missing Internet browser, even though there is an icon for it on the 3DS that when pressed offers a message that it will be coming soon in a future update. The Nintendo eShop is also a sad omission, ad although both are promised to be on the way, it makes the 3DS feel slightly rushed to market.

Still, that is the risk of buying any launch-day hardware. When you throw down your cash for a device like this, you are betting on the future of that device as much as what you will get out of the box. The 3D offers some intriguing possibilities, and the announcement deals with several Hollywood studios will soon bring feature-length 3D movies to the device. The promised ability to stream Netflix is also exciting, in theory.

In general though, the software included is an improvement on older Nintendo software of a similar nature. The Mii Maker is easy to use, the Street Pass is streamlined, and the 3DS will also be able to look for hotspots and connect while in sleep mode in order to keep you updated.

The software that was included all seemed responsive and easy to use, and you can back out of any program — including games — and still have them running in the background, but to open a new program will force you to close out. It is a touch annoying to constantly have to say yes to backing out of a program you just exited, but it will save gamers a ton of frustration if they accidentally hit the Home key, or just wanted to see if their friends are online.

Overall, the software is solid, there just isn’t much of it. The future is bright for the 3DS, but the launch day offering is a bit skimpy.

Conclusion

The 3DS is simply a fun device with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, we will have to wait a bit to see much of that promise realized, but the potential is definitely there, and Nintendo has claimed that it is not a matter of if, but when the 3DS will receive the software love it deserves.

The main selling point, the 3D works well — sometimes too well and it can give you eye strain, but the adjustable bar is there to ease that. The display looks very good, and the 3D is impressive. The camera, however, is not. It is fun to take 3D pictures, but if you can display those same pictures in a different setting — on a TV for example — they look grainy and off.

The controls are an improvement from the DS, both with addition of the analog stick, and the better buttons. The biggest issue with the 3DS though is the battery, which will drain away quickly if you are using the 3DS at its most power hungry settings.

The 3DS is no doubt bound for success. It takes what worked with the DS and it improves upon it. Many people might be slightly disappointed on launch day, but given time to grow, the 3DS could once again solidify Nintendo’s first-place hold on gaming.

Highs:

3D works well
Much more powerful than the DS
Incredible amount of potential.

Lows:

Very short battery life
Low-resolution camera
Missing a lot of software