Nintendo 3DS - out now!

[Cullen]

e3src.nintendo.com/3ds/



Friend codes:
Cullen: 5026-4415-3354

[Cullen]

Some games:

Super Street Fighter 4:



Star Fox:



Zelda Ocarina of Time remake



More to follow.

[Cullen]

New Pilotwings!

[Dave]

Really excited for the 3DS.

Firstly I'm stunned by the visuals. Graphics really are not a big thing for me but the footage of Kid Icarus looked amazing. The 3D effect seems to be getting a positive response from those who've tried it which is good.
Game line-up looks promising and I was surprised to hear 3D films will be available on the system which (though obvious really) is surprising because Nintendo usually focus on making just a game system. Really looking forward to taking 3D photos with it too.

Can't wait to get my hands on one.

[Cullen]

Yeah totally agree. I want this now

[kayevcee]

Did someone say "new Kid Icarus"?

The 3DS seems to be the only thing to come out of E3 that anyone's talking about. The other presentations seemed a bit underwhelming- the X-box Kinect sounds like it went over like a fart in a spacesuit I gather.

-Nick

[Dave]

As announced yesterday it'll be released on 25th March. Prices decided by retailer but Amazon and Play both have them for £219.99

Looks like a good selection of games coming in the first few months, though it wasn't said what will actually be available at launch. However Play seem to think the following will be available from day 1:

Pilotwings Resort
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
Super Monkey Ball
Nintendogs & Cats
Gundam

Anything take your fancy?

[Stomski]

£220, for a handheld?

Only exclusive game that takes my fancy is Paper Mario.

[Rich]

Quite a lot of it sounds good to me, but the money sounds very bad (not unreasonable - I just don't have it to spend on computer games), so I will have to resist.

[andrewbcalculating]

The video game podcasts that I listen to have been saying that judging by the Japanese prices, the games could cost between £30 to £50. They've also been saying that because games on smart phones and tablets sell for single figure £ prices, the potentially high prices for 3DS games could put people off getting a 3DS.

Also apparently the battery life for a 3DS with 3D on is 3 to 5 hours.

|<o>|

[Dave]

Yeah the battery life is poo, but then again it is on iThing's and phones so I don't think that factor will be a turn off for people.

The games up for pre-order are £35 - £38 but I think a fairer comparison with IOS/Android/whatever would be the games available to download from the 3DS shop... which um haven't been announced as far as I can see - apart from DSIware which is obviously the same as it is currently. I did see that the shop wont be available at launch though which seems foolish.

I think the price of the unit itself could put people off, but remembering the prices people were paying for Wii's when there was a shortage maybe I'm wrong.

[Rich]

It's got a cool, new gimmick just as the wii did, so I think it will sell at that price point, even with the economy in the shit tube. But, just like the wii, I think it may struggle to shift all but the most high profile games.

[Hero]

£220 is pretty steep for a handheld. IIRC the Atari Lynx was near that price when it first came out.

All Nintendo hardware is rediculously high-priced on release I find (i.e £250 for the N64 and one controller). That 3DS price tag will plummet within the year when more games are available to do bundle deals with.

How much were Wii's on release? I remember them being very sort for when they were new. I never actually paid for mine.

[Rich]

Can't remember the exact launch price of the wii, but it seemed cheap compared to its rivals, thing is, their price has crumbled, but the wii's hasn't. 220 is a lot, but to be fair, the lynx was a long time ago and £22o ain't what it used to be. I'd be surprised if the 3ds is less than £180 in the next 4 years. Unless it's a HUGE flop.

[Jaymz]

Wii was £180 at UK launch.

[Rich]

and the best selling bundle on Amazon is still 160.

[Hero]

It'll definitley go down in price, especially if Nintendo within those 4 years churn out an updated sleeker model (like with the DS).

===KEN

[Dave]

Hmm not even out yet and it's coming down in price. Now £202 on Play/Amazon.

[Cullen]

I've pre-ordered mine from Gamestation. Can't wait.

[Stomski]

Got a mailshot from Nintendo. There are a few 3DS promotional events. Apparently it's invite only, but the following link is available from the Nintendo 3DS UK group on Facebook.

www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/events_31044.html#get-events/h/n

So, yeah, sign up!

[The Doctor]

Not much of a gamer, but this caught my eye. The I saw the price of it and what the games will cost and thought: "No."

-Ralph

[Dave]

I thought someone might knock a further few quid off just to dip below the £200 mark, but £202 still seems to be the cheapest. I've noticed the games have come down though and now are priced £29.99 - £32.99

Also the official launch game list has been announced:

- Pilotwings Resort
- Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever & New Friends
- Nintendogs + Cats: French Bulldog & New Friends
- Nintendogs + Cats: Toy Poodle & New Friends
- Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
- The Sims 3
- PES 2011 3D - Pro Evolution Soccer
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- Ridge Racer 3D
- Super Monkey Ball 3D
- Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
- Asphalt 3D
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D
- Rayman 3D

[Dave]

After posting the above I now see that Amazon have reduced the price to £197

[Cullen]

Really? Might cancel my pre-order, although I would like to have it in my sweaty mits day one. Is that worth £30 though? Hmmm.

Out of that list I think I'll pick up Nintendogs, Pilot Wings and SSFIV. Particularly looking forward to Pilot Wings. I might get Monkey Ball if it reviews well. Loved the Gamecube versions but Wii version was awful and I didn't really like any of the handheld versions either.

[Dave]

Amazon are saying they'll get it to people on launch day if you select First Class postage - a couple of quid more (still comes in under £200). Of course there still could be Royal Mail problems but I've opted for it as I'm also getting two games (Pilotwings and Street Fighter) and so want to save wherever I can.

I too might get Monkey Ball depending on reviews - loved the first Gamecube game (the only one I got strangely) but didn't like the Wii one or the portable versions I've tried.

[Stomski]

Well got a play at the weekend.

The event started with a little museum of Nintendo handhelds, starting with the Game and Watch, Gameboy, Pocket, Colour, Advanced, DS etc. We couldn't use these, but they were nice to look at.

There was then an explanation of the social connectivity of the 3DS. When you have your device in your pocket and are out and about, it will automatically connect with other 3DSs that it can find. It then has a mock game with them that you can watch based on your gamer score. So if you both have SSF4, you get home, open your 3DS and it tells you how well your Mii did.

I can imagine this working well in Japan on the subway, but in the UK, not so much.

We then walked through a curtain where Ryu was posing on a SSF4 set. The music started and out came Ken. A fight ensued with Dragon Punch and all. Well choreographed, but no hurricane kick and the fight time ended just as they were going to do Hadokens at each other. Alas.

We then walked through a Resident Evil theme with grabbing zombies et al. led by some bint with a torch and a Racoon City PD officer.

Finally we actually got to play some games after an introduction by Jonathan Ross (on video).

Available was Zelda:OOT, Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars and others...

I had a go at Ridge Racer, competent racing game with the 3D being highlighted by the car model being in the foreground and when finishing a lap confetti would rain down, a nice effect.

Next was Pro Evo. The camera on the demo was fixed to be behind your player. This highlighted the 3D as all the players were in the distance. Worked really well, but the camera was terrible for defence and I couldn't find a way to change it.

I then moved on to SSF4 to really test out the analogue stick... Doing Hadokens and Shoryukens consistently was a good sign! I was given the choice of two camera angles, classic and dynamic. I went with dynamic so that the 3D could be highlighted and yes, it was.

Moving on from that room I gave Nintendogs and Cats a go. More of the same from the old version, except now my Dog and Cat had an argument. Presumably over which one looked the cooler in their sunglasses that I'd put them in.

Then there were a couple of linked up devices so I played some more SSF4... My opponent was a little frustrated because I knew the special moves. Hrm.

Rayman Raving Rabbids in Time was also available. I gave that a play through the first 2 levels. Standard platforming fare, similar to recent handheld Sonic games, but with less speedy bits.

The 3D camera was cool, but the quality of the actual image was poor. Could be due to the low light.

I then got a play of an augmented reaility tech demo. Place a card with a Mario ? block on it on the table, point the camera and bam, targets appear on screen to shoot. Angle the 3DS around to find more targets hidden behind virtual objects. After a few challenges I then had a augmented reality battle with a dragon coming out of a virtual hole in the table. Pretty cool.

There were some rolling demos of Mario Kart, Paper Mario and Star Fox. And most interestingly a trailer for Sky Movies 3D and Sky Sports 3D. Not sure how you get the media onto the device though, the woman on hand "was not trained for that section".

I then got to go into the 3DS lounge where they had WiFi and Laptops available. I was advised to use Facebook and Twitter as well as the ability to preorder through HMV. Oh, so that's what the event was about, free PR and preorders. Who'd of guessed?!

Any questions?

[blueshift]

Wow!

My main question is was it actually any good? Did the 3d effect work and is it worth the £100 extra it costs than a DS?

[Stomski]

Yes the 3D was good, but as with movies, I start to stop noticing after a while. It really is something you need to try out, but I had in my mind what I expected and it met that.

Not sure it's worth £100 extra simply because the game lineup at launch isn't that great.

Apparently in Zelda you aim with the hookshot by moving the 3DS around. Presumably it uses the camera to figure out where you're aiming (like an optical mouse).

A friend at work asked if I steered in Ridge Racer my tilting the 3DS. No, I used the analogue stick. Tilting the DS ruins the 3D effect as you need to be straight on. Some may see this as a limitation, but really it's not a problem as with a handheld you normally keep at a sensible distance straight on anyway.

[Dave]

Sounds good. Did you try the 3D slider? Just curious how smooth the transition is between different levels - not that it really matters I suppose but it could be weirdly hypnotic.

[Dave]

Just when I think it's got as low as it's going to I see I missed out on Tesco selling the blue one at £157.60 earlier! Might keep an eye out to see if they do the same for the black one (which is actually the one I'm after).

EDIT: Turns out it was an error.