The Nintendo 3DS will be backwards compatible with the NIntendo DS and Nintendo DSi software. There will also be a "online store"
What other platforms will be supported on the Nintendo 3DS?
Nintendo has confirmed that the 3Ds will feature similar to the "Virtual Console". Game Boy and Game Boy Color will also be supported and available to download. I currently do not know NIntendo set price for the titles on the platforms I just listed, but the 3Ds will support those systems listed. The 3DS will also include Nintendo DSi Ware.
What features will be included with the 3Ds hardware
Right out of the box you get this:
- You can see 3D images without glasses on the top screen. The 3D effect can be adjusted by a slider on the side.
- A stereographic camera that takes 3D pictures. The two external cameras automatically turn photos into 3D.
- New input interfaces: slide pad, motion sensors, and a gyro sensor.
- Communication while in sleep mode: The 3DS automatically connects to Wi-Fi spots and Nintendo Zones to download game data, demos, and videos.
- StreetPass Mode – Similar to Dragon Quest IX the Nintendo 3DS exchanges data with other 3DS users. This feature works for multiple titles.
- DS functions work within games. You can visit the home menu, notification lists, and internet browser while playing a game.
- Built-in software: Like the Nintendo DSi, the Nintendo 3DS comes preloaded with apps. You can use the Nintendo 3DS Camera, 3DS Sound, Mii Studio, [Crosspass] - StreetPass mode Mii Plaza, AR Games, and a Memory Notebook.
- Introductory videos and rankings can be downloaded from the internet.
- Software purchased on a Nintendo DSi and/or Nintendo DSi XL can be transferred to and from a Nintendo 3DS. There is a limit of how many times you can transfer software, but Nintendo has not announced a number.
- Backwards compatible with Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi games.
- Parental controls can be set for the web browser and what software can be run.
- A Mii editor/creation studio will be available for the 3DS and will avaialble to share with other 3DS users and possible "in-game" functions.
- Tag Mode Functionality: can store data for multiple games at once, and you don’t even have to be playing the game in order for that to happen.
- Selecting notifications from a list.
- There will be 6 augmented reality games included right out of the box.
- A light will be on the upper-right corner of the device, near the R button, and it will show you when another 3DS has passed by you, and that new data has been received.
- All 3DS games can communicate with each other, even while in sleep mode
Nintendo has stated that the Nintendo 3DS will be released on February 26, 2011 in Japan and sometime in March for the US. In Japan the 3DS will retail for 25,000 Yen. This is all we know for now regarding the release date.
What hardware will be included with the 3DS packaging?
- Nintendo 3DS hardware
- Nintendo 3DS charging stand
- AC adaptor for use with Nintendo 3DS
- Nintendo 3DS stylus
- 2GB SD memory card
- Six AR (augmented reality) cards for use with the 3DS’ camera
- Quick start guide
- Instruction book
- Warranty
What are the specifications for the Nintendo 3DS?
- Size: 5.27 in. length, 2.91 in width, 0.82in depth
- Weight: 8.11 oz.
- Top screen is 3.53 in, widescreen and displays stereoscopic images without the need for glasses. 800×240 (400 pixels per eye) resolution.
- Bottom screen is 3.02 in and has a touch panel. 320×240 pixels resolution.
- Wireless LAN supports WPA/WPA2 security keys. A 2.4Ghz transmitter is included for crosspass mode.
- Input: D-pad, A/B/X/Y/L/R/start/select buttons, analog slide pad (360 degrees of rotation), touch screen, internal microphone, camera, motion sensor, gyro sensor.
- Other inputs: 3D Volume (a slider that adjusts the 3D effect), home button, wireless switch, power button.
- Connection: Game card slot, SD memory card slot, ac adapter, charging station, headphone jack.
- Sound: stereo speakers on the top screen.
- Stylus: maximum length is 10 centimeters.
- Battery – Lithium ion battery.
- Game card: Nintendo 3DS game cards, which are the same size as DS game cards. These can hold a maximum amount of 2GB of data at launch.
- GPU - DMP Pica200 IP core
- Camera - One above the top screen facing toward the player for 2D photo and video capture, two on the outside for 3D photo and video capture. 640×480 (0.3 megapixel) resolution each
March 23. The day that Satoru Iwata himself dropped the bomb that Nintendo was creating a 3D version of the most popular console in world history.
The official Nintendo 3DS announcement was bizarrely unbrazen - merely a matter-of-fact detailing.
Oddly, it didn't warrant an explosive E3 reveal - nor a triumphalist gathering of the world's media. Just some plain, unexciting words - and a meat-and-potatoes press release.
The lack of fanfare was more resonant of a new coloured console - or even a revised Stock Keeping Unit. Nintendo may be the ever respectful Japanese company (even when others are pilfering their motion control innovations) - and aren't prone to bombast. But even for Miyamoto et al, this was alarmingly subdued.
Whispers arose that this was Iwata backed into a corner; thinking on his feet to appease shareholders, whilst battling with the spectre of market saturation and a full-blown recession.
Other evidence also pointed to a rush job. The tech behind the device was supposedly a last-minute buy from Sharp; a smash and grab for the mantle of Interactive Innovator as Microsoft and Sony's vultures begun to circle.
And then there was Miyamoto-san. Or wasn't, more to the point. Nintendo's universally loved talisman - whose endorsement is all we need to know there's something special on our hands - was nowhere to be seen.
Today, the smoke finally cleared - and CVG is able to share the truth: 3DS has no chance of emulating the impact big brother Wii had on the video games market four years ago.
It's much more important than that.
For what it represents, for its potential to wow the non-gadget freak while leaving the hardcore open-mouthed - and for being far more than a novelty - Nintendo has pulled out its trump card just when it needed it most.
Five years ago with the original DS, the firm promised us a 'new way to play' video games. Now they've given us an entirely new way to see them, too.
Whilst Sony blares out that it's ushering in the 3D revolution - slapping weighty, £100 glasses on the bridges of our noses to make it happen - Nintendo may have just created the most important piece of entertainment technology in decades.
Attractive, lightweight, (no doubt) affordable, it's a marvel. Those who previously scoffed at the Nintendo 3DS as a 'mere' hardware update will be left dumbfounded.
It may be backwards-compatible with old DS games, but this is a new console - and one that well and truly sparkles with the ageless magic we'd started to worry had deserted Nintendo.
The first thing that hits you is the screen. 3.5 inches wide, it fills you vision in a magnificent way. Make no mistake: Any bigger would be a distraction. We've just seen a special Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater demo, and we're blown away.
A slider on the right-hand side of the machine allows you to adjust the depth of perspective that you require. We begun in Metal Gear in a jungle area - and it took some customising to correct our field of vision. But once we did, the super-sharp splendour that fell out in front of us really was something to behold.
Robust, spiky foliage poked out of the ground and seemed to tickle the back of the DS screen. Meanwhile, arrows flung in our direction soared through the air towards us - from what seemed like 50 metres away.
The neatest touch was some searing orange butterflies, which at one point (in our peripheral vision), we would have sworn actually flew out of the machine. Yes, we ducked.
The one slight letdown of 3DS is that nothing actually 'jumps out' of the screen in your direct line of sight. This is much more about what's going on in the background.
But occasionally, just when you're not looking, something tricks your eye by poking out just to the side of your glance. It's a pleasure to be fooled.
This all has to be taken, of course, in the context of not wearing any glasses at all.
These visuals aren't filtered through clever technology in front of your eye. It's an immediate, comfortable experience - one which it's little wonder third party publishers are flocking towards.
Playing Snake Eater, we also got to test out the new 360-degree stick control, which allowed full command of our vision - something very useful when there's a complete, breathing world in front of your eyes.
It's a comfortable, instinctive control that is less 'clicky' than the equivalents seen on Sixaxis etc., and responds better to a gentle rub in any direction.
We also got to test out the camera - yet another major step forward from anything we've seen before. Considering 3DS is effectively a knockabout, playground machine for all ages - and its camera is a tertiary function - it's astounding.
Two cameras on the back of the device take a snap of your mug, which is then displayed in super-blurry mode on the 3DS's top screen.
Using the analogue control, you then slide the images together until you hit the sweet spot; that perfect blend that shows off the differentiation between you and your background.
No disrespect to Nintendo - they're the first games company to this tech, after all - but when a 'proper' mainstream camera firm gets hold of this and runs with it at an affordable price, it will will change everything.
There's even less in the way of 'protruding' elements - the sort of thing that wowed when you went to see Avatar - with the resultant photos, which rely heavily on a sense of depth from the background of the image. But it's still a stimulating moment to take in your first 3D portrait - all due to a games console previously considered cheap and cheerful.
The final thing we witness is a movie demo: Disney's How To Train Your Dragon. The 3D mixer is all-important again here; the movie made us blink quite wildly until we achieved the right mix.
However, after we'd done so, we didn't need to touch it again - a good sign for those that don't want to be constantly tweaking their entertainment. Tilting the device had a negative - if not catastrophic - effect, and to be fair, the 3D image can put up with a normal bumpy Tube journey's-worth of movement without being greatly affected.
The movie - like the photos - wasn't as revolutionary as Kojima-san's demo, and seemed more like a layered 2D experience.
However, the sensation of - once again - not wearing any filter device and yet experiencing such a thrilling immersion is something we're sure won't wear thin easy. And once the Kojimas of the movie world (hello, Mr Cameron?) get involved, this could really become something special.
Sound was rich and cinematic - helped by Nintendo's investment in pricey BOSE headphones, mind - and certainly as good as anything we've heard through PSP. The image is bright as a button and colours are convincingly high-def.
At this stage, we can't judge the software of the system with any sense of true perspective - but with 73 games in development (including a bunch of classic Nintendo remakes) we reckon there's no real worries on this front.
In fact, we're fully confident that the new software from Miyamoto and Kojima alone is capable of causing revolution. 3D Kid Icarus cannot come quickly enough.
We didn't see the improved WiFi functions - which download extra applications and software 'as you sleep', a la Wii - but connectivity is subscription free: Another big plus point.
In addition, the glossy, dual-coloured shell makes this the sexiest-looking DS yet.
"The best thing I've ever worked with". They were the words of the source who revealed to CVG earlier this year that Nintendo was beavering away on a new DS.
Back then, he couldn't tell us what was quite so special about this beautiful machine - for fear of being rumbled. But today we realise why we'd be fools to argue.
No wonder Nintendo didn't shout about it from the rooftops back in March. Gamers everywhere are about to do that job for them.
