I am particularly proud of myself today after managing to mooch my way into an unscheduled Nintendo 3DS hands-on preview session. When discussing the 3DS with a Nintendo PR guy, I mentioned that I have never been a big fan of mobile gaming. At this point he became insistent that I get some time in with the new 3D handheld in some sort of bid to convert me.
The first thing that makes the 3DS stand out from other 3D rendering devices is that it projects 3D images without the need for 3D glasses commonly associated with similar technology. In fact, it is an entirely different application of 3D and doesn’t have the weird blurry imaging and lack of colour fidelity often associated with 3D.
Admittedly, it takes a few minutes to get used to the 3D effect and I spent the better part of my introduction session squinting perplexedly at the image which magically appeared to be jumping out of the screen without any third party visual aid.
The 3DS also features an analogue stick, which could be used to rotate the projected image in the demo I was given. It is a welcome addition to the device’s input array. It is also possible to turn off 3D altogether using a slider.
The top display boasts an impressive 800×240 resolution in full 3D, while the bottom touch screen display is a more sensible 320×240 and is capable of rendering 3D.
My only quibble with the device – and this is shared by other journalists I chatted to – is that at just 3.5” the screen is a bit on the small side. It is slightly bigger than the 3.25” DSi, but a way off the DSi XL which boasts 4.2” of screen real estate. The 3D imaging makes the screen seem smaller than it is, and it quickly becomes saturated when things get busy. Either there was some sort of technological limitation, or Nintendo is holding back for a 3DSXL at a later date. I’m betting on the latter.
Still, for now the 3DS is a pretty impressive piece of tech, and while it has not quite sold me on portable gaming, it came pretty close.
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