What do people think of their 3DS now that they've had them a few months?

[Mac-Rumours]

I've read a lot of review and people's opinions on the 3DS when it first came out but wondered what people think now that they have had the system for a few months already.

Do you get used to the 3D effect or do you prefer to turn it off? Does the 3D effect give you a head ache?

Would you still buy a 3DS now, knowing the specs of the new PS Vita?

 

[MRU]

I bought it day one.

Would I have bought it had it not been for a great trade in offer - prob not.

Pilot wings was the best launch title for me. Though I stopped playing it far sooner than I imagined I would as it lacked the magic of the snes and n64 version.

Zelda by far is the best game on the device, but it's problematic. A lot of th new ideas such as gyroscope feature simply does not work with 3D on. The sweet spot for 3D to work is very small and requires you to keep the machine and your gaze fixed in the same position for it to truly work to it's best, therefore a feature of swaying and moving the handheld around to look around simply ends in the result of a fudged up ghosted view.

Battery life is impacted by the 3D and whilst it's nice to have, no game on the 3DS actually truly 'benefits' from it in any meaningful way - compared to the 2D implementation of the same game (3D turned off).

Zelda looks nicer with it off for example as it almost gives you some AA filtering with it off and it runs a 45-60fps, with it on there is some aliasing and of course frame rate drops to 20-30fps which isnt too bad - but it's a trade off. When accompanied by the other trade offs such reduced battery and gyro features not suited to 3D, then the chances are you are not going to be using the 3D much for long stints at the game. It therefore could be argued that the Major Selling Point of the handheld device is made somewhat redundant really.

As a handheld it's an evolution, but not necessarily a good one over the DSi. Unless we start to see software which truly benefits from the move to 3D without compromising it then the 3DS ultimately 'fails' in it's most important aspect, given the tradeoffs we have already had to settle for (battery life etc.)

Would I recommend folks buy one? Personally unless they get some decent trade in or reduced RRP it is hard to recommend spending €260 on the 3DS over the €120 DSi which has by far a better library of games and 4x the battery life.

Oh and the new protractible stylus on the 3DS is frankly rubbish to anyone other than the tiny handed leprechauns.







That all being said :- Super Mario on the 3DS could be the game that shows off the 3DS and goes beyond just being a 3D novelty / gimmick unlike everything else on the system right now.

I hope they will reduce the price by €100 by holiday / Xmas season, otherwise €260 looks even more ridiculously overpriced when the Vita hits retail starting at €249 with arguably far better specs and bang for your buck.

 

[Gav2k]

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As above.. The window for the 3D to be spot on is small so u suffer eye strain or craps holding position lol.

For me 3D off and all is good!

 

[Mac-Rumours]

I bought it day one.

Would I have bought it had it not been for a great trade in offer - prob not.

Pilot wings was the best launch title for me. Though I stopped playing it far sooner than I imagined I would as it lacked the magic of the snes and n64 version.

Zelda by far is the best game on the device, but it's problematic. A lot of th new ideas such as gyroscope feature simply does not work with 3D on. The sweet spot for 3D to work is very small and requires you to keep the machine and your gaze fixed in the same position for it to truly work to it's best, therefore a feature of swaying and moving the handheld around to look around simply ends in the result of a fudged up ghosted view.

Battery life is impacted by the 3D and whilst it's nice to have, no game on the 3DS actually truly 'benefits' from it in any meaningful way - compared to the 2D implementation of the same game (3D turned off).

Zelda looks nicer with it off for example as it almost gives you some AA filtering with it off and it runs a 45-60fps, with it on there is some aliasing and of course frame rate drops to 20-30fps which isnt too bad - but it's a trade off. When accompanied by the other trade offs such reduced battery and gyro features not suited to 3D, then the chances are you are not going to be using the 3D much for long stints at the game. It therefore could be argued that the Major Selling Point of the handheld device is made somewhat redundant really.

As a handheld it's an evolution, but not necessarily a good one over the DSi. Unless we start to see software which truly benefits from the move to 3D without compromising it then the 3DS ultimately 'fails' in it's most important aspect, given the tradeoffs we have already had to settle for (battery life etc.)

Would I recommend folks buy one? Personally unless they get some decent trade in or reduced RRP it is hard to recommend spending €260 on the 3DS over the €120 DSi which has by far a better library of games and 4x the battery life.

Oh and the new protractible stylus on the 3DS is frankly rubbish to anyone other than the tiny handed leprechauns.







That all being said :- Super Mario on the 3DS could be the game that shows off the 3DS and goes beyond just being a 3D novelty / gimmick unlike everything else on the system right now.

I hope they will reduce the price by €100 by holiday / Xmas season, otherwise €260 looks even more ridiculously overpriced when the Vita hits retail starting at €249 with arguably far better specs and bang for your buck.

Excellent answer, thanks MacRumorUser.

 

[0098386]

Love it. It's not perfect so I'm glad I didn't pay RRP for one (£160 near launch from an online shop). But yup, a worthy successor to the DS. But just like the DS it's had a dry start.

Thankfully that table has started turning around with OoT 3D. Excitebike is also quite fun! I can't wait to see what we get on this device, beyond the basic support of Nintendo's own titles.

It's made me want adjustable 3D displays in all my electronics. Even to the point that its put me on the fence regarding the PS Vita. A might powerful machine but the lack of a 3D display stopped me from putting a preorder down.

 

[JackAxe]

With eShop and Zelda out, I'm really happy with my 3DS. Prior to that, it was something new, but I was mostly waiting for content I'd like, which is a given for any new system.

I got back and forth on the 3D. I found a position on the slider that's good for my eyes where they feel normal, but for Zelda when in aim/look-mode, I turn it off.

Here's hoping they dip the price a bit, so others might buy it. It's a really great portable.

 

[0098386]

With eShop and Zelda out, I'm really happy with my 3DS. Prior to that, it was something new, but I was mostly waiting for content I'd like, which is a given for any new system.

I got back and forth on the 3D. I found a position on the slider that's good for my eyes where they feel normal, but for Zelda when in aim/look-mode, I turn it off.

Here's hoping they dip the price a bit, so others might buy it. It's a really great portable.

That's already happening here. Local game shops have slashed them to £170 (down from 230, so a fair bit!), online prices are slightly cheaper too. I can't see the Vita's margin being as wide, so I can't imagine shops will discount it as much. But unless Nintendo get some AAA stuff out before the Vita then I think we're going to get a very interesting price+title battle.

 

[Liquorpuki]

I bought mine the weekend after it came out. My opinions on the hardware are still the same. I like the 3D effect and I don't get headaches. I also own a Fujifilm W3 so I'm used to and get a kick out of lenticular screens. I still think the gyro and AR on the device are impressive. The accuracy of the gyro is amazing. The AR gaming is fun... the most impressive AR games use cards though, making it a novelty. The dual cameras are probably the weakest 3D cameras you'll find on any consumer device on the market - including low end 3D cameras like Aptek's.

The eShop is cool but I don't care about retro games. I played Excitebike for about 2 mins just to see it in 3D before quitting. I'm not gonna spend money on black and white games that were around when I was in elementary school. Downloading and viewing movie and game trailers in 3D is fun though.

Game selection still sucks but if E3 means anything, there's a turn around coming. I've only bought 2 games so far - Shadow Wars and OoT. Stopped playing Shadow Wars because it's too damn slow but the 3D is awesome. It feels like you're looking into a box. And OoT is the best game on the system right now. Shows what the system is capable of being when you have a killer game on it.

I'm gonna pick up the Vita later when it comes out but I'd buy the 3DS again no question. For those that are on the fence about the 3DS though, I'd say wait until more must-have games drop and then see how you feel.