Nintendo 3DS – First Look
Nintendo 3DS logo
Right away when walking into E3 we saw the line for the Nintendo booth stretching all the way to the door and though we knew there were a ton of games coming out most were interested in getting their hands on the 3DS. The 3DS will offer autostereoscopic viewing which means 3D without the need for glasses and a 3D camera so you can take your very own 3D pictures.
Now when we got our hands on it we were able to see how some of the games worked and most of them looked pretty good in 3D. There is a slider on the 3DS that allows you to adjust the level of 3D so when viewing it you get the best experience. There is also a switch to change between 2D and 3D.
E3 2010 Nintendo 3DS
However, one of the coolest things was the cameras. The 3DS offers one inner camera and two outer cameras with 640×480 (0.3 Mega) pixel resolution. The two cameras, which take binocular images, are important because that is what creates the 3D effect. For example if you take a picture of someone standing with their arm extended you would see the body of the person in the background and the arm and hand of the person in the foreground giving you the 3D effect, pretty cool.
Let’s get down to some stats. The 3DS is approximately 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, 0.8 inches tall and weighs 8 ounces. Its top screen is a 3.53-inch widescreen LCD display, enabling 3D view without the need for special glasses; with 800×240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing). The touch screen is a 3.02-inch LCD with 320×240 pixel resolution with a touch screen. The 3DS game card will be 2GB max at launch.
E3 2010 Nintendo 3DS
As for wireless communication the 3DS can communicate in the 2.4 GHz band. Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems can connect via a local wireless connection to let users communicate or enjoy competitive game play. Systems also can connect to LAN access points to access the Internet and allow people to enjoy games with others and will support IEEE 802.11 with enhanced security (WPA/WPA2). Nintendo 3DS hardware is designed so that even when not in use, it can automatically exchange data with other Nintendo 3DS systems or receive data via the Internet while in sleep mode.
For controls you have the Touch screen, embedded microphone, A/B/X/Y face buttons, + Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons, “Slide Pad” that allows 360-degree analog input, one inner camera, two outer cameras, motion sensor and a gyro sensor. You will receive stereo sound from speakers on the left and right of the top screen.
E3 2010 Nintendo 3DS
In addition you have the 3D Depth Slider to adjust level of 3D effect (can be scaled back or turned off completely depending on the preference of the user), Home button to call system function, Wireless switch to turn off wireless communications (even during game play), Power button. The telescoping stylus is approximately 4 inches when fully extended. As for input/output you have a port that accepts both Nintendo 3DS game cards and game cards for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems, an SD memory card slot, an AC adapter connector, a charging cradle terminal and a stereo headphone output jack.
All in all you have a system that will not only play the new 3DS titles but titles from other DS systems as well and add in the cool 3D camera and it looks as if Nintendo has yet another winner on its hands. Now let’s talk games. We were able to get a list of upcoming titles for the 3DS broken down by the publisher. Keep in mind this is not the final list and of course is subject to change.
| Publisher | Game |
| Activision Publishing, Inc. | DJ Hero® 3D |
| AQ INTERACTIVE | cubic ninja |
| ATLUS |
Etrian Odyssey |
| Shin Megami Tensei | |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Persona | |
| Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor | |
| Capcom | RESIDENT EVIL® REVELATIONS |
| SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 3D Edition (name not final) | |
| Electronic Arts | FIFA Soccer |
| Madden NFL | |
| The Sims™ 3 | |
| Gameloft | Asphalt GT |
| Harmonix | Music game |
| HUDSON SOFT | Bomberman franchise |
| DECA SPORTS franchise | |
| KORORINPA franchise | |
|
KONAMI | Baseball franchise |
| Contra franchise | |
| Frogger franchise | |
| HIDEO KOJIMA’S METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D “The Naked Sample” | |
| PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER franchise / WINNING ELEVEN franchise | |
| LEVEL-5 | Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (name not final) |
| Majesco Entertainment | BloodRayne: The Shroud |
| A Boy and His Blob | |
| Face Racers: Photo Finish | |
| Lion’s Pride: Adventures on the Serengeti | |
| Martha Stewart | |
| WonderWorld Amusement Park | |
| Marvelous Entertainment | BOKUJYOUMONOGATARI 3D (name not final) |
| NAMCO BANDAI Games | Dragon Ball® franchise (name not final) |
| Gundam® franchise (name not final) | |
| PAC-MAN™ & GALAGA™ (name not final) | |
| RIDGE RACER® (name not final) | |
| Super Robot franchise (name not final) | |
| Nintendo | Animal Crossing™ |
| Kid Icarus™: Uprising | |
| Mario Kart™ | |
| nintendogs™ + cats | |
| Paper Mario™ | |
| PilotWings Resort™ | |
| Star Fox 64™ 3D | |
| Steel Diver™ | |
| ROCKET | Crash-City GP |
| VS-robo | |
| SEGA | Sonic (name not final) |
| Super Monkey Ball (name not final) | |
|
SQUARE ENIX |
CODENAME: Chocobo Racing® 3D |
| DRAGON QUEST® franchise | |
| FINAL FANTASY® franchise | |
| KINGDOM HEARTS franchise | |
| Take-Two Interactive | Carnival Games® franchise |
| TECMO KOEI GAMES | DEAD OR ALIVE® 3D (name not final) |
| DYNASTY WARRIORS® (name not final) | |
| NINJA GAIDEN® (name not final) | |
| SAMURAI WARRIORS® 3D (name not final) | |
| TOMY | LOVELY LISA 3D |
| NARUTO SHIPPUDEN ACTION | |
| THQ | de Blob 2 |
| Kung Fu Panda Kaboom of Doom | |
| Marvel Super Hero Squad Infinity Gauntlet | |
| The Penguins of Madagascar | |
| Puss N Boots | |
| Saints Row: Drive-By | |
| Ubisoft | Assassin’s Creed™ Lost Legacy |
| Battle of Giants™: Dinosaur Strike | |
| Driver® Renegade | |
| Hollywood 61 (name not final) | |
| Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon™ | |
| Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory™ | |
| Warner Bros | Batman franchise |
| LEGO franchise | |
Got a question on the 3DS or any of the titles? Send us an e-mail from our contact us page and we’ll get you the answer. As more information becomes available we will bring it to you. For now check out this video from E3 with Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma.
29 Sep 2010, 5:58 am
I want one!