A few reasons why you shouldn’t buy the Nintendo 3DS simply for the 3-D.
This editorial was written by Andrea Campton and does not necessarily reflect the thoughts and opinions of the NintendoGal.com staff.
If you’re thinking of buying the Nintendo 3DS simply for the stereoscopic 3-D, I have one word of warning, don’t. I’ll preface this by first mentioning I was skeptical about everything that was 3-D. Then I saw the 3DS for the first time at E3 2010 and it blew me away. There it was, 3-D clear as day right in front of my face. My first experience with seeing 3-D was impressive and memorable. It brought a smile to my lips, which undoubtedly is Nintendo’s plan, bring more smiles to the consumer. Unfortunately, it also had the side effect of making me think about the longevity of the experience.
At its current state, 3-D as a format has many issues to overcome. There are people who suffer from a number of negative side effects when viewing 3-D material. These symptoms range anywhere from light eye strain, to full blown nausea. For others, they simply cannot perceive the 3-D due to peripheral handicaps. This is just the negative side effects of 3-D in general to speak nothing of coupling these with a handheld.
It's not her Spider Sense going off...
Although 3-D is being pushed by the film industry, the rate of adoption of 3-D viewing devices isn’t as high as desired. This could lead the current state of 3-D being nothing more than a gimmick and fad. While content is being pushed out more and more, I have to stop and wonder how much of that has been converted just to cash in. Other pieces of content while displaying a wonderful effect at first, after continued viewing simply become part of the scenery and expected. With how gaming experiences are, I believe this same issue may come to pass on the Nintendo 3DS.
From many impressions of experiences with the 3DS so far, I’ve noticed that many focus on the 3-D effect. It’s not that surprising considering it could be many first time impressions of 3-D. Unfortunately the other features are simply bullet points and check lists. I’d argue however, that the other features in the huge list of what the system can do are the strongest points. For instance, the system is capable of using the cameras to create augmented reality games. While this may seem gimmicky at first, it has potential to create new gameplay experiences in the future. There’s also the fact the system has a much improved CPU and GPU over the DS family, which give it more power to make 3DS games look beautiful.
Augmented reality cards
The beefier system and of course 3-D effect has also caught the eye of developers. Unlike the Wii and to an extent the Nintendo DS, it seems many game makers are behind the system from the get-go. This means not only will there be potential for traditional games and franchises, but also new experiences because of such support. Companies will also be able to not worry about older Nintendo DS titles not working on the system since they’re all backwards compatible. As a gamer, this means not only will the DS library be available, but also games on the 3DS Virtual Console service too.
There is no doubt in my mind that Nintendo is a company that is decent at keeping the ball rolling on thinking about how to perpetually put smiles on faces. The history of the company is one of innovation and surprise when it comes to technology usage. In the end however, they’re a software company that happens to sell hardware and it’s a huge strength. Once the 3-D hype dies down, you’ll be left with a system that has Nintendo making fun things to do on it. Just don’t buy it for the 3-D only. With that said, I have a message to Nintendo:
the people who have physical problems with 3D are less than the people who are color blind
did you ever wroe an article about not to buy the Wii because some people might not be able to see the colors?
Please read the entire article.
I basically state that 3-D isn’t the reason to buy one, but the other features are.
“In the end however, they’re a software company that happens to sell hardware and it’s a huge strength.”
nintendo isn’t a software company; it’s a video game company.
Nintendo Software Technology is an American-based first-party developer for the Japanese video game corporation Nintendo.
cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Software_Technology
i got confused a little bit because i didn’t know if you were talking about Nintendo or Nintendo Software Technology.
i have read about people getting headaches or sometimes feeling nauseous after they’ve played the 3ds. i’ve even read a blog post about someone who wore prescription glasses while playing the 3ds with the feature on, but couldn’t see the 3d effect to his misfortune. it’s rare, but it happens to some who wear prescription glasses. he almost made me reject ordering the 3ds, but someone pointed out in the comment section that he saw someone else wearing prescription glasses and those people saw the 3d effect just fine. it depends on you personally. here’s the source: http://gamerant.com/nintendo-3ds-glasses-phil-65202/
good heads up post anyway
.
I was discussing Nintendo’s philosophy from a book I read which talks about their culture. In it, they talk about how Nintendo (as a whole) in Japan, is software orientated. Thanks for the comments on the article!
lame excuses!
” These symptoms range anywhere from light eye strain, to full blown nausea. For others, they simply cannot perceive the 3-D due to peripheral handicaps. This is just the negative side effects of 3-D in general to speak nothing of coupling these with a handheld.”
I guess people with epileptic problem shouldn’t watch tv or buy consoles! Everyone is different man, obviously if you wear glasses and you stare at 3D TV, you’ll likely get problems. Not everyone will succumb to the eye strains.
“Other pieces of content while displaying a wonderful effect at first, after continued viewing simply become part of the scenery and expected. With how gaming experiences are, I believe this same issue may come to pass on the Nintendo 3DS.”
That’s a bad excuse, I know what you mean and it’s all about eye adjustment. Take a game in 60fps for an example; within a couple of days or hours; your eyes will adjust to 60fps and you won’t feel the smoothness all the time and it will jus become bland to you.
The only reason I’d say people to avoid the 3DS is the failure Circle Pad, weak features and functionalities and coal mineral operation. Seriously the camera megapixel was not impressive, not even better than iPhone:/
I never once said no one should buy the 3DS. I said they shouldn’t buy it for simply one specific reason. The other reasons justify the purchase.
Agreed, there are plenty of reasons other than 3D to purchase the 3DS. The options developers have to create unique gaming experiences are plentiful. The 3D is just the sweet, sweet icing on top.
you can turn the 3D off with the 3D depth slider whenever you get some eye strain and if you have little kids there are parental control settings. The 3DS has a built in pedometer that awards you for excercise so it encourages people to walk with it