3DS post-release impressions *spawn

[rabidrabbit]

Bought the 3DS and Pilotwings game, also bought Dragon Quest IX (a DS game).
Coming from PSP, which has been gathering dust since the battery died (it's the first model released and bateries for that are hard to find), and iPhone as my previous portable gaming experiences, I think I like 3DS the most. The return of actual physical controls has been a revelation for me; I don't believe in touch only gaming device.
The 3D has been a bit of a hit or miss for me. Biggest flaw is the very limited viewing angle.
For example in Pilotwings I often tilt the 3DS accidentally when making sharp turns so that I wouldn't miss a target, but as I tilt it, the 3D goes messy with serious double image and makes me miss the target. In more relaxed flying it looks nice, not phenomenal but good enough. In a game like Pilotwings where the drawing distance goes far, I need to lower the 3D slider to about half way for the 3D to have enough depth without looking messy.
Still, I don't quite believe in glasses free 3D to replace 3D glasses. The similar depth just isn't there as images extend mainly into the screen, and not that far there either. In 3DS the 3D is a nice gimmick, but I wouldn't buy it just for 3D. In fact I've been playing mostly DQIX, which is a non 3D DS game.
I noticed it's a little bit easier for me to see the 3D, even Pilotwings with 3D slider fully on, if I wear my glasses instead of contacts. I do have a slight 'crookedness' in my right eye (it looks just that bit more to the right) that my glasses correct, but contact lenses don't. I haven't got headaches or eyestrain usin it.
So far I like the system, the built in AR games are fun and it'll be a nice travelling companion

 

[JohnH]

A single parallax barrier is enough for multiple viewpoints, when you shift your position from the middle, the barrier blocks the columns one pixel off from what it should block, so you get inverted depth, but shift some more and it will be two pixels off and your eyes see the correct images again.

Ack, of course, I was fixating on the lens based systems.

 

[pcchen]

Personally I think it's very sad that Nintendo didn't try to incorporate its front facing camera with eye tracking system for better 3D effects. I was sort of expecting them to do that. It's still possible to "fix" this in software, I think, but that'd depend on how fast a face tracking algorithm can be done on 3DS.

Now for my own 3DS impression. I got Puzzle Bubble 3D with the system. I know, it's basically a 2D game. The 3D effect for this game is not very exciting, but it's stable. A few days ago I got Ridge Racer 3D, which is a fun game, but the 3D effect is more troublesome, as when you are playing a racing game you tend to move your head (and the 3DS) around, and that means serious trouble for the 3D effect

The hardware itself seems to be pretty sturdy. I think the Japanese version is identical to the American version, hardware-wise. My only concern is the three small "film" buttons (Start, Select, and Home), which looks fragile. Especially the Home button, which is going to be heavily used. The two "shoulder" buttons also feel a bit loose.

The batter life is of course bad compared to previous systems. However, it's actually not that bad compared to iPhone (if you play 3D heavy games on an iPhone it's not going to last long). PSP is also not much better than this. I played Ridge Racer 3D, which is quite 3D heavy, for about an hour, and the batter life is around 1/4 down from full, so it's probably going to last for about 4 hours if I continue the usage pattern. The AR games are probably going to be worse, though.

Now come to some bad points... First, obviously, many functions are still not available yet (such as the internet browser, downloadable games, etc.), which makes this system feels unfinished. This is not very good for such an expensive system (the Japanese version is even more expensive than the American version). Of course I trust that Nintendo will fix these soon. The second problem is the location of its touch pen, which is awkward. It should be on the side, not in the back, but that's just a minor annoyance. The third problem is that its music playing function stop playing music when I close the cover (means into sleeping mode). Maybe there's some switch to turn this off, but I can't find it. If this is not fixed, it's practically impossible for one to use 3DS as a music playback device, and that'd be a shame.

I have no DS games right now so I can't test its backward compatibility. But I heard that, by default, the game screen is stretched to fill the whole screen and since the resolution doesn't match it's not very pretty. There's a trick to force DS games to run in pixel-perfect format (which makes it not stretched out) but that's also awkward. It should be a switch in the settings, not by pressing some buttons when launching a game.

Overall I think this is a reasonably designed game system. It's expensive, yes, but it also provides something iPhone will not provide, i.e. the controls, and the 3D effect, so the differentiation is there (although I expect more and more games to be ported to iPhone in the future).

 

[rabidrabbit]

...
The third problem is that its music playing function stop playing music when I close the cover (means into sleeping mode). Maybe there's some switch to turn this off, but I can't find it. If this is not fixed, it's practically impossible for one to use 3DS as a music playback device, and that'd be a shame.

I have no DS games right now so I can't test its backward compatibility. But I heard that, by default, the game screen is stretched to fill the whole screen and since the resolution doesn't match it's not very pretty. There's a trick to force DS games to run in pixel-perfect format (which makes it not stretched out) but that's also awkward. It should be a switch in the settings, not by pressing some buttons when launching a game.

Overall I think this is a reasonably designed game system. It's expensive, yes, but it also provides something iPhone will not provide, i.e. the controls, and the 3D effect, so the differentiation is there (although I expect more and more games to be ported to iPhone in the future).

I think I read somewhere, was it in the manual (yes, I'm one of those who enjoy reading manuals for new gear) or in the inbuild 'Help' you get when you touch the parrot, that music indeed is playable with the lid closed.
Did you have headphones connected? It's understandable the music would stop if no headphones were connected when the lid is closed, as the speakers would be hiddden inside and sound quality would be bad.

I have Dragon Quest IX, a DS game, and didn't notice any bad loss of sharpness when the DS3 scaled it. It keeps the aspect ratio intact, so it doesn't stretch the DS games out of proportion. I tried with the native resolution (start the game with Select or Start pressed) and while the image was a bit sharper, it was also too small. So I will prefer to play DS games scaled, as the loss of quality really isn't that big.

Edit: A minor improvement I think would be nice for next 3DS. The 3D slider should have a 'notch' in the middle setting, so that it would be easier to stop there as that setting seems to be kind of "default" for most. Also the slider should be longer, but as it's mechanical and possibly directly controlling the lenticular layer, that might be too difficult to implement while not taking too much space.

 

[pcchen]

I think I read somewhere, was it in the manual (yes, I'm one of those who enjoy reading manuals for new gear) or in the inbuild 'Help' you get when you touch the parrot, that music indeed is playable with the lid closed.
Did you have headphones connected? It's understandable the music would stop if no headphones were connected when the lid is closed, as the speakers would be hiddden inside and sound quality would be bad.

Ah, I see. I didn't use a headphone, so that could be the problem. I'll try it later and thanks for the pointer
I didn't read the manual because, it's in Japanese, and my Japanese is not very good

I have Dragon Quest IX, a DS game, and didn't notice any bad loss of sharpness when the DS3 scaled it. It keeps the aspect ratio intact, so it doens't stretch the DS games out of proportion. I tried with the native resolution (start the game with Select or Start pressed) and while the image was a bit sharper, it was also too small. So I will prefer to play DS games scaled, as the loss of quality really isn't that big.

Yeah, I heard the same thing from others too. Some seem to feel it's very blurry, but others don't even notice that. Personally I think I'd use a larger version too since 3DS's main screen is already small.

 

[Teasy]

Still, I don't quite believe in glasses free 3D to replace 3D glasses. The similar depth just isn't there as images extend mainly into the screen, and not that far there either.

Glasses 3D and Glasses free 3D basically work the same way, so they can both produce good depth/pop out (though the size of the 3DS screen will have some effect on that). While experimenting with the camera I've seen objects coming 4-5 inches out of my 3DS screen, and going very deep into it. It depends on the game/app and how they use the 3D effect, also how close your looking at the screen, look from further away and it'll pop out more.

Try taking a photo of an object close up and then using the slide pad to invert the image so that it pops out.

 

[I.S.T.]

The batter life is of course bad compared to previous systems. However, it's actually not that bad compared to iPhone (if you play 3D heavy games on an iPhone it's not going to last long). PSP is also not much better than this. I played Ridge Racer 3D, which is quite 3D heavy, for about an hour, and the batter life is around 1/4 down from full, so it's probably going to last for about 4 hours if I continue the usage pattern. The AR games are probably going to be worse, though.

The PSP-2000 actually has decent battery life, and if you find an extended life battery, you can get the battery life up to 10 hours or more.

 

[Xmas]

Personally I think it's very sad that Nintendo didn't try to incorporate its front facing camera with eye tracking system for better 3D effects. I was sort of expecting them to do that. It's still possible to "fix" this in software, I think, but that'd depend on how fast a face tracking algorithm can be done on 3DS.

Games typically use a much wider FOV than the angle that the screen covers from the user's point of view. I wonder if eye tracking would require the game FOV to match the actual screen FOV more closely to work well. In that case the small screen would be like a small window, probably too narrow for many games.

Also the slider should be longer, but as it's mechanical and possibly directly controlling the lenticular layer, that might be too difficult to implement while not taking too much space.

I am pretty sure the parallax barrier can only be on or off and interpreting the slider position is up to the software.

 

[Teasy]

Yeah the slider does nothing to the parallax barrier (other then turn it off when its right down). The slider only changes how far apart the two images are in game space.

 

[eastmen]

The PSP-2000 actually has decent battery life, and if you find an extended life battery, you can get the battery life up to 10 hours or more.

there is an extended battery for the 3ds doubling its life also

 

[eastmen]

My gf just went home , we were playing with this alot. We went to toys r us and a few gamestops to meet up with some of my friends ( i worked at gamestop for an umber of years and have a ton of friends that stil work there) s o we were meeting alot of miis on street pass. For the rpg game built into street pass the more you encounter a mii the stronger it will be while in the dungons. All of my friends miis would run away but my gfs who ping me about 6 times was actualy able to fight in the first two levels of the dungon.


I have lego star wars and my gf has the sims. I notice that even while switching off games she holds the 3ds very close to her face while i keep mine pretty far away. I tried playing it like she does but i only see 2 images. So i don't know what hte deal is there. Also i have alot of trouble keeping the sweet spot if i move the console left to right but up and down has no affect on it


So far its alot of fun , a very solid offering and i'm glad i picked it up at launch. I certianly feel that the top screen can be bigger and i will most likely trade this one in when an xl verison comes out down the pipe line.

 

[pcchen]

Games typically use a much wider FOV than the angle that the screen covers from the user's point of view. I wonder if eye tracking would require the game FOV to match the actual screen FOV more closely to work well. In that case the small screen would be like a small window, probably too narrow for many games.

Yes, but even a simple "left-right eye switch" could be helpful. When playing Ridge Racer 3D, it's very easy to be out of the correct viewing position so the images for left eye and right eye are actually swapped so it becomes very confusing, and probably going to cause nausea for some. If it's possible to track the eye position and swap the image (or even adjust the parallax barrier) it'd be possible to allow a wider viewing position. Although I don't know whether it's possible to adjust the offset of the parallax barrier (probably not, as it requires much more stripes in the barrier).

 

[senas8]

Very impressed with 3DS. I bought 4 games SF4,PES2011, Pilotwings,Dinosaurs. I have a 3Dtv and those glasses make me feel like I have sand in my eyes. The 3DS effect didn't bother me almost at all. Resolution is crisp. More than I thought. The games are fun. I'm a sucker for new tech, and will brob try anything new. First time in a long time I put my ipod touch down to play on a new device. The potential for the future with 3D are def. mind boggling. There's def. a sweet spot for 3D or you get 2 images. However I'm comfortable knowing where that sweet spot is. Showed the device to some friends. Their first reaction was its messing with theirs eyes. After about 2 minutes they stopped complaining... they found the sweet spot. So over all I'm in for the long term, and can't wait till more tittles are available.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Bought Ridge Racer 3d today. What can I say, it's Ridge Racer alright, but damn if this game doesn't profit from the added dimension. It feels insanely fast and I'm absolutely loving it. That game also has one bad-ass (if a little short) 3d CGI intro movie.

As for the battery life: it isn't all that bad if you tweak the system settings a little bit. Lower the brightness from 5 to 4, enable energy saving (alters the image a little, but I wouldn't even call it worse. Seems like it's just getting a little bit warmer that way), play with headphones and turn off Wifi if you don't need it. The system should last about 5 hours that way.

 

[senas8]

Bought Ridge Racer 3d today. What can I say, it's Ridge Racer alright, but damn if this game doesn't profit from the added dimension. It feels insanely fast and I'm absolutely loving it. That game also has one bad-ass (if a little short) 3d CGI intro movie.

As for the battery life: it isn't all that bad if you tweak the system settings a little bit. Lower the brightness from 5 to 4, enable energy saving (alters the image a little, but I wouldn't even call it worse. Seems like it's just getting a little bit warmer that way), play with headphones and turn off Wifi if you don't need it. The system should last about 5 hours that way.

Really wanted to pick up a racing game, but having Ridge Racer and Asphalt I wasn't sure which to pick. Your review has me interested in Ridge.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I just connected the 3DS to my WLAN for the first time.
It notified me of an update. Don't notice any other changes by now there's a short 3D demo film in the main menu.
The 3D is more impressive in the that demo film than in the games I've tried, also it doesn't seem to be so sensitive to viewing angles.
Looks very good.

 

[Arwin]

Really wanted to pick up a racing game, but having Ridge Racer and Asphalt I wasn't sure which to pick. Your review has me interested in Ridge.

Asphalt is some lousy port of an iOS game I believe and quite horrible according to impressions left and right, so I'd say Ridge Racer is your only real option.

 

[Sigfried1977]

Asphalt isn't just a 5 dollar game they are trying to sell you for 50, it is a lousy port of a 5 dollar game. The framerate is absolutely horrible and you see whole track segment that aren't even that far away popping into existence right in front of your nose. Add some bad physics and one of the most grating soundtracks I've ever heard and the only sensible conclusion would be to avoid the game like the plague.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

Asphalt isn't just a 5 dollar game they are trying to sell you for 50, it is a lousy port of a 5 dollar game. The framerate is absolutely horrible and you see whole track segment that aren't even that far away popping into existence right in front of your nose. Add some bad physics and one of the most grating soundtracks I've ever heard and the only sensible conclusion would be to avoid the game like the plague.

And it hits the rock bottom of all the (already poor) 3DS line-up.

Gameloft should be ashamed of this, really. Had they launched N.O.V.A for 3DS (with metroid prime controls), it would surely be a must buy.





EDIT:
To further ignite the shame, here's a still from GT for PSP1:

 

[Sigfried1977]

Did anyone here try that Dinosaurs Combat game? Just looked at a bunch of screens and it's actually not half bad looking. I figure since it has Dinosaurs in it, it can't be completely rubbish.