What We Now Know About 3DS

Feel free to add any points I've missed. But after the e3 session today, we now know:

* The official name is indeed the 3DS

* The leaked diagram was pretty close to accurate, except it exaggerated how wide the top screen is. But the top one is wider than the bottom one.

* Top screen only is 3D; bottom is touch

* Fully backwards compatible with DS

* The top screen is 3.5 inches....which means it is shrinking significantly from the XL's size of 4.2 inches.

* Has an analog stick

* Has a slider that allows you to determine the degree of the 3D effect, and even turn it off

* Looks quite similar to the glossy XL

* Has THREE cameras....one on the inside, two on the outside so that you can take 3D photos and view them in 3D.

* Has the ability to show movies, including Hollywood 3D movies.

Couple more things:

* Motion sensor

* Gyro sensor

* Free wi-fi capabilities

* Wifi stays connected and allows downloads in a game even when you're doing something else. For example, he said while you're playing one game, another game might be downloading new stages for you.

You forgot theres going to be Kid Iracus, Resident Evil, MGS, Kingdom Hearts, Professor Layton and more near launch as well

I was hoping for a release date too, but I guess that'll come at a later date. I want to see some upclose pictures of the system though. The conference didn't do justice on that aspect.

I was hoping for a release date too, but I guess that'll come at a later date. I want to see some upclose pictures of the system though. The conference didn't do justice on that aspect.

soulless4now

All of the journalists are noting that they did not give a date or price.

[QUOTE="soulless4now"]

I was hoping for a release date too, but I guess that'll come at a later date. I want to see some upclose pictures of the system though. The conference didn't do justice on that aspect.

RichardWrite

All of the journalists are noting that they did not give a date or price.

To be fair, the Kid Icarus trailer did say "Coming Soon" at the end

I'm holding onto my Fall 2010 predicition and my no more than $199 bet

[QUOTE="RichardWrite"]

[QUOTE="soulless4now"]

I was hoping for a release date too, but I guess that'll come at a later date. I want to see some upclose pictures of the system though. The conference didn't do justice on that aspect.

All of the journalists are noting that they did not give a date or price.

To be fair, the Kid Icarus trailer did say "Coming Soon" at the end

I'm holding onto my Fall 2010 predicition and my no more than $199 bet

Also!!! At http://e3.nintendo.com/ they're doing Ask Iwata. Someone's saying that the motion sensors can be used in FPS to control the viewpoint/camera.

And now they're talking about Nintendogs + Cats.

[QUOTE="soulless4now"]

I was hoping for a release date too, but I guess that'll come at a later date. I want to see some upclose pictures of the system though. The conference didn't do justice on that aspect.

RichardWrite

All of the journalists are noting that they did not give a date or price.

Because it isn't coming out for a while and why announce an outrageous price that people will cry over when the tech could go down significantly within a year.

Here is a pic of the 3DSfrom the press conference.

Oh dear, Pilotwings and Paper Mario and Star Fox 64 3D for 3DS???
Plus MGS, Resident Evil, Kingdom Hearts, Kid Icarus?

My initial thoughts on the 3DS as a big fan of the DSi XL:

1) I'm more impressed with the 3Ds than I'd thought I would be. It does seem that they're trying to make it something that even the older gamers would enjoy (It has the same serious exterior rather than the toy-like DS Lite look). And I love the fact that it's going to be able to play movies....So yeah, I'm sure I'll get one.

2) Having said that, I remain convinced that the DSi XL was a wise purchase that will not be rendered obsolete by the 3Ds. The largest screen on the 3Ds is significantly smaller than the XL's, making this still my gaming system of choice for puzzle games, use as an e-book reader, and Web surfing. Plus we still don't know when the 3DS is going to be released.

* The top screen is 3.5 inches....which means it is shrinking significantly from the XL's size of 4.2 inches.

RichardWrite

Well yeah, but it was never meant to succeed the XL. The XL itself didn't replace anything, but was always meant to run concurrent to the smaller models.

holy crap did you see the graphics for the resident evil 3ds game? i guess i realize why they said its closer to ps3/360 than gamecube. the game looks just like a xbox 360 game. Rahnyc4

[QUOTE="RichardWrite"]

* The top screen is 3.5 inches....which means it is shrinking significantly from the XL's size of 4.2 inches.

ThePlothole

Well yeah, but it was never meant to succeed the XL. The XL itself didn't replace anything, but was always meant to run concurrent to the smaller models.

[QUOTE="Rahnyc4"]holy crap did you see the graphics for the resident evil 3ds game? i guess i realize why they said its closer to ps3/360 than gamecube. the game looks just like a xbox 360 game. TriniPlayer

[QUOTE="TriniPlayer"][QUOTE="Rahnyc4"]holy crap did you see the graphics for the resident evil 3ds game? i guess i realize why they said its closer to ps3/360 than gamecube. the game looks just like a xbox 360 game. Rahnyc4

I've been analyzing the size of the 3DS, and honestly, the size looks like the size of the XL for the case....but with smaller screens inside

I've been analyzing the size of the 3DS, and honestly, the size looks like the size of the XL for the case....but with smaller screens inside

RichardWrite

This GIZMODO writer, who got to handle the 3DS, says he was "impressed" but "not necessarily floored" by the 3DS. This is due to the fact that the 3D effect works pretty well if you're looking directly in front of the screen....but that if you move at all out of dead center of the screen, the 3D effect is gone entirely.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hands-on-with-the-3ds-nintendos-awesome-new-handheld-device-2010-6

[QUOTE="TriniPlayer"][QUOTE="Rahnyc4"]holy crap did you see the graphics for the resident evil 3ds game? i guess i realize why they said its closer to ps3/360 than gamecube. the game looks just like a xbox 360 game. Rahnyc4

Taken from Nintendo.

Size (when closed):Approximately 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, 0.8 inches tall.

Weight:Approximately 8 ounces.

Look:Final design is TBA.

Top Screen:3.53-inch widescreen LCD display, enabling 3D view without the need for special glasses; with 800x240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing).

Touch Screen:3.02-inch LCD with 320x240 pixel resolution with a touch screen.

Cameras:One inner camera and two outer cameras with 640x480 (0.3 Mega) pixel resolution.

Pre-Installed Software:TBA

Nintendo 3DS Game Card:2 GB Max. at launch.

Wireless Communication: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. 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.

Game Controls:
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.

Other Input Controls:
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.

Input/Output:
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.

Sound:
Stereo speakers positioned to the left and right of the top screen.

Battery:
Lithium ion battery details TBA.

Languages:
TBA

Parental Controls:
Parental controls similar to the Nintendo DSi system will be included.

Yes, WPA2 support!!

Quick mock up I did - basically the same size as the DSi. Thankfully it's not nearly as bulky as the DSiXL.

Yeah it's gonna be tough going back to tiny screens like that. I'll get the 3DS, but I won't get rid of the XL

[QUOTE="TriniPlayer"][QUOTE="Rahnyc4"] I haven't seen anything on the 3DS resident evil game besides its announcementRahnyc4

Here's hoping the analog stick thing is decent and not garbage like the stupid PSP nub. Though I'm not getting my hopes up as a portable device dictates any analog type stick have extremely short travel in order to fit inside the device. So it'll probably suck. But it'll be better than using the touch screen with Nintendo's thumb strap. And this will totally encroach on sales of the two DSi models - watch as Nintendo cuts off production on 3DS launch and their (probably massive) warehouse stock slowly piddles away.DJ_Lae

It should be a good stick. Nice, large, indentation for the finger and not a huge range of motion; just the right amount. Reminds me of the NES Max controller from 20 years ago.

What I'm curious about is the media format. Looks like we have cartridges again, but I'd like to know more. How many game slots, backwards compatibility, etc. I'll probably never get rid of my DS lite for that reason alone.

EDIT: nvm, just read further on the spec sheet. Exciting.

Still plenty big, as they haven't increased the resolution of the bottom screen any (and the top isn't that much crisper). Judging by those specs, it IS a DSi touchscreen, as it's the same size and same resolution.DJ_Lae

OP needs to add:

- *IS* the best thing since sliced bread.

Now, after selling my psp (one year ago)
I might get actually 3DS just becoz of the new thingzzz...
and it has a lot of RPG games that i like :)

This GIZMODO writer, who got to handle the 3DS, says he was "impressed" but "not necessarily floored" by the 3DS. This is due to the fact that the 3D effect works pretty well if you're looking directly in front of the screen....but that if you move at all out of dead center of the screen, the 3D effect is gone entirely.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hands-on-with-the-3ds-nintendos-awesome-new-handheld-device-2010-6

RichardWrite

That doesn't really surprise me, honestly. I was actually talking to somebody about a similar issue not a month ago. Considering it's a glasses-free 3D effect (which means it's camera-based), you're only going to get the 3D effect for 1 person at a time, because the camera is only going to be able to track the one person. Of course, this issue of losing the 3D effect by moving the screen to the side is very similar in that regard.

That doesn't really surprise me, honestly. I was actually talking to somebody about a similar issue not a month ago. Considering it's a glasses-free 3D effect (which means it's camera-based), you're only going to get the 3D effect for 1 person at a time, because the camera is only going to be able to track the one person. Of course, this issue of losing the 3D effect by moving the screen to the side is very similar in that regard.

Greyfeld

It's not camera based... that trick doesn't give you true depth perception anyways. The 3DS's top LCD has a special optical device mounted over it which makes half the pixels visible to one eye, half into the other.

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"]

That doesn't really surprise me, honestly. I was actually talking to somebody about a similar issue not a month ago. Considering it's a glasses-free 3D effect (which means it's camera-based), you're only going to get the 3D effect for 1 person at a time, because the camera is only going to be able to track the one person. Of course, this issue of losing the 3D effect by moving the screen to the side is very similar in that regard.

ThePlothole

It's not camera based... that trick doesn't give you true depth perception anyways. The 3DS's top LCD has a special optical device mounted over it which makes half the pixels visible to one eye, half into the other.

ah, didn't know that. still ends up with the same issue though. But I'm sure over the next decade, the effect will be tweaked and perfected for future consoles.

ok know that i know the games will be on a physical format and not down load only like that pspgo cr@p Im now fully on board the 3ds hype train WOOOT WOOOT :p

RPGs will utilize the motion sensors . . .i guess this is good for lefties as they wont be able to use the slide pad simultaneously with the touch screen. if they had 2 analog sticks it would fix the problem, but then there wouldn't be a need for a touch screen, right?? =PDBSK009

A touch screen gives you "pointer precision". That's something which isn't possible with an analog stick.