3DS Discussion Thread

A Sony advert...

The next couple of years for the 3DS is looking good. Publishers had best get their asses in gear with localizations though, a good number of those haven't been confirmed for outside of Japan yet.

That is the most amazing trailer for a lineup of games I've ever seen.

Mind boggling. After seeing that I really feel bad for the Vita. Holy crap does it have to compete against a lot. And in all seriousness what does it have going for it besides Persona 4? What other games does it have in development? I feel bad now, because prior to watching that I really wanted a vita.

Nintendo have confirmed the release of Megaman NES on 3DS eShop in Japan, unfortunately it wont display in 3D:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/eshop/vc/tawj/index.html

3DS Bound via Nintendo Video

Famitsu 3DS XL Survey

- 29.4% said that they'll buy it at some point
- 28.9% said that they'll buy at launch
- 24.3% said that they don't plan a purchase
- 17.4% said they'll wait until they see the final product in person
- of those who do plan a purchase either on launch day or at some point, 70% already have a 3DS
- Red x Black color is the most popular with 38.9% picking this color
- White was second with 32.8%
- Silver x Black was third with 28.3%
- 54.6% of users said the price is just right
- 62.3% of shop owners said it's just right
- 27.4% of users said the price is too high
- 24.5% of retailers replied with too high


( Edited 11.07.2012 14:07 by Linkyshinks )

It appears the US eShop are getting weekend sales, Mighty Switch Force is only $2.99 this weekend. I wish the European eShop would offer weekend sales.. (I already have MSF, but for something like Mutant Mudds, I'd like to get that cheaper.)

Mush123 said:
It appears the US eShop are getting weekend sales, Mighty Switch Force is only $2.99 this weekend. I wish the European eShop would offer weekend sales.. (I already have MSF, but for something like Mutant Mudds, I'd like to get that cheaper.)

It's coming to WiiU in HD with extra levels and tweaks.

Linkyshinks said:

Mush123 said:
It appears the US eShop are getting weekend sales, Mighty Switch Force is only $2.99 this weekend. I wish the European eShop would offer weekend sales.. (I already have MSF, but for something like Mutant Mudds, I'd like to get that cheaper.)

It's coming to WiiU in HD with extra levels and tweaks.

..Wait, you were talking about Mighty Switch Force coming to Wii U, right?

Yea. The European store has already had two-part limited-time sales offers, hopefully we'll see something like them again.

Megaman eShop

Linkyshinks said:
Yea. The European store has already had two-part limited-time sales offers, hopefully we'll see something like them again

I know we had the anniversary sales, I just wish that the eShop would have regular sales. The weekend sales what NA are getting seem to be pretty good, but even if we got one item on sale each month, I would be happy.

Planet Crashers - Renegade Kid eShop

Planet Crashers was originally planned to be a retail game, but is now a downloadable title from the Nintendo 3DS's eShop. The game will be released in North America on July 26th for $9.99.

Features

Fully explore a massive universe filled with danger and adventure
Battle in dungeons to gain experience points, level-up weapons, and advance to nearby planets
Fully customizable main character means that no two heroes are the same
Experience an epic 3D adventure-RPG that brings a universe of thrills and excitement to your Nintendo 3DS!

( Edited 19.07.2012 21:07 by Linkyshinks )

<3

My guess is Christmas.

EXT

Koguga Boxart

Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels is coming to eShop.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/eshop/vc/tatj/index.html

Fantasy Life has a new website:

http://www.fantasylife.jp/index.html











( Edited 21.07.2012 06:11 by Linkyshinks )

Have you guys seen this battery?: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-3DS-N3DS-Ultimate-Extended/dp/B004Z6MVGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343190068&sr=8-1

It triples the battery life. At max brightness, wireless turned off and 3D off it lasts 15 hours. It adds an extra layer to the 3DS though but it's not much. The battery is also really cheap, only £12.

Here's a vid of what it looks like on the 3DS and how long it lasts compared to other handhelds:
http://youtu.be/VgKdEa06qUs?t=2m35s

General gist of the video:
-4hrs 11mins 3DS
-4hrs 14mins DSi
-4hrs 38mins DS Lite
-5hrs 17mins GBA SP (AGS-101 Bright Screen)
-5hrs 36mins 3DS XL
-5hrs 45mins Gameboy Micro
-5hrs 57mins DS
-7hrs 50mins DSi XL
-9hrs 46mins GBA SP
-15hrs 0mins 3DS (Mugen Pack)
-31hrs 12mins Gameboy

Blimey that is really impressive, good value too. Certainly makes me wonder what a 3DS XL equivilant would be able to manage, especially considering the extra space it would have.

I posted about that battery months ago, that's the one I have for my 3DS.

Only downside... It takes thrice the time to charge too...

With everything on max, the console lasts about 13 to 14 hours (up to 15 if you never use 3D)

3DS XL Impressions

So, mine came today. I went for a Silver and Black model in the end, though the red was tempting me at points. When it arrived at my door and I got it unpackaged, I was surprised by the size of the box, it's surprisingly small!

Upon opening it, it looked bigger than I expected and then lifting the upper screen up with that sturdy feeling now in place (much better hinge) and seeing those huge screens was a delight. Everything feels better about it, all the buttons, the d-pad and also the better placement of the stylus.

Of course it's the screens that are the main focus here, being much larger. They're certainly less sharp and look more pixelated, but everything still looks nice enough. However, the brightness settings seem to be lower in general, so something like setting 4 on the 3DS would be setting 2 now. I presume this is why the XL has a longer battery life. It may just be because the screens are bigger though. Either way, that's not the problem, the real problem here is a yellow tint. The screens have a yellow tint to them and it really shows when you have it sitting next to a regular 3DS. If you put the brightness into setting 5, then it helps, but it's still there slightly.

This is my only gripe with the XL, the rest of the system is spot on and I love it. Everything has been improved about it. I know L has the same problem with his one, I'm not actually sure if it's faulty or it's just meant to be like that. I did look on some other forums and hardly anyone mentioned it, I only saw one other person bring it up.

How's yours Phoenix?

I had a go on the demo unit in GAME and I kinda want one now. If I had the money, I'd go for it.. but I can't really spend that kinda money, even if I did trade in my old 3DS. :/

With that being said, hope you guys enjoy yours.

Funny you asked, mine just arrived. Same colour scheme as yours too, just doing the transfer process now (love that Pikmin animation!)

Haven't had a chance for a proper hands on as of yet (will post proper impressions tomorrow maybe, but the screen size and vast improvement in grip and input quality have already impressed me. Kinda wish the stylus was a bit bigger, though I do have the Theatrhythm pre-order one so that won't be an issue.

To be honest I think mine has a yellow tint too, can't tell for certain yet. It wont bother me if it does though.

It's not a problem for games, but because I use Colors 3D (which involves colour sensitive work) it can be a problem for that. Having a yellow tint will mean colours look different to how they look on the regular 3DS or a PC, so I'm not seeing the same thing or the true colour.

For example, I use Flux on my laptop. It warms the monitor up as it goes into night and goes back to normal as you head into daytime. It has a special setting though, where you can disable it for an hour, if you're working on colour sensitive work, such as art.

Also, thanks Mush. Will certainly enjoy it.

( Edited 27.07.2012 19:57 by Marzy )

This is what the yellow tint looks like on my screen:

Show Spoiler

Show Spoiler

Show Spoiler

The bottom screen looks fine, it's just the yellow top that is annoying especially during DS games. It's especially noticeable on the web browser when you do a Google search.

( Edited 27.07.2012 20:35 by L )

I have the yellow on both screens. D:

Still, having it on one must be worse, since it looks odd. At least with mine is consistent. Either way, I'd still much rather it be like the regular 3DS.

Just to clarify, does your bottom screen look like a regular 3DS screen or is there still some yellow tint? I can't tell in those comparison shots, but it looks like it has no tint, like a regular 3DS.

Hmm, I've just had a look again and my top screen is actually more yellow than my bottom screen, like L's (I tried the Google test).

L, does yours go less yellow when you put it into 3D? Mine does.

( Edited 27.07.2012 21:05 by Marzy )

Just checked using the web browser as test and yes the bottom XL screen is slightly yellow compared to the original 3DS. It's just more prominent on the top screen. I've been doing a little a research around the web and apparently this is normal for all 3DS's because of the anti-glare they used.
Read Red Shell's post:
http://n-europe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35191&page=20
I just created an account on NeoGaf so I'll ask there as well as soon as I get verified.
But if this is the norm then I'm going to have to choose either between having larger screens with saturated colours or smaller screens with more vibrant colours. At the moment I'm leaning towards the latter but I'll give it a week trial run before I make a conclusion. If I don't like the XL I'll just give it to my brother.

I wish I had a brother who'd give me a 3DS XL.

Okay, have had a good amount of time with my XL and will now post impressions.

Firstly, Holy Fuck at the screens. I never had a DSi XL so this is my first giant dual-screened machine, and those screens are frickin GLORIOUS. A shame that everything is literally blown up from the regular 3DS screens, but maybe future games can offer a higher resolution option or something. The sweet spot for the 3D effect hasn't changed at all from what I can tell, could just be my eyes already being used to the 3DS field of vision.
Regarding the yellow tint, I believe it is a result of the anti-glare tech they've used for the screens, and varies in intensity per unit. I've only noticed it so far during the transfer process when both 3DS Big and 3DS titch were side-by-side, it hasn't affected any of the games I've played on it so far, and I highly doubt it'll be a future issue for me personally either.

The grip of the unit I absolutely love. The Matte finish the XL has over the glossiness of the original is far more suited for regular handheld play despite not being as flashy. Buttons feel closer to the godly Game Boy Micro ones, and the D-Pad is pretty much a clone of the DSi one, a vast improvement over the regular 3DS's squeaky rubbish. Sound seems to be at a lower volume, even with earphones, though not to a vast degree thankfully.
The stylus, I'm not too keen on at the moment. The placement at the side of the unit is ideal, but the stick itself feels a bit too small, especially when compared to the ridiculously huge Touch Screen. Have got my Theatrhythm stylus though so that will be ideal to use.

Game-wise, this is what I've tried on it so far;

Super Street Fighter 4: D-Pad and buttons work so much better for this game, and the bigger screen helps the 3D stand out even more. The blown-up visuals do highlight the lack of background animation more than before though, not an issue for me personally.

Kid Icarus Uprising: Initially jarring due to the far bigger touch screen aiming canvas, but after some adjustments it was better than ever with even stronger 3D and art. Vastly better on the XL.

Sonic Generations: As is this. 3D doesn't look to be better or worse, but the colours just leap out at you now, and it just feels so damn satisfying.

Dead or Alive Dimensions: Already looked great on 3DS, looks even better on XL despite being blown up more.

Tales of the Abyss: Was slightly weary of trying this one as it was never the best looking 3DS port as it was. Was pleasantly surprised; character portraits unfortunately look very grainy but in-game character models look just the same as before, and there isn't a great deal of difference elsewhere either.

Theatrhythm: Very clean and polished here, very little difference, though the colour might be a little stronger, and more room for the touch interface is very welcome for all those swipes and taps.

Mario Kart 7: Now this will definitely get a new lease of life with the XL, seeing Rainbow Road in 3D on it took my breath away. Amazing.

Kingdom Hearts DDD: The XL is how this game should be played. It already looks sublime on the smaller chap, but on the big boy it might as well be on a widescreen tv.

Ocarina of Time 3D: Was colourful with great animation and super-stable framerate before, with the XL it's like all those factors have been maximised. So glad I saved my Master Quest Playthrough for this.

and a bonus option;

The World Ends with You: I'm sure the DSi XL gave this a good boost at the time, but if it was anywhere near the level that the 3DS XL manages then I should have bought one of them years ago. Admittedly the pixel art suffers a little from the vast screen increase, but the character art itself is fucking GODLY. If this is anything to go by then 3DS Pixel-art-based titles will look absolutely fantastic on the XL. Code of Princess is now on my radar because of this, and I'll wager that the two Devil Survivor games will be excellent too.

Tried a few other things too. Mighty Switch Force's increase leaves it no worse off and lets you truly appreciate Wayforward's sprite ability to its fullest. Super Mario Land 2 looks pretty much the same as ever really, and Sonic Triple Trouble retains its colourful palette with good effect.

Had to get to grips with it at first, but definitely never going back to a smaller 3DS model now.

( Edited 28.07.2012 16:48 by Phoenom )

Went on a demo unit XL today in HMV running Mario kart 7. My only experience with the 3DS has also been with demo units but wow the XL was much more enjoyable. The screens made a huge difference. I also much prefer the matte design scheme too.

If I had to get one i'd definitely go with the XL.