Hasta La Gadget!

He waited outside in the cold in New York’s Union Square, kept warm by an NES beanie and matching Nintendo varsity jacket–and a Power Glove covering his right hand. No one in the States was more ready to buy a Nintendo 3DS than Isiah Johnson–or, rather, Isaiah “Triforce” Johnson (we mentioned that he had his middle name changed to pay tribute to the Legend of Zelda, right?).

The Nintendo 3DS has a slider in its side. A slider that adjusts its namesake feature, three-dimensional imagery, up and down in intensity relative to the user’s preference. Now, although the 3DS’ screen doesn’t force glasses on you, it does demand that it be held just right in order to get the most out of the 3D effect and we can imagine plenty of people might neglect its extra dimension in favor of old-fashioned 2D (not to mention those who can’t tolerate the third D for health reasons). It’s encouraging, therefore, to hear that Nintendo has taken the stance that no game should require 3D as part of its gameplay mechanics. That’s the word from Hideki Konno, one of Nintendo’s veteran producers, who says the company wants all of its 3DS games to be playable in 2D, essentially reducing the 3D aspect to an aesthetic enhancement. Some might argue that’s underusing the portable’s hardware potential, but Nintendo has always been in the business of pleasing the mass market — there’s nothing preventing some daring developer from making a game entirely dependent on a three-dimensional perspective.

Nintendo ‘moving away’ from insisting on 3D to play 3DS games, wants them all playable in 2D originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 09:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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See that greenish blue thing up there? That might look like this greenish blue thing over here that we reviewed a few weeks back, but actually they’re not the same. No, sir. This thing up there is the genuine, guaranteed, red-blooded American version, ready to tear a $250 hole in your gaming budget and make you go all googly-eyed for 3D. Naturally there isn’t an awful lot different here compared to the Japanese version we already looked at, but we have had the opportunity to spend a good bit more quality time with this one than with the other one. Plus, being able to read all the manuals doesn’t hurt.

What you’ll find below is a full review of the American console including more game impressions, more in depth battery life tests, a dazzling demo of the thing’s augmented reality gameplay, and some surpring performance results with good ‘ol DS carts. So, join us, if you would, for a rather more in depth exploration of this, the next dimension in handheld console gaming.

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS review

Nintendo 3DS review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Until the 3DS launches on March 27th, most of us have no idea what the 3D graphics will actually be like. To help assure consumers that it’s well worth their time–and money–Nintendo launched its first North American 3DS commercial, showing off a representation of the 3D gaming experience.

Thus far, 3D, other than in the theater, has had on a rather rocky road. People haven’t exactly been falling all over themselves to buy 3DTVs, especially with all of the price and compatibility issues for glasses. But Nintendo is emphasizing that the 3DS will feature “3D games, photos, entertainment, and more, no glasses required.” As goes the gaming industry, goes the rest of the tech industry? Did the commercial help convince you?

Also to help get the public on-board the 3DS bandwagon, Nintendo set up Demo Pods in four cities (Chicago, New York, San Fransisco, and LA), so consumers can test out the 3DS for themselves. But, if you’re already sold, you can pre-order a 3DS for $249.99.

Check out the video after the jump.

The perks of living in a big city, eh? Citizens of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco are being treated to some three-dimensional March madness from the guys and gals at Nintendo. For the remainder of this month, Ninty’s 3DS handheld will be available to try and play in so-called Demo Pods (see above) at strategic locations in each marquee city. The Mii Maker app, nintendogs + cats, Madden NFL Football, Aslphalt 3D, and a selection of other games will be preloaded and waiting for you, letting you have a taste of what’s to come on March 27th. See Nintendo’s PR after the break for the full details.

Continue reading Nintendo rolls a 3DS Demo Pod across US, gets gamers salivating for March 27th launch

Nintendo rolls a 3DS Demo Pod across US, gets gamers salivating for March 27th launch originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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