Nintendo’s 3D handheld console is the undoubted star of the E3 video game show here in Los Angeles this week, judging by the long lines of gamers at the Nintendo booth waiting to try one out.
While Apple has emerged as a new challenger, with the iPhone and iPod touch, to handheld consoles, the unique features of the 3DS look like giving Nintendo a significant and long-lasting advantage in mobile gaming.
Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Move have been vying with the 3DS for attention at E3, but we already knew about the capabilities of the motion controllers coming from Microsoft and Sony. Details of the 3DS had been confined to a brief regulatory filing by the Japanese company in Tokyo that such a console would be released before the end of March next year.
We still don’t know the launch date or price but I would guess at fourth-quarter availability after spending a few minutes playing with the new console in Nintendo’s E3 executive suite.
The hardware seems ready to go and, aside from a few software bugs, so are the games and content.
The 3DS is like the iPad in that you really have to hold one and play with it to appreciate what a “magical and revolutionary” experience it is.
Perhaps that’s overstating with Apple hyperbole, but there is an instant appeal to the 3DS with the 3D depth you see in its high-resolution screen without the need for special glasses.
I first tried a game that explores a jungle – moving deep into it through layers of vegetation and coming across crocodiles and snakes that leapt out at me.
I also watched a 3D movie trailer for How To Train Your Dragon, but an application that tried to take a 3D photo of me crashed.
An augmented reality game impressed – a 3D object appeared on the coffee table in front of me and I was able to move around it and shoot targets.
The 3DS features a slider control that can vary the extent of the 3D effect and switch to 2D. It has a very sharp 3.5-inch 3D screen with a 3-inch touch screen below. There are one inner and two outer cameras to take 3D pictures. A motion sensor and a gyroscope are inside, which should enhance 3D augmented reality applications.
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, told me the company had been looking at 3D for a long time, but it was only now that the technology had been perfected and screen resolution and processing power was available at the right price.
He said third-party publishers have been involved from an early stage, leading to an impressive lineup of software being prepared for the new console. Activision’s DJ Hero, EA’s The Sims and Capcom’s Resident Evil were among those being demonstrated at the show.
In summary, Nintendo’s rivals may be catching up with it with their motion controllers for home consoles, but the Japanese company looks like establishing a big lead in handhelds with its new 3D feature.
