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[Toom]

IN OTHER NEWS: All the Aliens films are the same movie.

A bit of a simplification. But I do see your point.

Ripley realizes that something is wrong, no one listens to her, the established authority attempts to "acquire" the Alien, the Alien eats someone, and they spend the rest of the movie trying to get rid of the Alien.

They differ in the fine details but yeah...every Alien movie. I'm really hoping they manage to do something different with the new film they're working on. No one needs to see the same bloody story over and over again.

Actually, I was just using regular ol' sarcasm. The four movies differ immensely; one's a horror movie, one's a war movie, one's a kind of shit thriller, one's a really shit thriller. (And the new one doesn't have Ripley in it at all (it's set before she's even born), which is something different, but those films are not about the gribbly dribblers to me; they're about her.)

My point was that the Mario (and Zelda) franchises get a lot of undeserved shit for being "the same game", which is patently fucking ridiculous if you've actually played any of them. They've got the same dude in them, and broadly similar mechanics (there are platforms! Mario jumps on bad guys! This is bad for the bad guys, and they dislike it!). Discounting the original Japanese SMB2 that was released as The Lost Levels over here, every Mario title has been a distinct, clearly-delineated entity when compared to its predecessor.

ANYWAY. As someone who hasn't owned a handheld console since, shit, probably the Game Gear, I'm severely tempted to pick one of these up once the price drops a bit. 3D Mario Kart could be bunches of fun, and that over-the-shoulder view for SSFIV is the most deliciously bonkers application of the tech I've heard of. It'll doubtless be a little while before developers start using the capabilities of the hardware in less gimmicky ways and start exploring the potential gameplay applications of the tech, but no console has or will ever launch with the strongest games it'll ever have, you know?

[Triplefox]

I played the 3DS demos a bit at GDC yesterday and today. The 3D effect is fine at about 15-25% for me, more than that is overkill and actually seems to make the "sweet spot" of vision smaller. Didn't see anything otherwise very different about the demos, from a technical perspective - they could have been done on the DSi, to my eyes. Not really excited about it like I was with, say, the Wii.

[Player Ʒ]

Game Gear as well on the VC?

Pro: No need for six AA batteries all the time/can go away from the AC power.

Con: Might as well include Master System games, since that's all a Game Gear was: a Master System Portable.

Now I'm kinda pumped!

[Dugan]

i wish it had a slot for my pc engine carts, emulation is great n all but I`d rather not have to re-buy old games all the time.

[Toom]

I played the 3DS demos a bit at GDC yesterday and today. The 3D effect is fine at about 15-25% for me, more than that is overkill and actually seems to make the "sweet spot" of vision smaller. Didn't see anything otherwise very different about the demos, from a technical perspective - they could have been done on the DSi, to my eyes. Not really excited about it like I was with, say, the Wii.

Which games/demos did you have the chance to sample?

[Chris Z]

Zelda OOT, Pilotwings, Kid Icarus, Lego Star Wars, Resident Evil something, and Street Fighter 4 were on the show floor.  Didnt get to play Zelda, but the 3D effect seemed to add the most to games like Kid Icarus and Pilotwings.  The button area for select, home, and start are pretty terrible though, surprised such ugly design made it out of Nintendo.

[Rob Lach]

checked it out today at gdc. Kinda disappointing tbh.

[C.A. Sinner]

I'm not sure how the 3D effect could be used as anything but a visual gimmick. It might enhance depth perception in some free-roaming games but that's about it.

[Richard Kain]

So what is the consensus? It seems that a lot of the original hype surrounding the 3DS has cooled considerably nearing its release. The thrill of the glasses-free 3D apparently wears off quickly, and I still haven't heard of any developers using it as anything other than a visual gimmick.

Is there any chance that Nintendo will be able to duplicate the success of the DS? Or is the NGP actually going to have a chance to snag some market-share from the king of handhelds? As near as I can tell, the 3D of the 3DS might not be as big a draw as Nintendo is hoping, and there isn't going to be much else going for it.

Personally, I think Nintendo needs to push the connectivity and multiplayer aspects of the 3DS as hard as they can to customers and developers. I think that has more potential for expanding the appeal of their new handheld than 3D screens.

[C.A. Sinner]

Keep in mind that Nintendo is marketing the 3DS primarily to a casual audience. Casual gamers are more prone to "fall" for gimmicks. And as long as Nintendogs and Brain Training exist, people are gonna buy it. The rest of us get a next-gen handheld with upgraded hardware, which is really all I except out of a new system.

[Richard Kain]

Keep in mind that Nintendo is marketing the 3DS primarily to a casual audience. Casual gamers are more prone to "fall" for gimmicks.

Good point. I have no doubt that Nintendo will be able to sustain the 3DS. But I can also imagine it having a little less staying power than the original 3DS. The price point is also going to hurt its chances a bit near the beginning.

I'm stilling getting one, but I waited until now to upgrade my original grey-brick DS. After putting up with those uncomfortable ergonomics for so many years, I owe it to myself.

[AndyKorth]

I played Street Fighter a bit on the 3DS at GDC, and slembcke played the Ocarina of Time, I believe.

Like the other folks said, it was a bit underwhelming. With the 3D effect turned up to maximum, it made me kinda dizzy... kinda messed with my eyes. Turning it down to around 25% or so made it a lot more normal, but it's kind of a subtle effect. I'm sure I'd just turn it off if I were ever to play such a game... (thank goodness you can turn it off!)

But I'm not really into the mobile gaming thing anyway, personally. (yeah, even though we do iOS games)

[Rm88~]

It could completely lack the 3D and I'd still be excited about it. I'll play with the 3D off most of time, actually, especially if the battery lasts longer that way.

[Gimym TILBERT]

I'm not sure how the 3D effect could be used as anything but a visual gimmick. It might enhance depth perception in some free-roaming games but that's about it.

Actually this is a solve problem, 3D make things literally pop, It's good for legibility and information hierarchy. Of course that mean stopping using it just as a visual enhancement and more like a great way to convey additional information. Think rumble.

[Landshark RAWR]

so 3D is visual rumble?


awesome