Nintendo 3DS is on the wrong platform

Over a month ago, I gave my opinion on 3D TV, and to put it simply, I felt it was an overpriced gimmick that wouldn’t fly. Now, Nintendo has announced that their next-gen handheld, the 3DS, will make use of 3D imaging.

I am skeptical, but not for the same reasons I would be with 3D TV. First of all, one wonders whether the small screen with 3D imaging would be supportive enough. Yes, there will be more depth, but will that depth and more content mean it will be near incomprehensible? Of course, we can’t tell that yet. Second of all, if it’ll function like the 3D imaging we all know, that will mean that the controls will be behind the 3D display. This could make things very awkward (and I’ll come back to this later). Lastly, one must wonder if there will be a limited field of viewing as well, making controls awkward.

Now, Nintendo isn’t the company to shy away from gimmicks. Some fail, and some do amazingly well. But Nintendo hasn’t assessed this as well as they should have. While I felt that for average viewing, 3D was ridiculous, for gaming, it could actually be fun. It would also need some sort of interactive control system to make it even more immersive, a platform they already have.

Sure, the Wii doesn’t have depth in their motion controls (and I don’t know how hard it would be to implement either), but the possibilities are much better on the Wii. Imagine a Legend of Zelda game up close and personal, with your sword and shield overlapping your Wiimote. Or a rail shooter with a light gun. At this point, I could give less of a damn about looking like a tool, because that would be quite awesome.

Phew, went the whole article without mentioning the Virtual Boy (until now, but this doesn’t count).

~ by The Slurpee Man on March 25, 2010.