Official Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS, "New" 3DS, & "New" 2DS XL Thread.

[Shin Johnpv]

I think there's some confusion in the way people are talking about things. The default setting upscales the DS games but does not stretch the top screen from 4:3 to 16:9. So it retains its proper aspect ratio its just larger upresed.

[GohanX]

Right, what John said. It's still in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio. As far as I can tell there's no way to stretch it to widescreen (thank God.)

[George]

I tried out Ghost Trick really quickly, honestly it looked fine. It almost looked like they did some kind of smoothing, but I also played Ghost Trick on an XL originally so maybe I was just seeing it at an even less blown up scale than I had played previously.

[Yoshi]

Interestingly enough, because the plastic framing the screen is black, you really can't tell it is window boxed when you're playing either.

[Hero]

The release date is a bit bewildering. The first real push for this thing will be for the holidays, around Thanksgiving. The first AAA title will be out in time and they'll have new colors and possibly a sell-in bundle.

Remember folks, it's a bullshit "release window" of several months. AKA Nintendo was itching to get this shit out the door without a mote of fully finished support. Sounding more and more like every other AAA dev/pub/manufacturer every day...

Tried it at Best Buy and it's neat! At least Pilotwings is. Too bad 1) it's way too fucking expensive 2) the "handheld console" approach is gonna suck 3) the baterry LOLOLOLOL 4) the interesting 3D depth can't be "shared" among player/onlooker and 5) even though 3D is helpful in Pilotwings, it's not necessary (and as I said, Nintendo is damn determined to make games that don't hinge on the 3D as a core gameplay aspect).

So yeah...under the display it looks like only 2 3DSes sold on launch day. And it was like...2 in the afternoon when I went. So har har on that.

[Mzo]

hahahahaha

SSF4 is a lot more fun than I expected, mostly because horrible people are playing with false confidence and, relatedly, because the middle buttons let me actually do the moves I need to do even on a handheld. It's not perfect but it's waaaaay better than I expected. I hope I pass by some people with the StreetPass option =[

[GohanX]

So Yoshi got the Nintendo product and Hero is the one bashing it? What the fuck is going on here? <3 Hero

I've been playing SF4 more, and I'm getting used to the D Pad more so it's not cramping my hands. I can't do everything that I can do with a joystick like super cancels, but basic 3-4 hit combos are fine, and really, this is the best non-NGPC portable fighter ever. It's certainly much better than past portable SF games that either had missing buttons (GBA) or shitty, unplayable D Pad (PSP.)

Also, supposedly if you disable 3D in the options menu (as opposed to just turning the slider down) the game runs at a higher framerate. I can't tell the difference on such a small screen.

[Hero]

Halle-fucking-lujah!

I think what pisses me off the most about Hero's rant is that it implies that 2D games aren't console games. What the fuck? That attitude is a large part of the problem.

Dude, I thought you'd be with me on this. I think 2D games are (and should be) console experiences as well. But with the advent of PS2, we were told "meh...notsomuch. You want 2D? Play a portable where 2D belongs" then with 360/PS3 its been "2D? Meh...notsomuch. Play it on Arcade/PSN/a portable where it belongs"

To ShinJohn - back when console games were arcadey, burst play experiences *of course* portables emulated that and did it real well. Now, it's the portable space that owns that style of gameplay. Now you tell me shifting the 60-hour, cutscene heavy, AAA blockbusters onto a portable is par for course? Especially when a portable works really well in an old-school console context (arcadey, short burst, etc) but in a current-gen sense?

You can't compare NES-GB to Wii-3DS or PS3-PSP in the same sense that older consoles promoted the same values in gameplay as today's. Not unless the only correlation you're drawing is "console-portable" without attributing any value to what consoles used to do versus what they do now. Nor any value to what consoles do well versus what portables do well.

[George]

Ghost Recon is pretty solid. The 3D effect is subtle but really effective. All the menus and UI stuff are always in the foreground and the action takes place a little under it, like you're looking in a little command sandbox. Street Fighter continues to be satisfying, but I'm nothing close to a high tier player. Even then, I don't find myself saying "NO! I meant to do THIS," etc.

[Yoshi]

Ridge Racer is better than the DS and Wii launch lineups combined. The GameCube and GBA had a decent launch, but let's not pretend Nintendo is slipping in this area.

I don't understand the complaints about the hardware price. I also don't understand the lack of complaints about the software price. But I really don't understand this "handheld console" bullshit. The quick hit game genres are being dominated by smart phones, and portables' entire existence has always been based on taking console games with you. I haven't experienced the battery issues yet, but I expect they are very real. I just tend to race one circuit and then throw it back on its charger anyway. Who the fuck has onlookers for portable games? STFU about Pilotwings. It's a tech demo that only Nintendo fans would pay to own.

I feel as though I need to go shower. I just defended Nintendo hardware to Hero. Bizarro world!