Nintendo 3DS

[Mr_Loon]

$130, so that will be about £85 then?

Nope £110 in the UK, when you can buy a 3DS for about £135, not sure they are going to sell many.

As a parent of a young child I can say I'd consider this design much more likely to suffer catastrophic damage in the hands of a 4-6 year old than a clamshell. To me, ending up with a floppy hinge is better than having a badly scratched / broken screen.

Also, if anyone can come up with a convincing argument that looking at 3D images damages the eyes of small children then I'd love to hear it. As jumpman says the 3D is more pf a problem for kids as they are unlikely to remain still enough during play to stay in the sweet spot.

 

[WizardStan]

Also, if anyone can come up with a convincing argument that looking at 3D images damages the eyes of small children then I'd love to hear it.

You can't. Specialists have been disagreeing with the warning for years. There's a lot of anecdotes that go along the lines of "I was playing for 8 hours and then when I stopped my eyesight was all messed up for an hour", to which I say this is not a new phenomenon: if you stare at anything close up for an extended period of time your eyes will get tired. You rest them up and they're good as new. This is why many people have reading glasses.

 

[Fzero]

I sat a mates young lad in front of a 3D telly and showed off a little 3D wildlife demo, which of course he was engrossed in for the 15 mins it ran for.

He's about 2 years old.

Some days later, I noticed the warning [LG telly] that said the 3D shouldn't be viewed by under 6 year olds.

Thankfully, his eyes are fine still.

Does seem there's no real evidence, other than the obvious that if you spend too long staring at it then you might get some temporary issues, as you'd expect and likely to get with any screen.

Just reading a few old articles following up from reading this thread, and seems there are even some benefits of watching 3D, as it can highlight problems which might go otherwise undetected;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9378577.stm

"Watching 3D programming can unmask issues such as lazy eye, convergence insufficiency, poor focusing skills and other visual problems consumers might not have previously known existed," said Dr Dominick Maino, of the Illinois College of Optometry's Illinois Eye Institute.

Personally I've never sat on 3D for more than a couple of hours though

 

[levi]

I don't see how it can highlight poor focusing, since you still focus on the physical screen in front of you. Perhaps aquiring the correct convergence to see the 3d effect needs an exceptionally well-focussed image to work well, but that seems a stretch to me.

You rest them up and they're good as new. This is why many people have reading glasses.

Well, people need reading glasses because their eyes have lost the normal close focus range need to read a book comfortably. Kids with normal eyes have an extra long focus range - it slowly decreases as we age - so can focus on things more closely and perhaps not realise the stress they're adding to their eye muscles over a long period. But according to my hazy recollection that doesn't make your eyes feel tired - you just need to focus on something in the middle distance for a bit. The anecdotes I've heard are more likely due to the way all current 3d tech tweaks convergence but leaves focus distance alone, potentially confusing the brain. Whether it's bad for kids to have their brains tweaked like that at a young age is largely up for debate still.

 

[WizardStan]

Well, people need reading glasses because their eyes have lost the normal close focus range need to read a book comfortably.

Ok, this is why *I* wear reading glasses, then. I can still focus on things close no problem, but when I do it for 8 hour stretches (ie, sitting in my office staring at a computer screen 9 to 5) without them my eyes are tired and can't focus far for hours afterwards.

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

...

Just reading a few old articles following up from reading this thread, and seems there are even some benefits of watching 3D, as it can highlight problems which might go otherwise undetected;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/9378577.stm

"Watching 3D programming can unmask issues such as lazy eye, convergence insufficiency, poor focusing skills and other visual problems consumers might not have previously known existed," said Dr Dominick Maino, of the Illinois College of Optometry's Illinois Eye Institute.

Personally I've never sat on 3D for more than a couple of hours though

I love 3D games on 3DS!  Like that Ridge Racer 3D or Spider Man 3D, etc.  I didn't like the 3D at first but when I got used to it, man! the 3D games open up another dimension in gaming.  The graphics are just way better and all those jagged edges went away in 3D.  I love the 3D in Ridge Racer so much that I just stop racing and look around at the 3D scenery 

OK, back to the topic.  It's like anything else, you just have to get use to it.  When you first drink the first bottle of beer in your life, it gives headache and stuff like that.  But after a while you will be able to drink several and not feel a thing.   3D is the same way.

 

[elwing]

However, I'm sure the new 2DS will sell good, no matter how it looks. You can always count onto the Nintendo Fanboys.

I don't know, Gameboy Micro for instance sold well below Nintendo's expectations.

I have to admit that I never understood why, I got two of them and I love them... it's one of my prefered handheld.

 

[PokeParadox]

However, I'm sure the new 2DS will sell good, no matter how it looks. You can always count onto the Nintendo Fanboys.

I don't know, Gameboy Micro for instance sold well below Nintendo's expectations.

I have to admit that I never understood why, I got two of them and I love them... it's one of my prefered handheld.

For me it was because I was happy with my SP and also had a GBPlayer... the micro, although a more convenient form factor, didn't add anything new for me and in fact removed the useful feature of GB/GBC backwards compatibility (although with a flashcart and Goombah Color you could get around that I guess.)

 

[fusion_power]

You can always count onto the Nintendo Fanboys.

 
They seem to grow fewer and fewer day by day. (WiiU anyone...)

True. I guess they will come back to the WiiU when the Top Titles are incomming for this Console. (Uh, there ARE Top Titles incoming, right?  h34r:  )

However, I'm sure the new 2DS will sell good, no matter how it looks. You can always count onto the Nintendo Fanboys.

I don't know, Gameboy Micro for instance sold well below Nintendo's expectations.

Not sure. I found it at least a nice concept, small, cheap and with replacable faceplates. I guess it's a nice collectible piece, like a Swatch Wristwatch or so. ^^

 

[iprice]

You can always count onto the Nintendo Fanboys.

 
They seem to grow fewer and fewer day by day. (WiiU anyone...)

True. I guess they will come back to the WiiU when the Top Titles are incomming for this Console. (Uh, there ARE Top Titles incoming, right?  h34r:  )

I think Wii U owners have stopped trying to defend Nintendo and their purchase. Nintendo may well come through in the end, but they aren't doing (or aren't seen to be doing) a great deal to encourage WiiU ownership.

 

[ekianjo]

Top Titles are incomming for this Console. (Uh, there ARE Top Titles incoming, right? h34r: )

Mmmm. Nobody wants to develop for Nintendo anymore, and you can only expect Nintendo to feed their own first party games. I'm not sure people will keep wanting to play Zelda 45 or Mario 72 forever.

 

[DaMummy]

Top Titles are incomming for this Console. (Uh, there ARE Top Titles incoming, right? h34r: )

Mmmm. Nobody wants to develop for Nintendo anymore, and you can only expect Nintendo to feed their own first party games. I'm not sure people will keep wanting to play Zelda 45 or Mario 72 forever.

yeah okay, but do you have a release dates for zelda 45 and mario 72? those titles sound interesting to me

 

[Jumpman]

The economy is hurting, and has been for awhile. Even when "N" has a system that is selling well(like the Wii), 3rd party games still sale very poorly in comparison to the 1st party games. This is an issue the "N" has always refused to address and they just kind of sweep it under the rug. 3rd parties need to make money and the PS3/360(PS4/One) is the most likely systems for this to happen.

Honestly speaking, I'm played out on MK for sure, and the 2D Mario games are also not a day one purchase anymore either. Zelda is still good, but not as good as it needs to be. The 3D Mario games are "N" finest works, but those are now far and in-between.

"N" is still hanging on to a business model that hasn't been effective since the SNES days, and the Wii should have cause a restructuring once it failed, but it didn't, and it gave them the confidence to think they knew what they where doing. I could tell half way through the Wii's cycle, that it was a dead console and they really needed an HD system 5-6 years ago, when business started to fade.

Handhelds have been their best market, and they should really close down the console division, clean house and focus on handhelds only. And even that market is a shell of it's former self. I really thought a decent price drop would come for the WiiU this holiday, but it's still 300 and "NO" games. The same problem as last year. Yeah, they have a few more than last year, but nothing that's worth the purchase cost.

Now, with the 2DS announced, I think I'll get one of these for my son and to hell with the WiiU. It has the right price and the games to back it up.

Chris

 

[Exophase]

Nintendo's way of dealing with bad third party sales is to make everyone a second party. Or at least that's what they seemed to be doing with DS, I don't think that really applies to Wii.

 

[monstercameron]

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/123251-hands-on-nintendo-2ds-review

 

[CocoCreekFisherman]

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/123251-hands-on-nintendo-2ds-review

Man I just don't like it and I am a big kid at heart. I still have a Gameboy Advance SP and I think that design is better. Like I said before...mono speakers?? Give me a brake here. That's like asking me would you like air conditioning included with your car or just use a fan.??!!!

I see kids severely braking and scratching screens with this one.

I add.. if I want to play a 3D game in 2D with a 3DS then I just turn the slider down then it is 2D. :blink:

 

[levi]

I don't think I can tell the difference between stereo and mono on a 3DS - the speakers are too close together. And besides, it still does proper stereo through headphones.


I'm not sure how this would last in the hands of a five-year old. I'm pretty sure with a normal 3DS they'd likely get distracted by something and throw it in their toy box (or to the floor) without closing it first. That's just how the world works when you're five. At least this is designed with that eventuality in mind, though we'll have to wait for better reviews to find out how well the bottom screen (especially) stands up.

 

[Klumpen]

I cannot even imagine the warranty issues for an eletronic device like this which is promoted as something for children in this age.

 

[CocoCreekFisherman]

I don't think I can tell the difference between stereo and mono on a 3DS - the speakers are too close together. And besides, it still does proper stereo through headphones.


I'm not sure how this would last in the hands of a five-year old. I'm pretty sure with a normal 3DS they'd likely get distracted by something and throw it in their toy box (or to the floor) without closing it first. That's just how the world works when you're five. At least this is designed with that eventuality in mind, though we'll have to wait for better reviews to find out how well the bottom screen (especially) stands up.

Yah now you are tempting 5yo's to put wires in their mouths....bad idea really.  <_<

I like the 3DS XL stereo speakers I just wish they were louder. No comparison with mono though.

 

[levi]

At five years old most kids are adept at feeling and seeing their way around the world and not putting everything into their mouths the same way a younger child will. But I wouldn't recommend headphones for kids that age unless the music's really annoying to the parents - they'll lose them, garrote their younger siblings with them, or just stuff them into devices where they're not meant to go. Plus most affordable headphones only last 18 months or so with me, and I'm pretty careful with my electronics.


It's kind of academic anyway. I'm not sure I'd recommend a handheld console to someone with a five-year old kid. Home consoles where you can see what they're doing are probably more appropriate, and there it's easier to see if they're too close to the screen.