Nintendo 3DS

The Nintendo 3DS is an interesting portable device. Intended for casual video game enthusiasts, as well as a small group of friends, this system is very handy. It has a small, flat exterior that is a great leap in technology compared to its predecessors. The two screens are a bit strange to get used to at first, but very quickly become second nature. The 3DS is able to play 3DS games, older DS games, and is also compatible with the Nintendo Wii U as a controller for some games. Sadly, the older DS’s ability to play both Game Boy and Game Boy Advanced games was scrapped for the newer DS lineups.

The Nintendo 3DS uses SD cards for its memory, which is very different from both previous Nintendo consoles and its competition which simply have their own hard drives built in. The games for the 3DS are extremely small in size compared to previous systems, allowing for mass portability and small file sizes.  In a way this makes for easy storage of memory, but also allows for inconvenience for instead for not being able to either simply have a larger hard drive or the use of USB’s for even larger external storage.

There are some minor but useful functions to the 3DS that make the system unique compared to its competition. The 3D function of the system helps to really change the experience of the game. It greatly adds to both the graphics and a very different shift of perspective. The use of the stylus and touch screen allow for some very different experiences. The 3DS’s street pass function allows local gamers to be able to connect wirelessly to play together without a Wi-Fi connection, as well as send messages to each other. This greatly increases the comradery between gamers as well as competitive game play.

One small issue with the 3DS are that both the system and game updates are very compressed, which take a very long time to load. For a system that constantly needs to update on something as small as an SD card, it shouldn’t have to take as long as it does. A regular home console is understandable because it’s a very large device with a larger memory capacity.

Another minor issue is the ability to type in a friend code. There are so many number characters, and the process takes forever. Compared to other systems, where you still have to type in the characters if you are looking for a specific person and hit send, the 3DS gives a special serial number to that account. Each time you want to add a friend online you have to know the other person’s serial number and manually type it in. This process is very tedious and time consuming. Other systems allow you to find and add people near instantly if you happen to cross paths and want to join up in a game.

One last big issue are the library of games. This can also be said for both the Nintendo Wii and the Nintendo Wii U systems, there are a massive library of games that are exclusive to japan. Although this can cause a local market to thrive, it causes the worldwide market to become a barren wasteland. It isn’t like in most cases where the game being released is deemed offensive or are very difficult to translate from cultural differences, most of these games just simply remain exclusive. For a device that is built for interactivity amongst small groups of friends and online gamers, this tactic really dwindles the 3DS and the company’s reputation as a whole around the world. 

If these issues were to be fixed it would greatly increase profits for Nintendo, comradery amongst gamers, and the overall fun of using the system more often. It would allow for the system to be known better for its innovation in terms of overall design instead of letting another piece of technology become another useless novelty paperweight. 

Since the release of the 3DS there have been three other versions: the 2DS, 3DSXL, and the New 3DS. The 2DS is a flat version of the 3DS with the same capabilities with the exception of the 3D feature. This was created due to the 3D capabilities was harming children, causing them to get dizzy or sick. The 3DSXL is a very large version of the 3DS, complete with bigger screens and fatter controls. The New 3DS is a regular 3DS with very minor changes to the control pad being replaced with a newer analog stick device.