| DeadEye said: It really isn't Nintendo's fault that you pressed the wrong button. I had a DSLite from launch right up until I got my 3DS (also at launch) and I never once made this mistake. The button layout is fine and all of them are clearly marked. Maybe you should use your eyes next time. |
You're missing the point here. I'll give two reasons why the location of the power button was a bad idea:
1. The previous gen system has noncritical buttons at the same spot. How would you feel if say, the R button on the N64 was suddenly the reset button? It's not a matter of eyes, it's sheer habit, considering it's supposed to be the handheld that attempts to lure the hardcore Nintendo fan back.
2. The power button rests in the spot there the front base of your thumb can hit it, especially when they're orienting to keep the screen directly in front. I liked the slider power switch on the DS lite, much harder to trip without effort. And you have to admit, wouldn't the power button be suited to a more "out of the way" place, such as where select/start are?
On top of this, it suffers a software flaw, in which accidental press of a critical button does not prompt that data will be wiped. May I ask why not? It's not exactly a "hard reset" button, since the OS kicks in afterwards. It should be easy to rectify this in firmware.
Part of my job involves professional UI design for software packages, and I have to say that these 3 flaws violate everything in the "sound UI" rules.
* Do not place critical buttons where noncritical buttons once were in previous versions.
* Do not place critical buttons in easy to click places, such as the corners of the screen.
* Do not allow a critical procedure to occur without first prompting for validation (such as a delete).
