I now own for some time the 3DS and enjoy playing games like Resident Evil, Dillon or Kid Icarus. The circle-pad is great (seems to be stolen from the PSP, but better good copied than badly made yourself), streetpass is great, online is working good and backwards compatibility is so important if you see the big library for the DS.

But I'm not so sure about 3D. Yes, the games look gorgeous in 3D. But is it really a big difference for the gameplay? The only intelligent use of 3D besides making things look good, is in Kid Icarus. It is used to make the impression the bosses are bigger and for the gag with the flat walls with textures simulating a tunnel in the flight-part of chapter 5. But even Kid Icarus would work without 3D (or better: it works if you disable 3D).

But the inclusion of 3D has disadvantages. I'm not sure how much impact it has on the price. It may be unimportant on that front or add quite some amount. But it drains the battery (you need more backlight to support two images) and it does not work well in all situations, if you move the device too much.

So, sometimes I think the inclusion of 3D was a bad decision from Nintendo. On the other hand they advertise with this feature, and while streetpass and circle-pad are great, I have no idea if they would get the same public attention as the 3D feature. Maybe without 3D the 3DS would be only seen as a slightly better DSi and unsuccessful.

What do you think? Discuss!

P.S. Tagged it with RE:Revelations, as I get the feeling the game is worth a little more attention.

It's just a selling point to make it stand out; nothing wrong with it :p

It was a selling point that nintendo needed to tell people that this is a completely new product since I remember that when sakurai was working he didn't know that it would have 3d.However it is really usefull when done correctly like in mario 3d land,Or how it's used in more subtle ways like is rev to make u inside the experience and provide great atmosphere.Plus a lot of games on the e-shop use 3d really well like Pushmo and Mutand Mudds

I half agree. When playing Zelda Oot and Kid Icarus I rarely play them in 3D. It's distracting and I find it hard to focus with it on. On the other hand, I noticed recently that games look better graphically when you have 3D on.

I think it's all up to the game. I use 3D most of the time in MK7. I usually turn it off when I'm on the final lap and really need to concentrate.

I think it was a good idea. You can't keep bringing the same old thing to the market - refering to hardware.

Innovation is another word for progress and that is how technology ( as well as most other things ) move forward.

It may work or it might fail but in an ever more competitive world you have to have a marketing edge over your competitors.

Where else could the DS have gone? It had to bring something new, something that stood out and after a slow start it seems to be paying off but only time will tell.

The wii sold amazingly well not because of computing power but because it brought something new to the market.

You can't blame nintendo for trying the same with the DS and soon the wii U.

I'm pretty sure it does not only drain batteries, but also hinders performance (which is why reviewers kept praising the fact that Mario Kart 7 was able to run at 60fps when playing online with your 3D turned on). I wouldn't mind if they released a few games where the 3D is disabled and you get better graphics, but when it comes to games like Mario it's a really sweet addition. I'm pretty sure Nintendo won't do that though.

As for sales influence, I really don't how how it affects/has affected the sales. On one side there's the "OMG mom, the 3DS can show 3D images without any glasses YOU HAVE TO BUY IT!", and on another side there's the "Watching too many 3D images makes you nauseous!"-rumor which could have stopped caring parents (who are unaware of the parental settings...) from buying it.

kind of but not really
i want a 3DS but i already know il turn that shit off! I'm waiting for that 3DS Lite £100! come on baby!

(i voted dont care)

I tend to not play the games in 3d. It can be distracting. However the cut scenes look great in 3d in revelations. Its a unique selling feature thats probably under used but not a mistake.

I agree with posters above that the 3D is a selling point for the system. Even though I am yet to play a game with the 3D on completely, I still believe nintendo could make a game that utilises it in a unique way... I imagine side scrollers like NSMB2 will make better use of it, or perhaps a top down Zelda game that utilises the 3D to make the houses/trees/etc stick out ^_^.

Well, it's a selling point, no matter how you slice it. And with over 15mil sales in its first year, I'd say its not a bad one!

Nintendo may be losing money on it, and yes, it's likely because of the cost of the 3D screen. But in a few months, they'll be making money off it again, and, as such, will likely dominate the market and be back in profit very soon.

The 3D is a nice feature. I enjoy watching cutscenes with it, even. But I don't use it all the time. Doesn't mean it's a bad idea.