Nintendo 3DS

[Indigo Rush]

Well this was unexpected to say the least. I bet Nintendo fans are already raging.

 

This was quite a few years ago.

[Dazzy]

2D or not 2D? That is question, sorry lol.

[SuperLink]

Unrelated to 2DS shenanigans but apparently Sonic Generations is set to get a digital release in the next week or so.

http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=211015

 

Releasing old games on eShop is a great way to give them a new sales boost. I seriously hope that Square-Enix's games (KH and Theatrythm) get put up digitally now because since they came out 3DS has actually gotten successful. Maybe Square would actually see that their console games actually do sell ad. Namco should do it with Tales of the Abyss too.

[Jolt_TH]

...NOW I wish I could get it for free as I did OWN the retail game but it got stolen it's not the best game on the handheld but it was a bit of fun and was one more in my pretty small library!

[KrazyBean]

Oh wow, I didn't think about a circumstance like this too. I don't think people with eye problems should be using 3D so this would be perfect.

 

But the 3D is optional though on the 3DS, if you don't want to accidentally turn on the 3D then lock it using parental controls. The only advantage of getting a 2DS is the price but people like the hinge the 3DS has or the overall design of the 3DS compared to the 2DS and you can probably get a pre-owned 3DS for a cheaper price than the 2DS.

 

Another point. Although they are few, some games do use the hinge to solve puzzles like Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for example where you had to transfer a symbol from the top screen to the bottom screen by closing the system...you can't finish Phantom Hourglass on the 2DS now due to it lacking the hinge, and I also think that some Prof. Layton games use this very method too to solve some puzzles.

[Jolt_TH]

I think instead you'd have to use the "sleep" button. When you close it it's the system going o sleep, so I think that would be the solution, although it won't make sense in context, it would still work

[KrazyBean]

I think instead you'd have to use the "sleep" button. When you close it it's the system going o sleep, so I think that would be the solution, although it won't make sense in context, it would still work

 

Eh, I guess so. It'll feel a bit weird though.

[Lady Soniko]

I wonder if this will still have all the stuff like Streetpass and crap on it, and camera's too? I mean sleep mode will generally give you streetpasses, but it made a lot more sense when you closed the lid of your system, so the screens turn off, I wonder how it'll work with something you can't close...

[Jolt_TH]

It still does have a sleep mode, I assume they are expecting people to put it in sleep and carry it around in the case??

[JezMM]

Oh, I got one which is busted.  On Another Code (Trace Memory in the US if I recall), there was a puzzle where you had two non-sensical combinations of symbols on the upper and lower screen.  When you half-closed the DS, they aligned via the reflection of the other screen, revealing the solution.

 

Though Another Code is such an old game (DS launch game if I recall) I doubt anyone would even be able to pick it up for their 2DS without really knowing that it even exists.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if future titles will be able to tell what system they're being played on?  Would make sense to remove references to the 3D effect or closing the 3DS to activate sleep mode when played on a 2DS.

Edited August 29, 2013 by JezMM

[Lady Soniko]

Also some Layton titles has puzzles and events that require you to close the DS lid, same with Hotel Dusk, otherwise you can't complete the game since you need to turn a jigsaw upside down without breaking it to read the message on the back, so you shut the lid to flip it and stuff.

 

This is for sure going to ruin some games over all experience, even if it's a small minority.

[JezMM]

I wonder if they'll have the foresight to put warnings about this phenomenon.  It'd be great if they could ask developers to contact them if their game contains lid-closing as a game mechanic, so they can program the 2DS to recognise when such a game is launched and give a brief screen instructing the player to use the Sleep Button if the game asks or suggests to them to close the lid for a gameplay mechanic.

[tenchibr]

I wonder if they'll have the foresight to put warnings about this phenomenon.  It'd be great if they could ask developers to contact them if their game contains lid-closing as a game mechanic, so they can program the 2DS to recognise when such a game is launched and give a brief screen instructing the player to use the Sleep Button if the game asks or suggests to them to close the lid for a gameplay mechanic.

 

You have nothing to worry about; I find it hard to believe that the code when the lid closes is going to be no different than the one when you flick the Sleep switch. It will definitely make some games lose immersion, but the functionality should remain the same.

[Salamander]

Unrelated to 2DS shenanigans but apparently Sonic Generations is set to get a digital release in the next week or so.

http://gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=211015

 

Releasing old games on eShop is a great way to give them a new sales boost. I seriously hope that Square-Enix's games (KH and Theatrythm) get put up digitally now because since they came out 3DS has actually gotten successful. Maybe Square would actually see that their console games actually do sell ad. Namco should do it with Tales of the Abyss too.

 

I think that ever since they started doing digital releases, then every new retail title goes up on the eShop the same day/week as its physical release; for games that came out before that, I think they've been very slowly trying to get them up there.  So I would expect, or I would expect that Nintendo would hope, that eventually every 3DS title will be available on the eShop.  Including KH3D, Theatrhythm, and Tales Of The Abyss.  Especially the latter, actually; I heard that it hadn't sold well, but then later learnt that it had actually sold out and they simply hadn't shipped very many, which isn't an issue with digital.  I'd like Namco to look at the 3DS as a more plausible target platform for their work, as I enjoyed TotA3D and would like to see more.

 

Oh, I got one which is busted.  On Another Code (Trace Memory in the US if I recall), there was a puzzle where you had two non-sensical combinations of symbols on the upper and lower screen.  When you half-closed the DS, they aligned via the reflection of the other screen, revealing the solution.

 

Though Another Code is such an old game (DS launch game if I recall) I doubt anyone would even be able to pick it up for their 2DS without really knowing that it even exists.

 

Quoting simply because Another Code is actually one of my favourite games.  I think it was a launch title and it did a great job at showcasing the various features of the system, in a way which I don't recall any title doing since or as well.  Such a shame that the developers went bankrupt, as I'd really like more games like it on the 3DS.  But anyway.  I assume that the sleep switch will replace the hinge function, and maybe that'll be mentioned in the instruction manual or something, but that's definitely a shame.  To add to the line-up, The World Ends With You had a Pig Noise that could only be defeated by closing your DS.

[Badnik Mechanic]

The sleep switch on the 2DS will solve the 'close the unit' problem. But unless people know that before hand, there might be a few issues. But it's a really small thing.

 

Also... M'Lords and Ladies...

 

 

[JezMM]

You have nothing to worry about; I find it hard to believe that the code when the lid closes is going to be no different than the one when you flick the Sleep switch. It will definitely make some games lose immersion, but the functionality should remain the same.

 

Yeah, of course, I'm just saying that casual gamers may not realise this, especially those who haven't had a DS before possibly.

[Autosaver]

Nintendo on PSVita vs 3DS

 

Coming from a GameSpot interview with Nintendo marketing executive Scott Moffitt...

"Certainly, on the handheld side, we're heading in a very different direction than PlayStation with Vita. It really comes back to, in my opinion, the core strategy. I believe their view on the market is that the handheld gaming occasion and the home gaming occasion are one in the same, that people just have the desire to keep continue playing their home console game when they leave the house. And our philosophy, our belief, our strategy, is that we believe it's kind of a different occasion. The moment of time you're willing to play, the amount of time you have able to play when you're away from home is different and your gaming behavior is different.

You're not going to grab the whole bag of Doritos chips and sit on the couch for three hours; you have 25 minutes until the bus comes or whatever it might be. So the nature of the game ought to be a little different and the nature of the experience ought to be a little different. So I do believe on that, we have fundamentally different strategies."

 

It does make sense. A lot of PSVita games are toward the console experience on the go. Unfortunately, that isn't necessarily a positive.

[Salamander]

I feel weird because I just use a 3DS as a home console.  I almost never take it out but instead, yeah, I do play at my desk or sofa at home for hours.  The reason I don't have an actual home console is because it'd require me to hog a TV and also not be able to multitask, whereas with a 3DS I can basically use it and a computer near-simultaneously.  I do think that the handheld and console experiences are different, though, and gameplay experiences need to be different; I always regard a handheld as a place for spin-offs, side-stories, and experiments.  No less good for it, but the impact of any epic scene is likely to be reduced on a physically smaller device with less power.

 

...I don't use my 3DS while eating Doritos, though, or indeed anything else.  I wouldn't do that with a regular controller either.  It'd just get greasy, there'd be crumbs everywhere, it'd be disgusting.

[Tornado]

All of Cing's games tended to have at least one puzzle that required you to close the DS. Last Window had (I'm pretty sure) 3 completely different ones.

 

 

 

In fact, I think Last Window might be unplayable because of one of them. Can't quite remember how one of them worked.

[Milo]

You're not going to grab the whole bag of Doritos chips and sit on the couch for three hours

 

Unless you're playing Xbox.

 

*rimshot*

[The Kid]

So Bit. Trip Saga is on sale for $5 on 3DS through Sep. 15th. I highly recommend getting this gem.

[Autosaver]

All of Cing's games tended to have at least one puzzle that required you to close the DS. Last Window had (I'm pretty sure) 3 completely different ones.

There's a sleep button that emulates closing the DS on the bottom right.

[Tornado]

I think instead you'd have to use the "sleep" button. When you close it it's the system going o sleep, so I think that would be the solution, although it won't make sense in context, it would still work

You have nothing to worry about; I find it hard to believe that the code when the lid closes is going to be no different than the one when you flick the Sleep switch. It will definitely make some games lose immersion, but the functionality should remain the same.

The sleep switch on the 2DS will solve the 'close the unit' problem. But unless people know that before hand, there might be a few issues. But it's a really small thing.

 

 

You don't say.

[JezMM]

I'm pretty sure this is the third time I've said it, the issue is not whether lid-closing stuff will work, the issue is wondering whether Nintendo will do anything to alert less-savvy gamers that they must use the sleep button whenever a game prompts them to close the console.

[Blacklightning]

Or for that matter, to differentiate it from the other sleep mode most people use for Streetpass.