Hands on with the 3DS, the undisputed star of this years E3

The newly unveiled 3DS is a hot piece of hardware, but just how hot? Check out our impressions on how the handheld plays and feels.

Nintendo’s 3DS was the darling of E3. The unveiling played to just the right emotion, with a tense lead-up to what the new handheld would look like, and most importantly, how well it would pull off 3D. Nintendo delivered, and what we got was a new system that looks remarkably similar to the DS. There may not have have been a comprehensive overhaul of the DS design and branding, but don’t let that fool you- the 3DS is all together a very different beast and a brand new platform in it’s own right.

Of course, this new identity all hinges on the hardware itself. In addition to the introduction of the revolutionary new 3D display, there are many new design decisions that have built upon the framework of the DS, some more subtle than others. Collectively, the additional hardware features of the 3DS have resulted in a design that is mostly a refinement of the DS, but ultimately has culminated into a package that feels incredibly fresh.

Say hello to the future of handheld gaming.

Body

Long-time users of the DS (c’mon, there’s millions of you) will feel right at home the first time they pick up a 3DS. Everything is pretty much in the same place you’d expect it to be. The d-pad is in a lower position, and as such, your left thumb will instinctively gravitate towards the ‘slide pad’- the analog nub that Nintendo have introduced as a portable version of the analog stick. As a long-time Mario Kart player, my index finger naturally curled the left and right triggers. They feel a little thinner horizontally and stick up in greater relief than the DS Lite and DSi. There is a slight tapered-out curve to the outside of each trigger, and as such, it feels a little bulkier.

The main body feels a bit thicker and heavier than the DS, whereas the top 3D display seems quite thin. As such, as opposed to a perfect clamshell like the DS, the 3DS seems to be designed with the lower part as the main hub, with the noticeably thinner 3D screen a mere attachment. Yes it’s heavier than a DSi by about 16 grams, but still feels light and functional. Nintendo have returned to a glossy finish for their handheld, spurning the matte finish of the DSi for a much smoother feel.

Screens

The single defining feature of the 3DS is a spectacle to behold- the 3D works amazingly well, with a crisp bright presentation in high resolution. Every 3DS I picked up had 3D mode fully engaged and I only ever scaled it back to observe how the intensity of the effect could vary. As mentioned here and elsewhere, the effect is immediate. I’m not a fan of 3D cinema and my exposure to 3D gaming has been minimal, but the ‘glasses not required’ technology employed by the 3DS is a godsend. Your eyes are free to explore any part of the image- the foreground and background are rendered in full focus, unlike many blockbuster Hollywood films where the viewers depth of vision is limited to where the camera has been focussed.

The advantages to gaming brought by 3D are apparent in some titles more than others- platformers or action games benefit from the rolling action in the foreground standing out in contrast to the backgrounds, and items and power-ups stand out much better. Games with a HUD usually have all that display in the shallowest depth of focus, which makes it easier to see out of the corner of your eye as you focus on the action at hand.

The viewing range is limited and I found that there was a little more room to move along the vertical axis than there was horizontally. That makes good design sense as the 3DS is more likely to rotate along its horizontal axis in players hands given the way it is held. When the effect breaks, it is noticeable as two separate images appear but it isn’t game-breaking. If you’re given a sudden bump whilst playing, it’s still perfectly easy to remain in the moment and play without interruption although you’ll quickly want to return the 3DS to a suitable viewing position.

It is worth noting that with 3D limited to the upper display, the top screen will become the playing screen, with the lower screen more of a touch interface. That is in contrast to the majority of titles in the vast library of DS games where the touch screen is where the party happens with the top screen usually providing maps or other ancillary information. In my opinion, this is will result in a significantly different design philosophy when it comes to software on the DS- the lower part of the body will be the ‘interaction’ part of the handheld, with the buttons, d-pad, and slide pad, with the touchscreen being used to indirectly control the action on the top screen (think Metroid Prime Hunters for an example of this). With 3D such a core feature of the 3DS, the top screen will be the ‘interface’ part of the handheld. As obvious as that sounds, constant switching of the players vision between screens will likely be limited in games, as the transition can be quite tiring on the eyes- it’ll be best to keep the players attention on the top screen.

So how do games looks? Amazing. The graphical fidelity is probably just shy of a Gamecube for most games, although Resident Evil: Revelations and Metal Gear Solid 3DS: the Naked Sample push the standard a little closer to that of last-generation consoles. Textures were rendered at a higher level of resolution than anything yet seen on a handheld, phone or mp3 player to date. There were some mad, crazy atmospheric and particle effects going on in a few games, and apart from a few noticeable aliased edges on round objects, everything is nice and smooth. It’s easy to be skeptical of whether the final build will indeed be able to produce what I saw with RE and MGS, but if the 3DS is indeed capable of such visuals, then we’re in for a real treat.

Slide Pad

With the ‘slide pad’ Nintendo have finally brought analog controls to a handheld. Admittedly it functions quite similar to the ‘nub’ on a PSP, but the concave surface is a much more ergonomic design, and your thumb will fit naturally in the depression and control games with ease. Much like the PSP, the slide pad doesn’t pivot around a fixed point, rather it slides along a flat pane as the namesake suggests. The addition of an analog stick is a major new feature, and games such as Starfox and Metal Gear Solid, where subtle directional controls are a must will benefit from the nuance provided by such a control.

3D camera

The inclusion of a built-in 3D camera has, in my opinion, cemented the 3DS’s inevitable success. Kids are gonna go bat-poop crazy for it. 3D images produced by the twin cameras have about a meter’s worth of perceptible depth of field- perfect for the young ones to muck around and make fun with.

The booth exhibitor invited me to take a snap of him whilst he assumed a suitably garish ‘zombie’ pose, with his face sunken into his chest and his arms dangling out in front of him in true undead fashion. There weren’t any funky options to add a mustache or zany hat or anything, but don’t be surprised if the final build ships with software that will allow you to do just that. The option to add a Mario hat to my likeness is too fun and too easy for Nintendo to do, so I’d bank on such a feature to be included (if not, someone is sure to make a downloadable piece of software that will do just that).

The 3D camera is more than just a gimmick, but its appeal will be greatest amongst kids in the schoolyard. Not only can it be used to take images that are fun to play around with, but there are a billion possibilities opened up by having two cameras on the thing. The 3DS’ ability to recognize it’s surroundings in 3D, in combination with the built-in motion sensing capabilities will likely allow for some pretty deep surroundings-aware software to be built for the 3DS.

Motion Sensing

At the moment, there’s little that can be surmised about the motion controls built into the 3DS. There was only one tech demo on the show floor that used motion controls in any way- Target Practise- and it was hard to tell whether it used the accelerometer; the cameras; or a combination of both. As far as gaming applications go, look no further than the iPhone for an idea of what kind of software we can expect. Because of the 3D display, and the requirement for the player to keep his or head in a fixed position relative to the screen, players are going to look a little bit gumby as they move their heads around in tandem with the screen when playing motion-sensing games, so we would expect motion controls to be quite subtle.

Wireless

Perhaps the most curious inclusions in the 3DS’ design is it’s ‘perpetual online’ mode which allows it to talk to the internet and other 3DS systems, even when it’s not being played with. We all know what that means- Pokémon. Yup, you’ll be able to use the 3DS’ stealthy online to involuntarily pick up extra data like ghost tracks and high scores from your mates, but the new wireless functionality has got Pokémon written all over it. Nintendo looked to the ‘Pokewalker’ for the recent HeartGold and SoulSilver releases on DS as an innovative new way of getting players to collect ‘em all, and now with the 3DS’ always-online mode, there will be yet another way to fill out your collection of pocket monsters for the inevitable 3DS Pokémon game.

It’s gonna sell like hot cakes.

My first thoughts on the 3DS was ‘It’s gonna sell bazillions’. Yes, the 3DS has what I want from the next generation of handhelds, and is packed with all the right features that appeal to my demands for portable gaming, but the moment I saw it, I recognized something that millions of people from different demographics could get excited about. Even if you think 3D is a gimmick – kids everywhere are going to go crazy over it. The built-in 3D camera was a surprise and will appeal directly to younger gamers. Gadget-savvy tech geeks will also like the new display but we’ll just have to wait to see whether the 3DS attracts non-gaming applications in a big way.

For a handheld, there’s a lot packed into the 3DS, but the whole package comes together with a single identity without trying to do a million things at once. The 3D is the star of the show, and everything else has been built around it. The overall design is an evolution of the DS architecture- a pretty bloody good foundation to build off- but it comes together as a very tidy little unit. As with any new system, it’s success will rely on the strength of the games it will carry, but with so much functionality built in, developers are going to be falling over themselves to put games out for it.

The 3DS stole the show at E3, I just wish everyone back in Australia could see one in their hands and catch a glimpse of the future.