First Look: Nintendo 3DS

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Posted on 28 Jul 2010 at 15:28

While Sony and Microsoft are busy fighting it out with new motion-sensitive controllers for their flagship consoles, possibly the most exciting bit of gaming hardware previewed this year is Nintendo's 3DS – a 3D version of the phenomenally popular DS. We were lucky enough to get a hands-on session with engineering samples of the new handheld.

First off, unlike every other implementation of 3D we've ever seen, you don't need to wear glasses. Nintendo has been keeping quiet about the technical specifics, but a representative told us that a separate image is shown to each eye and the wider internet speculates that the most likely method of achieving this is with Sharp's parallax barrier LCD display technology, which polarises the screen to direct one image to your left eye and another image to your right.

The technology is sensitive to position, which means that your viewing angles are limited, but this isn't a problem for the 3DS, as there are only so many ways you can look at a console that you hold in your hands and in front of your face.

The top screen is a large 3.5in 3D display with a glossy finish. Early specs indicate a resolution of 800×240, giving you 400×240 pixels per eye in 3D mode. It works brilliantly. A trailer for forthcoming 3D animated movie Owls of Ga'Hoole really showed off the quality of cinematic 3D on the console. On a screen this size, the sacrifices in resolution necessary for 3D are inconsequential.

Unlike 3D systems that depend on shutter glasses, ambient light causes no flickering and the 3D doesn't lose focus around the edges of your field of vision. However, the reflectivity of the screen still means that, as with most handheld consoles, bright sunlight or office lighting isn't ideal for using the 3DS.

The lower 3in touchscreen is effectively a control interface now, as you'll spend most of your time looking at the 3D display. However, this works well and we saw some game demos that put both screens to interesting use, allowing us to control switches on the touchscreen and see the results of our actions on the 3D display.

The lower half of the console has the usual four buttons and D-pad plus a new analogue pad, which was used to control plane flight in Pilotwings and camera angles in Resident Evil. A slider on the side of the screen controls the intensity of the 3D or can turn it off entirely. The bottom half of the handheld also has a cartridge slot and SD card slot for extra storage.

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