Now that the 3DS is out, and I've seen it for myself. (Though I haven't seen most of what it has to offer yet, I'll be seeing that this Friday when my friend brings over hers with SSFIV.) I thought we would talk about those who are skeptical about the 3DS... our fellow Nintendo fans that seem to cry out, 'It's just a gimmick!' and don't feel the same way most of us do about the system.

It seems like the 3DS is facing the same problems the Wii and DS had during their launches. Both the DS and Wii were called gimmicks, but yet they both held up and are two of the highest selling consoles/handhelds of all time... yet... people seem to not remember that.

I was watching T.V. with my friend the other day, the launch day of the 3DS, and a commercial for it came on. I started talking about the capabilities of the system and my excitement for it... and for some reason, he became hostile... angry... and I have no idea why, because he's a huge Nintendo fan like I am...

What is it with this hostility towards the 3DS?

Is it the price? The time of launch?

I'm not sure if you guys have met anyone who has this unwarranted hatred towards the system, but I've seen at least two cases, and I've seen a few on the gamespot forums, but those are usually self-explanatory.... though there are still some from Nintendo fans.

@Paleo_Orca

Was it that jerk Emilio?!

--Sidescrolles DID disappear for a longtime though. Nearly everything on the N64 was totally 3D, and even when there was a 2D game it was a big deal (Yoshi's Story, Mischief Makers, right??).

And then something like Muramasa pops up and people are like "yeah! Thats right, its a SIDESCROLLER, remember those?!"

Adding color to handhelds was a gimmick too.

@Renjaku

Go to the other discussion where you're cited "tickling your Pandareus."

If 3D is just gimmicky, then why was the jump from 480i to 1080p not? Frankly, Nintendo introduces us to what we really want to be doing more than the competition does. That's what it boils down to for me; Nintendo is THE trend-setter and ahead of the curve at every step.

@Deerock69

For the record, I'm not doubting any of this stuff. I think its great. People seem to like it, but I don't know how long the craze can last.

Kinda like Pumps (the sneaks!)..or something.

@Mr_Mustache What other discussion?

@Renjaku

Do a Reply Search for "Fink'd".

--Oh, this one.

I don't really have anything against the 3DS.I just don't care one tiny little bit for 3D and the fact that the 3DS has to use so much power just for the 3D effect kinda bothers me,id rather it went towards making better game worlds.Of course other things seem to suffer for the 3D too,like the battery and the price is just a bit too much for me.

I don't hate it as it is. I enjoy it but right now, or I like the idea behind it, but I hope the tech improves to make 3D accessible to more people. I'm finding it really hard to adjust to its effects and I don't think it's worth the trouble so I'll either leave it at bare minimum or turn the 3D off completely when playing my games. Giving myself pain to enjoy effects that don't seem to greatly enhance gameplay is not worth it.

I do absolutely love the system though! Everything else about it is just awesome

I don't view 3D as much of an improvement over 2D. Maybe time will pass and that will seem silly, but it just doesn't add much of anything to a game or a movie. I don't watch The Godfather and sit there disappointed that it wasn't able to be in 3D. I don't want it remade for 3D either, ya know?

I guess maybe it's a case by case basis for me.

However, I don't hold it against the 3DS at all. I think the little thing has potential to be a good console.

Nintendo has been doing gimmicks for a long time now.

Everyone says that what they do are gimmicks, have no lasting power, etc. (see Wii's motion control and DS's touchscreen)

What happens?

Oh yeah, everyone is proved wrong and instead the companies who apparently don't do gimmicks (Sony and Microsoft) create the Kinect and Move and the NGP. (which has touch controls).

Everything runs on gimmicks. Gimmicks sell.

MightyOwned said:

Nintendo has been doing gimmicks for a long time now.

Everyone says that what they do are gimmicks, have no lasting power, etc. (see Wii's motion control and DS's touchscreen)

What happens?

Oh yeah, everyone is proved wrong and instead the companies who apparently don't do gimmicks (Sony and Microsoft) create the Kinect and Move and the NGP. (which has touch controls).

Everything runs on gimmicks. Gimmicks sell.

You forgot to mention the Virtual Boy

@Peppy-le-FoxThere is no such thing as the Virtual Boy. I do not know what you are talking about.

@Oldmanwinter You have a DS and play iPhone games instead?!

Wow.

@carlosrox Yeah actually I'm enjoying it (though I hear it is short... then I hear it is as long as 64... so I dunno) but overall I can't say the launch lineup is that great. I can easily see why some people wouldn't be sold on it yet.

It's weird though how fast people are to make flash judgments. I mean, we know the lineup is going to be awesome eventually. There are tons of great games announced and surely many more in the works that we don't know about. Why are people so quick to down the whole platform based on the launch lineup?

@GameDadGrant

Some kind of Killer App like Mario 64, Twilight Princess, Halo, Smash Bros Melee, Super Mario World etc.

Only game I have so far is SFIV (which I'm terrible at)... In a game like this, yes, the 3D is a gimmick. It plays like a 2D game, though. I think Mario will be sweet on this system.

MightyOwned said:

Nintendo has been doing gimmicks for a long time now.

Everyone says that what they do are gimmicks, have no lasting power, etc. (see Wii's motion control and DS's touchscreen)

What happens?

Oh yeah, everyone is proved wrong and instead the companies who apparently don't do gimmicks (Sony and Microsoft) create the Kinect and Move and the NGP. (which has touch controls).

Everything runs on gimmicks. Gimmicks sell.

I want to touch on this along with the 480i to 1080p comment.

calling 1080p gimmicky is like calling more ram gimmicky, it's a natural progression of tech, 3D isn't the obvious next step in tech, as much as everybody would want you to believe.

Motion control isn't inherently gimmicky, but it has a lot of potential to be. Twilight Princess Sword waggle was gimmicky, but Wii Sports bowling clearly isn't. The difference being it would have been just as easy to map the sword attacks to a button, and the game would play exactly the same. you replace motion controls in Wii Sports, and you've changed the entire dynamic of the game.

So 3D is gimmicky, because it doesn't offer anything that changes the way you play the game. The only thing that's going to stop the 3D from being gimmicky is something that is impossible to play without 3D, and with the fairly limited 3D depth that the 3DS is capable of producing, I can;t see anything ever being 3D dependent.

@MightyOwned

I feel like the 3DS is more in line with the Virtual Boy though, not motion controls or touch screen.
They have had failures, too.

How many games for Super Scope Six?


...Annnnd I see that you've acknowledged to ignore the existence of the Virtual Boy, haha. So be it!


PS- How is your Wii doing??

The first photo I took with my 3DS was of my Virtual Boy and all its games laid out on the table. It's ironic or somethin'. I also played quite a bit of VB before picking up the 3DS...it just felt strangely appropriate!

Pretty cool how things have advanced since 1995 though.

@Mr_Mustache

There's a slight problem with your comparison with the Virtual Boy though...

It failed HARD. And it had virtually NO support from third parties. The 3DS has had a huge start with sales and giant third party support that we haven't seen since the NES/SNES days. So, comparing it to the virtual boy is just silly.