1) Do you like the pedometer feature of the 3DS? You earn 1 Play Coin for every 100 steps registered as you carry around your 3DS, and you can earn a maximum of 10 coins a day (after getting 1000 steps).

2) Is the 10 coin limit too restrictive?

I don't see a problem with it at all. I easily get the 1000 steps every day, even if I'm just walking around the house doing my normal routine.

I feel the Play Coins are a nice bonus feature on top of StreetPass that should motivate people to carry their 3DS around wherever they may go.

The 10 coin daily limit may start to feel more restrictive once a person's 3DS game library grows, and you're having to spread the coins across multiple games.

3) And on another note: What have you been using your coins on so far? Are you accumulating them in the hopes of picking up a game that will use the feature?

I haven't used too many of the Coins for the Mii Plaza games Find Mii and Puzzle Swap. The coins in Puzzle Swap can end up giving you pieces you already have, and I'd rather just use StreetPass Miis anyway for both games (even though it's been very rare for me to get any StreetPasses).

So I have been spending my coins generously on Super Street Fighter IV figurines and have a total of 103 figurines, while still keeping a bunch of Coins in the bank (currently at 50), ready for future 3DS titles I will buy later on.

4) How would you like to see Play Coins implemented in games? Just for optional bonus content?

Final note: It's awesome that the Coins are universal across any 3DS game, and it's all up to the game developer to decide how to use those coins.

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Yeah, I went searching and didn't find a list showing which 3DS games are compatible with Play Coins. I only have Super Street Fighter IV, which does use the feature to unlock figurines for StreetPass battles. But the coins aren't necessary, you can still unlock the figurines without coins as well. The coins just make it faster to build up your figurine collection.

So. 6 months later. How many games use the coins to unlock stuff? I have had 300 coins saved for months now, but to be honest I haven't bought one retail 3DS game since launch.

Looking forward to Shinobi, though, which I WILL pick up, and uses the coins. But I know of no other game that uses them.

I like em. I wish we could get more daily though. I'm using them to finish up the Street Pass Plaza games. I already finished Puzzle Swap and I'm in the middle of the second quest of Find Mii.

I've maxed it out and have nothing to use them on. I'm not interested in the Mii Plaza game or whatever. I wish the new Mario or Mario Kart games used them. Do they?

@GameDadGrant

You'd think with your DSi camera adventures that you would have 'graduated' up to 3DS camera adventuring. Maybe in November, when the video recording update comes?

Anyway, I love the play coin system. It's a true 'achievement system' just for bringing your 3DS around with you. I just wish more games utilized them in more meaningful ways, or made them an intergral component to their games. However, it looks like Nintendo will be rectifying that situation by the end of the year, so I'm pretty excited about that prospect.

An upgrade to Find Mii would be nice, with real stats and equipment to purchase with your coins. I've been at 300 forever with nothing to use them on and the lack of StreetPass means I haven't unlocked any other puzzles to use them on either. I hope the new game with the update in November gives us a way to use them a lot more.

Ah, my old roundtable.

I'm with most of you guys here: I still have 300 coins, and they aren't going anywhere.

I own four 3DS retail games, and only one of them uses coins: SSFIV 3D. I have no motivation to use coins there to purchase the character figurines because they're only good for StreetPass battles, and I never get StreetPasses.

I have no motivation to play through the Find Mii game again.

Coins don't get you new puzzle pieces in Puzzle Swap.

It's good to hear there will be more opportunities for coin usage coming up. Shinobi definitely intrigues me.

DrFinkelstein said:

I've maxed it out and have nothing to use them on. I'm not interested in the Mii Plaza game or whatever. I wish the new Mario or Mario Kart games used them. Do they?

I, too, would like to know this.

It's kind of funny that only 3rd party games use the play coins. I think Mario and Mario Kart will take advantage of spotpass and streetpass though.
I have been using the coins for unlocking puzzle pieces, but it's getting tedious. What is the point of completing the puzzles anyways?

I don't think the 20 coin limit is too restrictive unless games start seriously requiring a lot of coins all of a sudden.

I try not to use my coins for the Mii Plaza games. Doesn't seem to be anywhere near as satisfying to complete them if you use mostly coins. The only exception is that sometimes if I have a room almost beaten in Find Mii, I'll hire a hero or two to finish it off. Also, I bought some puzzle pieces because I felt bad that the guy next door kept giving me new puzzle pieces and I had nothing to offer him. Sadly that guy either moved away or sold his 3DS.

I dislike it. I don't take my 3DS with me when I go out and this addition doesn't make it worthwhile to do so. All it does is lock me out of some content for not taking it with me.

@stephen08

I can understand you feeling that it's not worthwhile, but it's not 'locking' you out of anything. You're locking out yourself. That's like saying that a game is locking you out of content because you refuse to do the sidequests. That's your own damned fault. It's not like it's inaccessible to you. You just have to go and get it.

@casper884


What a ridiculous stance. The system basically holds you hostage if you want the content. It is not analogous to sidequests since those are wholly rooted in the mechanics in the game. I have already elected to play the game thus it is content within the game. Nintendo trying to make me take the system everywhere I go is not even close to the same thing. It would be like if the Wii U had play coins that you got for browsing the web. It's not the most convenient option but if you want the content well you have to alter your behavior. I don't really care that much since all of the content that came pre-loaded on the 3DS is pretty shitty.

Actually, addressing your point makes me outright hate the addition. Good job Nintendo on this thinly veiled vapid addition to your system because that's what has really been missing from your previous platforms.

It holds you hostage about as much as a power button does.

@missypissy

That's not accurate at all. The system locks out content unless you take it with you. How is that not holding you hostage given that you want the content?

Maybe because I don't view putting something in my pocket and doing absolutely nothing extra worthy of being considered "holding you hostage".

@missypissy

Two words: Stockholm syndrome.

@missypissy

Oh so the level of annoyance isn't high enough that it becomes an issue. Giving in to the terrorists does not mean they are not holding you hostage you know.

It's kind of weird to me that Stephen is angry about play coins, since the only reasonable content you have been able to get with it so far is in the plaza stuff, which you can get in other ways if you really want to. And I'm not sure how the plaza stuff would work at all if not for StreetPass or play coins.

Personally I think they're pretty cool. At least, they were for the puzzle and quest modes. But then I beat those, so I haven't really used play coins since. Give me something new to use them on Nintendo!!!

@Zero

I'm not angry about it, I just think it's a worthless addition to a system. Can you get the content in other ways? If so then it's not a big deal as long as those ways are not as vacuous as this.

Which content? The plaza stuff? You can get it from StreetPassing or play coins. How could you not know this if you own a 3DS?!

As for the rest I'm not sure what else exists yet. Street Fighter has those bottle cap trophies or whatever, but those seem kind of pointless to me, and you can get so many of them for free it seems like a waste to spend coins on them anyway.

Whatever the case it seems like it is up to the individual developers to decide if content will be play coins only, or acquirable in some other way as well.