The most innovative company in the gaming industry in the world released its latest product in March 2011 – the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo is responsible for legendary gaming names like Super Mario, SNES and Game Boy, each of them leaving a huge mark on the way games are played today.
But the most recognizable piece of gaming kit of the Japanese company, the one that redefined the modern understanding of medium, is the Nintendo Wii. It compelled literary everyone from 9 year old boys to 90 year old grannies to wave around the TV with a white remote in the hand.
Nintendo DS, Nintendo’s handheld line of the presence, made a similar impact on the gaming community and the public in general. Everyone is a gamer with the DS and you might be Brain Training at lunch or leaping over spikes while riding on the bus to work, in any case you are part of a video game craze that has surpassed every expectation, and all thanks to Nintendo.
Nintendo offers the DS in various editions that will satisfy everyone’s taste. By making the devices bigger, smaller or lighter, adding a camera on one ad more power to other, Nintendo now has devices like DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL to offer. But the basic premise of the DS remained in all models; a dual-screen, clam-like handheld device with touch functionality which enhances gaming sensation with an additional interactivity range that propelled the success of DS to stardom.
But with the release of Nintendo 3DS, the Japanese manufacturers are trying to revolutionize the gaming concept for the third time now. At first look, the 3DS appears like smoother version of its older siblings and still holds on to the touch sensitive dual-screen set-up. But this time, Nintendo has the upper screen made to be able to take your gaming experience to a new level – emitting you game in autostereoscopic 3D – that means watching 3D but without the need for 3D glasses.
The 3DS is smaller than the DSi and weighs 8oz with battery and SD card on it. The upper lid holds two cameras instead of one, necessary for the 3D to work. In terms of physical gaming experience, like buttons and holding the device, the features of the 3DS are somewhat improved compared to the DSi.
Granted, Avatar and other 3D movies have revived the public’s interest for 3D movies and Sony is taking their PS3 gaming experience further with 3D TV’s and bulky glasses, but watching unassisted 3D in your palm is totally something else and has exciting and huge prospect. The Nintendo 3DS has the likeliness to be a giant leap forward not just from its own predecessors, but portable gaming devices in general. It will be another iconic household name that Nintendo has the claim for.