Nintendo 3DS coming soon... who's getting it?

[jobocan]

I'll be getting it at launch, though I'm only getting 1 or 2 games for it at the moment (Samurai Warriors Chronicles and maybe Pilotwings (unless another launch title ends up being really good)). The reason I'm getting it at launch is because, well, I don't want to have trouble finding the system when games I actually want for it (Kid Icarus, Star Fox, Zelda, Mario) start coming out. I don't know if it's gonna be crazy hard to find like the Wii was, so I just wanna be on the safe side.

How about you guys?

[scott]

I want to get it, but I'm going to hold off. Mostly due to my finances at the moment. I'm super excited about the virtual console being on it. I held off on the DSi and DSi-XL for the 3DS, hopefully I can pick one up soon after launch...

[monochrome]

What scott said.

Plus I want to boost my DS collection as the console dies off and games get cheap.

[matt]

My time for mobile gaming is really slim so I think I'm going to pass on the 3DS. It really pains me as the DS is one of my all-time favorite systems. I seem to spend what little mobile time I have using my phone for gaming and other applications. I'm that guy who is killing the mobile console market. Sorry!

[atariboy]

I love my DS and take it everywhere I go. I think I will hold off on the 3DS until it gets cheaper and games are cheaper. I don't play games on my phone, heck I don't even listen to music on my phone. I basically use my phone to make phone calls (imagine that) and for web browsing when I'm out. any way back to topic on hand. I think its a neat concept but I hopefully it will work as good as they say it will and is not all fluff.

[scott]

@atariboy ya, same here, mostly use my phone for texts, calls, email and web browsing. Though I do have a few games on it.

I don't think 3DS is a bad concept, though I'm not sold on 3D gaming at all. Mostly I'm more interested in it, since it's the new generation of Nintendo handheld. Though I am concerned that maybe the 3DS and Sony's new PSP are trying to get too elaborate...

[jobocan]

For me the "3D gaming" concept is mostly fluff. It's not gonna be any different from "2D gaming" (I guess that's how people are calling it now... remember when Mario 64 was "3D gaming"? yeah...), except you'll have a slightly better sense of depth. It's nifty, but it's not needed.
I'm getting for the 3DS not because of the 3D effect, or even because of the stronger hardware, but because, well, it's a Nintendo handheld and those are always good... and Star Fox 64 is coming out on it, I just can't say no to that.

One of my friends actually tried the 3DS last year at E3 (lucky bastard) and he told me that the effect is actually really good. And currently there's some Best Buy stores in the US that have demo units, and the feedback I've read from those is very positive.

[tpugmire]

Not getting it right off.  I'm going to wait until the 3rd or 4th version, when they get all the bugs worked out.  I just barely got a DSi XL, so I'm good for a while.

[matt]

Today is the big day. Anyone pick one up?

[jobocan]

I was going to pick it up today, but I forgot to cancel my pre-order on amazon (I forgot that I pre-ordered it there >_<) and it was shipped to me this morning, so I decided to just wait for the one I ordered from there.

I'm going to pick up a game today though (so that I don't end up getting it tomorrow and get back from work unable to try it out), probably Samurai Warriors, and MAYBE Pilotwings.... still figuring out what to get exactly.

I'll write my impressions here whenever I get it.

*EDIT*
Picked up Pilotwings and Samurai Warriors, and I got to try Pilotwings at the best buy... The 3D effect actually works really well. Having the 3D at 100% took me no more than 2 seconds to find the sweet spot and focus on the image to see it well. I did sometimes see very faint double of things on the screen, so maybe a bit lower than 100% will work best for me. The game seemed pretty fun too, though I'll be able to say more about that once I actually get my 3DS. That's it for now.

[jobocan]

Finally got it yesterday. For now my only complaint about the machine is the placement of the start/select/home buttons. Rather than being their own separate buttons, it's one big strip of plastic and I find them really hard to press. Also, the power button is strangely placed too, I pressed it by error once in the middle of a mission in Samurai Warriors (so I had to wait through an unskippable cutscene a second time).

Otherwise it's a nice system. It comes with a few things built-in, which are actually kinda cool (it's really nicely done seeing that dragon bursting out of your table and having to move around it to hit it).

The 3D effect is really nice. While you can play anything in there without it, when you turn it on I find that it really improves the visuals. While it's not a game-changer, it really gives you a way to look at games you haven't before, without cumbersome glasses. Judging distances is a bit easier, but that's really it gameplay-wise.

[scott]

> jobocan
>  Also, the power button is strangely placed too, I pressed it by error once in the middle of a mission in Samurai Warriors (so I had to wait through an unskippable cutscene a second time).

I remember having this problem with the original DS. I can't tell you how many times I accidentally turned it off in the middle of a game...

[jobocan]

I actually never had that problem with the original DS. To me at least it was placed perfectly. This is the first time the button placement for a power button on a handheld has ever given me any trouble.

[scott]

Oh I had problems with it all the time. I was so happy to see the power switch get moved on the DS Lite.

[monochrome]

I couldn't imagine the placement being any worse than the PSP 2000.  Many times I'm in a tense situation (in-game) and I tend to squeeze the system, I inadvertently push the button up just enough that *BOOM* my screen goes black.

I want a 3DS but I'm broke!  

*sigh*