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[LordRaptor]

the Vita has quite a few problems of its own but overall it is a much more well designed handheld in terms of ergonomics and build quality. And it is beeing sold at a similar pricepoint.

the Vita was razorblade modelling with proprietary storage options.

I don't quite understand the second part of your post. What's the issue with Trauma Center, did it use buttons or why do you think is not purely playable with touch? And people play handhelds with gloves? Even then, a lot of people already have gloves for their phones.

Capacitive screens work via electrical conductivity of human skin, so the use of any material that has not been engineered to mimic that conductivity does not work; that includes styluses and regular gloves.
Resistive screens work via pressure, so it does not matter what is providing that pressure.

The Pros of a capacitive screen versus the Cons makes sense for a phone, as input options are limited and actions like multi touch, pinch zoom etc are essential, and there are enough phones on the market that third party after market solutions like special material capacitive gloves for those in colder climates who need to use their device outdoors can exist to solve that problem.
For a device that has multiple available inputs already present, the Pros of multi-touch do not outweigh the Cons inherent with capacitive.

e:

I don't really care that they use it, but it's an example of using older technology for the sake of it as Nintendo have always done.

But it's not 'for the sake of it'.
The two technologies work in very different ways. They each have their own pros and cons. If you are an engineer, you use what is most appropriate for the product you are building, not just the newest thing because newest is always best.

 

[cireza]

Consoles and handheld are supposed to be affordable.

You can have a better quality console that is still affordable if you stop focusing on useless features.

 

[Vital Tundra]

Let's just hope they don't do something expensive like 3D for NX. For 2011 that really handicapped the 3DS cost and permomance wise.

 

[Rektash]

the Vita was razorblade modelling with proprietary storage options.

The vita released at 249€ (+ lets say 40€ for a proprietary SD Card) in 2011/2012, the n3DS released at 249€ in 2014/2015. I really don't think the n3DS wins the value per $ comparison here when it comes to build quality.

 

[Vitacat]

How about premium "adult" versions of the next Nintendo handheld, assuming that happens. Kinda like what Xbox has done with the Elite brand. Better build, design etc for a price. But, I know it won't happen because Nintendo just doesn't think that way.

 

[AppleSeason]

It's always been odd how despite Nintendo's reputation for building TV consoles like tanks, handhelds have been going downhill. The SP already had issues with dust under the screen, and then the hinges problem with the ds.

I suppose that 2ds should be far more solid than the rest, given its design.

 

[Rektash]

How about premium "adult" versions of the next Nintendo handheld, assuming that happens. Kinda like what Xbox has done with the Elite brand. Better build, design etc for a price. But, I know it won't happen because Nintendo just doesn't think that way.

I would totally be up for that! Gaming is my hobby and I am more than willing to pay extra for a device that is more comfortable to use/of higher quality.

Sadly you are right when you say that Ninteno doesn't think that way. It just won't happen. Nintendo won't service that market.

 

[cireza]

How about premium "adult" versions of the next Nintendo handheld, assuming that happens. Kinda like what Xbox has done with the Elite brand. Better build, design etc for a price. But, I know it won't happen because Nintendo just doesn't think that way.

This is something I really hope to see.

Two versions of the handheld, one "low quality" and one "high quality". Same specs, simply better build quality, ergonomics, screen and buttons.

 

[R00bot]

The vita released at 249€ (+ lets say 40€ for a proprietary SD Card) in 2011/2012, the n3DS released at 249€ in 2014/2015. I really don't think the n3DS wins the value per $ comparison here when it comes to build quality.

And the 3DS bombed at first leading to Nintendo cutting its cost quite aggressively, being the fastest Nintendo has ever cut the price on a device. That brought its price down to $169.99. This was only 5 months after release.

 

[Chaos17]

I like my 3DS.

 

[Shiggy]

the Vita was razorblade modelling with proprietary storage options.



Capacitive screens work via electrical conductivity of human skin, so the use of any material that has not been engineered to mimic that conductivity does not work; that includes styluses and regular gloves.
Resistive screens work via pressure, so it does not matter what is providing that pressure.

The Pros of a capacitive screen versus the Cons makes sense for a phone, as input options are limited and actions like multi touch, pinch zoom etc are essential, and there are enough phones on the market that third party after market solutions like special material capacitive gloves for those in colder climates who need to use their device outdoors can exist to solve that problem.
For a device that has multiple available inputs already present, the Pros of multi-touch do not outweigh the Cons inherent with capacitive.
.

As said before, usability (having to use quite a bit of pressure) feels odd when everything else just requires a touch. Especially when there are on-screen buttons which need to be pressed with your fingers.

There's no reason for using resistive screens on a gaming device these days. There are stylus for capacitive screens too which work well enough for use in games. The apparent pro of being more precise is rather irrelevant when in-game use cannot be about 100% precision as it would be too frustrating for the user.

While it's not really about the technology itself, with all other customer devices using capacitive screens, the 3DS screen feels pretty outdated. And I'm sure most users feel irritated by having to use force to activate on-screen buttons.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Cause Nintendo, and people will buy it anyway.

I mean, it sounds like i'm joking, its the case. Nintendo never has had a single reason to improve their hardware in that kind of manner.

 

[Exterminieren]

How about premium "adult" versions of the next Nintendo handheld, assuming that happens. Kinda like what Xbox has done with the Elite brand. Better build, design etc for a price. But, I know it won't happen because Nintendo just doesn't think that way.

Cheap and cheerful handhelds are a hard enough sell these days- I'm pretty sure there's not a substantial market for premium handhelds on top of that.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I don't mind all of those if it meant having better display.

3DS screen looked garbage when I bought it in 2012 (?). I cannot stand it anymore in 2016. I preferred the looks of PSP MH games just because they had a slightly better IQ and didn't have the piss filter.

I agree. I can't play my 3DS any more. I just can't deal with the jaggies.

 

[Dreamwriter]

The handheld is an unergonomic mess that I personally can't use without a third party grip. Without grip I can play for about 10 minutes before my hands/fingers start cramping up.
I have about average/a bit above average sized adult hands. I play piano regulary and have above average finger flexibility because of it. I don't have this problem with my mobile or any Sony handheld.

I don't know of a single person who thinks this, it sounds like you are one of very few people who for some reason find the 3DS that uncomfortable. What about other games? The Monster Hunter series is well known for having horrid control schemes.

Nintendos handheld battery life has gone from good/acceptable in the DS/DSi era to absolutely terrible in the 3DS era. I can run my DSi XL for double the amount of time before it runs out of juice, compared to my n3DS XL . Enough said.

Because the device got quite a bit more powerful without getting any larger (to hold larger batteries). Also the 3D tech requires the screen backlighting get quite a bit brighter to compensate, and the backlighting is one of the worst battery eaters (so turn off 3D if you want longer batteries).

a bad sound chip, unacceptably bad og 3DS 3d effect, etc. .

You are literally the first person I've ever heard complain about 3DS sound chip. What is bad about it? And the original 3DS didn't have an "unacceptably bad 3D effect", it was revolutionary, there was literally nothing like it before. Sure, n3DS improved on it some, but only in making it a bit more stable. I guess you might consider the original 3D bad if you have hand spasms or something, but that would be a special case.

My big problem with 3DS, which I considered a problem from day 1, is the screen resolution. There's no reason for it to be that low. All other devices using the exact same 3D screen tech of that era (from Sharp) had twice the resolution that 3DS had.

 

[Bedameister]

I still love my 2DS. I know it's far from perfect but I love it.

 

[entremet]

Cause Nintendo, and people will buy it anyway.

I mean, it sounds like i'm joking, its the case. Nintendo never has had a single reason to improve their hardware in that kind of manner.

Well Sony tried the high end portable in the smartphone era and what happened?

 

[protomouse]

My main criticism is the displays. They could have spent some money color calibrating the things. It's not so much of a problem when you have one panel (2DS, Vita), but when you have two you can end up with e.g. the top screen pushing blue and the bottom screen pushing red.

 

[the thoroughbred]

I happen to think the build quality is very good. Bar the cracking dsLite (I think). The margin of error they work to is top notch. You could argue that they use plastic instead of metal/glass combo. But this also makes it heavier and more expensive repairs. It's well thought out. I have very large hands so no device is designed for me, saying that I always opt for smaller devices when possible. Portabillity is more important than comfortability. I like to pack lightly. And my eyesight is quite good.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Well Sony tried the high end portable in the smartphone era and what happened?

Yep, they failed horribly. I was never interested in their(sony's) handhelds personally, even though i did give in and buy a PSP eventually for a few games(only reason i even have access to the Vita library is cause i own a PSTV, very worth it at the price i bought it)

Personally, only reason i would not have told Sony to quit while they were ahead and pass PSP off as a extremely successful experiment was because then we would not have had all the vita games we have now, or the PSVita to PS4 conversions of games that make game dev easier for many Japanese devs, so i can't really say i'm mad about how things turned out

I wasn't being insulting to Nintendo either, just stating a fact. they literally don't have a reason to improve those kinds of things because they are largely irrelevant to their sales and profit margins.

 

[Maximo]

Well Sony tried the high end portable in the smartphone era and what happened?

Sony was Vita's problem the hardware was near perfect, sadly Vita was before the right people took over the charge for PS4. High end Portable could work and software still sells really well on the Vita.

 

[Vitacat]

Sony was Vita's problem the hardware was near perfect, sadly Vita was before the right people took over the charge for PS4. High end Portable could work and software still sells really well on the Vita.

Vita is gorgeous and the controls are amazing. Kinda funny how much software it still gets, despite everything.

 

[ScreamingTrees]

The vita released at 249€ (+ lets say 40€ for a proprietary SD Card) in 2011/2012, the n3DS released at 249€ in 2014/2015. I really don't think the n3DS wins the value per $ comparison here when it comes to build quality.

Just to correct this, the N3DS XL launched at SRP of €199.99. I got mine at launch for €180. The N3DS (regular) was cheaper.

 

[Dragon1893]

No charger included blew my mind when I realized it. What portable electronic device comes without charger?
3DS battery life is terrible. The vita lasts weeks in sleep mode and even if it runs out it still saves your state.
3DS barely lasts overnight and if you didn't save the joke's on you.
It's really jarring for someone who regularly uses both.
I constantly need to put them down at the drop of a hat and with the 3DS I always need to make sure I save before stopping at the risk of having it die on me.
If the game doesn't allow me to save at that point and I don't have my charger I'm probably screwed.

 

[Caronte]

Because people keep buying them.

 

[thecouncil]

Nintendo offends me at every turn. I just can't anymore, y'know?

*picks up New 3DS XL to play Monster Hunter Generations*

 

[EhoaVash]

3ds hardware really disappointed me the most out of any Nintendo devices I owned.

It made me feel how much the hardware is holding back certain games for me to enjoy ie monster hunter.

 

[Spieler Eins]

The sales argument isn't exactly convincing in the west anymore.

 

[MikeyB]

The 3DSXL is all that I was looking for in a handheld, aside from comfort. It also has some useless stuff, like the 3D, which I don't think I have turned on since I turned it off several years ago.

 

[animax]

OP, by the sounds of it you've bought multiple DS/3DS revisions/models since release.

Thats your answer right there. If you keep buying it why would they change anything?

 

[Rektash]

OP, by the sounds of it you've bought multiple DS/3DS revisions/models since release.

Thats your answer right there. If you keep buying it why would they change anything?

Well I don't exactly have a choice when trying to get the best experience out of my 3DS games. I would love for an option where I can just spend a couple hundred bucks and be done with my Nintendo hardware plight.

There are games on the platform that I want to play. Of course I could just say fuck it and stop playing those games all together but I don't want to do that, so all that I can actually do is complain.

 

[ArtHands]

I cant say it is overpriced when they keep winning the handheld war

 

[Boney]

Sound speakers are just an unfortunate element of not having the necessary space to work with. The old XL has vertical speakers due to the size of the upper screen and they sound really weak, weaker than regular 3DS.

The flimsy hinge is because if it was tighter it would end up snapping like it did with the DSlite some rime ago, it needs to be looser. The amount of plastic and toy like element allows it to be sturdy as hell.

I'm happy with the buttons they have since the DSi, and I think the circle pad is alright. As for lack of ergonomics, it's alright, not the best but not the worst but it's a price to pay for form factor and slimming it down. There's solutions like third party grips that aren't expensive at all so that way anybody can be happy.

And a mark of quality has to be durability, especially with handhelds. And in this instance, they excel. You can drop it or accidentally hit it or step on it and most likely it will be working perfectly. I managed to submerge my 3ds in water, and dummy me panicked cause it turned off from from sleep mode and tried turning it on. It did attempt to and crashed, and then didn't even want to do the first power up. Thought I killed it, left it a few days resting and presto it still works like if it was new.

 

[dity]

But it's not 'for the sake of it'.
The two technologies work in very different ways. They each have their own pros and cons. If you are an engineer, you use what is most appropriate for the product you are building, not just the newest thing because newest is always best.

Well, by the time the 3DS came out capacitive touch screens had been established for quite some years and probably weren't that expensive (considering Android phones of 2010-2011).

Besides, I dunno about you, but for most games I just end up using my thumbs for the bottom screen anyway. Lol.

 

[Aostia]

The sales argument isn't exactly convincing in the west anymore.

compared to what?
I thnk it destroyed Vita even more than in Japan.
I also think that it sold something like 40 millions in the West so far, with a possible price cut + Pokemon incoming. I honestly lost track of Xbox One sales, but I'm not so sure it will sell THAT more to define the 3DS "not convincing".

btw, OP, I feel 3DS elderly nowadays, but not at launch. Since PSP launch of course Nintendo handheld were a gen behind in row power, but I felt comfortable playing hundreds of hours with the 3DS until today, but I hope NX portable is a thing for next year.
My gaming behaviours changed during the past few years, so in this very moment what I'm looking for is a bigger screen with higher resolution, especially

 

[kinggroin]

I don't really care that they use it, but it's an example of using older technology for the sake of it as Nintendo have always done.

It wasn't "for the sake of it".

There was method to the madness, which mostly revolved around accuracy. Maybe it was short sighted and misguided, but it wasn't "for the sake of it"

 

[Spieler Eins]

I cant say it is overpriced when they keep winning the handheld war

They've completely lost the war against smartphones. Handhelds are dead outside Japan. As if it needed further highlighting by Pokemon Go...

compared to what?
I thnk it destroyed Vita even more than in Japan.
I also think that it sold something like 40 millions in the West so far, with a possible price cut + Pokemon incoming. I honestly lost track of Xbox One sales, but I'm not so sure it will sell THAT more to define the 3DS "not convincing".

40 million after 5 years isn't exactly great (i.e. by far the worst selling handheld they've had), especially with hardware in the NPD being almost as dead as WiiU for a couple of years. Spinning with Vita sales is like spinning WiiU sales because of Ouya.

 

[Nosgotham]

I mean, they got into the portable gaming market by intentionally releasing a console using cheap proven technologies. They've just never moved on from that. Even the New 3DS has a resistive touch screen.

Resistive screen is a negative? Can you imagine the alternative ? No thanks

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

My Nintendo handhelds have held together after extensive use. They aren't pristine, but they function.

Unfortunately my friend had serious issues with his New 3DS recognizing carts, which is costly to repair.

 

[Linkark07]

Agree with the battery life, it is laughable to say the least. Almost always playing plugged to a power outlet. My O3DS also has some cracking in the picture and the buttons, and my N3DS has an issue with the sounds.

Besides that, I'm ok with Nintendo handhelds. They are good, and certainly they don't affect my hands. Don't need a power grip for use them.

 

[dity]

Resistive screen is a negative? Can you imagine the alternative ? No thanks

The point of pretty much every Nintendo handheld is using tried and true older proven technology to create a cheaper console. The whole Gameboy line relied on it.

I wasn't saying it was a negative. I was just saying it's what they do, resistive touch screens are a current example.

 

[Bear Force One]

It's a bit erroneous to make the claims that the hardware is outdated. For example, though it's not a handheld Wii U may have had lower specs, but the tech behind it was top quality and modern, they just focused on minimalising power output and efficiency over raw power. Yet due to it having smaller numbers, people called it outdated.

3DS also had a built in stereoscopic screen and a lot of other technical tricks.

Lower specs != outdated hardware

You didn't read the OP and instead went into defense mode.

 

[tiggerkiddo]

I can understand those claims of ergonomics, 3DS was always a system I could really play for too long before my hands cramped up, usually forced me to just keep the playtimes short.

 

[MacTag]

40 million after 5 years isn't exactly great (i.e. by far the worst selling handheld they've had), especially with hardware in the NPD being almost as dead as WiiU for a couple of years. Spinning with Vita sales is like spinning WiiU sales because of Ouya.

Actually the worst selling launch aligned would by far be the original Game Boy, which was only around 20m in the west after 5 years. Obviously 3DS will fall behind it do to longevity though as GB essentially had two lifecycles thanks to Pokémon.

3DS hasn't been that close to Wii U in npd either, it's nearly always double or more in sales. Still bad overall in the west but not really comparable to Wii U.

 

[Malakai]

You didn't read the OP and instead went into defense mode.

From, what Joe86 wrote, it does sound like he did read the post.

 

[Tobor]

I cant say it is overpriced when they keep winning the handheld war

This is the equivalent of winning the horse and buggy war in 1920.

 

[MacTag]

This is the equivalent of winning the horse and buggy war in 1920.

Don't worry, Nintendo's winning the mobile war too now.

 

[Simbabbad]

Nintendo's portable consoles are great, financially healthy, and popular.

Meanwhile, it's very doubtful Sony will release a new portable after the Vita - which will only increase the appeal of the next Nintendo portable.

 

[yllekz]

What infuriates me is that Nintendo USED to make good durable hardware (Gulf War Game Boy). However, starting with the DS, they just started making them with incredibly cheap and fragile parts (particularly the shoulder buttons).

 

[DOWN]

I am always surprised at how dated the hardware internals on 3DS are compared to its price.