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Kotaku: First Hands-On with the New 3DS

M

maxcriden

Member
I saw this discussed over in the official N3DS thread, but I thought it was worthy of its own thread.

sdw7mab4pq2c7djbqsnw.jpg


In the Monster Hunter 4G demo, the C-Stick was used exclusively for the camera. Since it's a small nub, that seemed ideal for camera movement in that you can easily push it. I tried pushing on it as hard as I could to actually see if I could break it, but the nub appeared very sturdy. I am curious to see how it will hold up over extended play.

However, this C-Stick isn't really something you can flick, which makes me wonder how it will feel to use in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS.

But, like I said above, the C-Stick is an extremely welcome addition for camera controls.
Click to expand...

The Slide Pad appears to be the same Slide Pad on current 3DS models, and I personally didn't notice a difference. The Dpad and the face buttons all felt nice (the buttons were slightly clicky), and everything else appeared to be in good working order. The new added shoulder buttons (ZR and ZL) required more of a reach to use, but since they stick out slightly, they were easy enough to use. The back of the handheld, however, was glossy plastic, and I kind of wish Nintendo would have gone with a nice matte finish.
Click to expand...

The biggest surprise was not the controls. The improved 3D effect is truly improved. It actually surprised me how good the effect looks now. This is something I've long hated on the original 3DS and have rarely used because it made my eyes tired. Instead of making you feel like you are crossing your eyes, the new 3DS effect has more of a shadow-box effect than you get with the current 3DS. Instead of feeling like the game is popping out, it's as though the New 3DS is drawing you into the game.
Click to expand...

To help pull off the 3D effect, Nintendo installed new face tracking software. You can move your head around and don't have to constantly fiddle with your positioning or the slider to keep the 3D effect. The tracking wasn't completely smooth, however, as there is some herky-jerky panning to calculate the effect.
Click to expand...

As I was playing the New Nintendo 3DS, I couldn't help but wish this had been the handheld Nintendo launched the platform with. It really seemed to deliver in ways that the original 3DS, a fantastic portable in its own right, does not. And that, no doubt, is the point.
Click to expand...

http://kotaku.com/first-hands-on-with-the-new-nintendo-3ds-1636158482

BTW, am I wrong in thinking you use the 3DS slider to determine the extent of the 3D effect, not to *keep* the 3D effect? I haven't used the 3D much on my 3DS so I wasn't sure if I was misunderstanding what he meant, or what the slider is for.
 
J

Jakoo

Member
maxcriden said:
BTW, am I wrong in thinking you use the 3DS slider to determine the extent of the 3D effect, not to *keep* the 3D effect? I haven't used the 3D much on my 3DS so I wasn't sure if I was misunderstanding what he meant, or what the slider is for.
Click to expand...

At least in my experience, it kind of works both ways. The more intense the effect is, the more static your viewing angle needs to be for it to work.
 
Z

ZeroX03

Banned
The glossy sounds bad. Another thing that is leaning me toward a regular 3DS instead of an XL. Everything else seems like an improvement.
 
S

Starwolf_UK

Member
Not glossy...I'll get the sandpaper.

Instead of feeling like the game is popping out, it's as though the New 3DS is drawing you into the game.
Click to expand...
Like was mentioned in the main thread; Have Kotaku ever played on a 3DS with 3D?* Games rarely "pop out" there either making the comparison seem ignorant at best.

*-The writer did say no because it gave them eyestrain...
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
the Hurdy Gurdy effect has me concerned. The problem for me with the current 3DSXL is more that I lose the 3D efffect momentarily (and constantly) when I slightly move my head.

If the new 3DS still has to play catch up and has lag as it tracks my head, then that won't be a huge improvement IMO - you'll still be losing the effect while it is correcting.

Feel this is something I'd need to see in the flesh
 
Hip Hop

Hip Hop

Member
I'm just gonna stick with my 3DSXL until whatever next-gen handheld Nintendo come up with. Not really interested in the changes, or new controls.
 
HitCtrlAltDel

HitCtrlAltDel

Member
maxcriden said:
BTW, am I wrong in thinking you use the 3DS slider to determine the extent of the 3D effect, not to *keep* the 3D effect? I haven't used the 3D much on my 3DS so I wasn't sure if I was misunderstanding what he meant, or what the slider is for.
Click to expand...

You're right that it only determines the extent, but from my experience the higher you have the 3D set, the easier it is to notice that you aren't in the perfect viewing spot. This is simply due to the difference between the left and right images being greater and therefore more noticeable when viewed off angle in a higher 3D setting.
 
G

GluedOnBeard

Member
By the sounds of it I am definitely going for the smaller model.

I have been pondering giving up on playing multiplayer games as although they are fun can be too addictive/time consuming and the 3DS would be a great way to add some great single player experiences to pick up and play for short bursts.

Biggest thing with this revision for me is that they have fixed the 3D, hope they announce a release date for NA soon.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
After playing the MH4G on the n3DS XL today I have to agree with the nub feeling a bit weird. If it's going to be used for camera controls it's not a problem, but I'm not so sure about smashes in SSB4...
3D not losing focus in the new 3DS is amazing. I have a really hard time using 3D on the current XL and with n3DS I had to try hard to mess up the 3D effect. I don't know about the lag, didn't feel anything off.
I loved the new start/select button placement and the general feel of the n3DS XL in my hands.
After playing on it for 10-15 minutes, I definitely won't cancel my preorder.
 
L

Luigiv

Member
Hasemo said:
After playing the MH4G on the n3DS XL today I have to agree with the nub feeling a bit weird. If it's going to be used for camera controls it's not a problem, but I'm not so sure about smashes in SSB4...
3D not losing focus in the new 3DS is amazing. I have a really hard time using 3D on the current XL and with n3DS I had to try hard to mess up the 3D effect. I don't know about the lag, didn't feel anything off.
I loved the new start/select button placement and the general feel of the n3DS XL in my hands.
After playing on it for 10-15 minutes, I definitely won't cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...

Awesome.
 
M

mrback

Member
Hasemo said:
After playing the MH4G on the n3DS XL today I have to agree with the nub feeling a bit weird. If it's going to be used for camera controls it's not a problem, but I'm not so sure about smashes in SSB4...
3D not losing focus in the new 3DS is amazing. I have a really hard time using 3D on the current XL and with n3DS I had to try hard to mess up the 3D effect. I don't know about the lag, didn't feel anything off.
I loved the new start/select button placement and the general feel of the n3DS XL in my hands.
After playing on it for 10-15 minutes, I definitely won't cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...

oooooooohhhhhh, no standard anywhere??? :)
 
L

Lady Siara

Member
Huh, the head tracking sounds interesting. I almost never use the 3d feature on my xl as I find I'm too fidgety to remain in the sweet spot. Even then, I rarely crank the effect over 1/3rd as it usually just looks like a split mess to me.
 
T

thebisonxrc

Member
I'm so happy to hear that the 3D has improved. I love using the 3D, but often find that I'm moving my head around just to find the sweet spot. This is great news!

Pretty bummed about the glossy bit, though. I hope they'll change that when it's released in North America.
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
mrback said:
oooooooohhhhhh, no standard anywhere??? :)
Click to expand...
In the MH4G demo area? No, I believe they only had XLs. And I'm pretty sure that it's the only place on the TGS floor where you could try out new 3DSes.
 
R

ricki42

Member
GluedOnBeard said:
By the sounds of it I am definitely going for the smaller model.
Click to expand...

The article states that the screen of the new regular model is larger than the current version. Is there any information on how much larger? I find the current XL a bit too large, and if the new one is even larger (same screen size though) I would probably rather go for the regular one as well, especially if it's a bit larger than currently.
 
B

Bleep

Member
Hasemo said:
After playing the MH4G on the n3DS XL today I have to agree with the nub feeling a bit weird. If it's going to be used for camera controls it's not a problem, but I'm not so sure about smashes in SSB4...
3D not losing focus in the new 3DS is amazing. I have a really hard time using 3D on the current XL and with n3DS I had to try hard to mess up the 3D effect. I don't know about the lag, didn't feel anything off.
I loved the new start/select button placement and the general feel of the n3DS XL in my hands.
After playing on it for 10-15 minutes, I definitely won't cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...

Does the nub have any "throw" to it like the circle pad or is it like an old laptop nub that is stiff and detects pressure rather than moving?
 
R

RionaaM

Unconfirmed Member
The face tracking feature sounds great. I will be able to hold the console in a weird angle and still get the 3D effect.
 
S

Shengar

Member
Hasemo said:
After playing the MH4G on the n3DS XL today I have to agree with the nub feeling a bit weird. If it's going to be used for camera controls it's not a problem, but I'm not so sure about smashes in SSB4...
3D not losing focus in the new 3DS is amazing. I have a really hard time using 3D on the current XL and with n3DS I had to try hard to mess up the 3D effect. I don't know about the lag, didn't feel anything off.
I loved the new start/select button placement and the general feel of the n3DS XL in my hands.
After playing on it for 10-15 minutes, I definitely won't cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...
Defintely gonna upgrade this, thanks hasemo :D
 
H

Hasemo

(；・∀・)ﾊｯ?
Bleep said:
Does the nub have any "throw" to it like the circle pad or is it like an old laptop nub that is stiff and detects pressure rather than moving?
Click to expand...
It felt like it had maybe a 1 mm "throw". I think it responded to movement more than pressure.
 
K

KHlover

Banned
ricki42 said:
The article states that the screen of the new regular model is larger than the current version. Is there any information on how much larger? I find the current XL a bit too large, and if the new one is even larger (same screen size though) I would probably rather go for the regular one as well, especially if it's a bit larger than currently.
Click to expand...

I definitely remember the n3DS XL having the same screen size as a regular 3DS XL, the regular n3DS has an increased screen size (less than one inch increase though).

Need to see both in person, but the swappable faceplates nudge me towards a regular n3DS *-*
 
L

Lernaean

Banned
I love everything i'm reading. I'll just wait a bit after it releases for other XL colors, both the current suck imo.
 
R

ricki42

Member
KHlover said:
I definitely remember the n3DS XL having the same screen size as a regular 3DS XL, the regular n3DS has an increased screen size (less than one inch increase though).
Click to expand...

Thanks! 1" would be quite a huge increase for such a small device, so I wouldn't have expected that.
Do you know it the device as a whole is larger as well, or just the screen? Also, is it only the top screen that is larger or both screens? I guess unless they increased the overall size there really isn't much space to increase the bottom screen.
 
G

Griss

Member
What is this guy talking about when he says games no longer 'pop out', but recede back into the screen? That's the way the 3DS has always worked. It's why a lot of people were disappointed with the effect when it first released, because people thought the 3D would come out of the screen at them when in fact it did the opposite.
 
P

Prevolition

Member
Griss said:
What is this guy talking about when he says games no longer 'pop out', but recede back into the screen? That's the way the 3DS has always worked. It's why a lot of people were disappointed with the effect when it first released, because people thought the 3D would come out of the screen at them when in fact it did the opposite.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's true in most cases. But with games like 3D Land you can actually control which one it displays.
 
JimboJones

JimboJones

Member
Griss said:
What is this guy talking about when he says games no longer 'pop out', but recede back into the screen? That's the way the 3DS has always worked. It's why a lot of people were disappointed with the effect when it first released, because people thought the 3D would come out of the screen at them when in fact it did the opposite.
Click to expand...

Mario 3d land even lets you switch on the fly from a more pop out look to a more diorama style view.
 
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