The 3DS; to buy or not to buy.

Since Nintendo announced the 3DS I've been thinking a lot about whether or not I should purchase one. Right now I own a DS along with nine games that I've wasted a lot of hours on. I love it and consider it my most trustworthy boredom killer while travelling. I even upgraded to the DS Lite because it was shiny (and for the brighter screen, of course). But am I ready to upgrade once again? Does the 3DS bring enough changes to persuade me to bring one home? Right now the answer is 'no'. I'll try to explain why.

Let's begin with the 3D. This seems to be the biggest selling point for the system. Great move, seeing how crazy the world is about 3D nowadays. But I couldn't care less for it myself. I've been to the movies and seen a couple of films in 3D, like Despicable Me. While a bit cool, I only found the effect useful in one scene, where a huge round object appeared. It helped me get a better feel for how large it was. But just one moment in an entire film isn't enough. No, in my opinion today's 3D is lacking appeal. The technology just isn't there yet. I feel the same about it on the 3DS. 'Cool', I though, as I tried it for the first time. But that was just my inner tech geek having fun for a minute. It adds nothing to the game really. I only played Super Street Fighter 4 for 10 minutes, so I can't say if the increased depth perception is useful in any other game. But I highly doubt it.

Augmented Reality. Now that part looks fun. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this video demoing the feature.) But it will probably not entertain one for long. You'll try it out a few times thinking 'awesome!' and then stop, never to return to it again. Well, maybe you'll boot it up occasionally to show someone new to the 3DS what it can do. Hopefully developers will find some interesting ways to utilize it in their games.

Thumb stick. This is the best thing about the 3DS. A must for 3D games. If only the system had two, I would have bought it at release. (Go NGP!)

Ocarina of Time for the 3DS

But what really makes a console is its games. And right now, there aren't any released games that I find interesting or play-worthy. So maybe, when something I do find interesting is released, I'll buy it. The remake of Ocarina of Time is something I definitely want. But I'm not the type who buys a console for just one game.

What do you guys think? Do you own a 3DS and if so, what are your thoughts about it so far?

Posted in: 3DS, Nintendo, Ocarina of TIme, PsyRae