In stores March 27, the Nintendo 3DS ($250) is a pocket-sized game system that Nintendo says will reshape the portable gaming landscape by offering glasses-free 3-D viewing. But will enough people part with $250 for the experience? On first glance, the Nintendo 3DS looks a lot like last year’s DSi.
It can play more than 2,000 existing software cartridges and is even compatible with the older charger. But once the lid is opened, the comparisons end. The upper screen is clear, nearly iPhone-size and able to trick your brain into seeing a 3-D image.
More interesting are the two external binocular cameras. They can transform a room into an augmented-reality 3-D game space. Add to that an onboard accelerometer and a gyroscope, and the 3DS can, say, fire torpedoes at ships that seem to float in front of you. There’s a Mii editor to create caricatures to use in some games and a set of parental controls to lock the 3-D features or Web access. Seasoned gamers might argue that 3-D is just frosting on a well-designed game. But this frosting tastes pretty good.
Warren Buckleitner, The New York Times
