All-new’ 3-D experience with 3DS

NEW YORK

PROMISING to usher in a new era in 3-D entertainment, Nintendo has said  its glasses-free, handheld 3DS will go on sale on March 27 in the United States for US$250 (S$322).

That is the same price that the revolutionary Wii console cost when it went on sale in 2006.

Said Mr Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America: “This is a different kind of 3-D. Something you haven’t experienced before. Not in theatres, not at trade shows.”

The gadget features a touchscreen on the bottom and a 3-D screen on top. It has three cameras, one facing the user and two facing outwards. The latter two let you take 3-D photos, which can be displayed instantly on the screen.

There is also an accelerometer and a gyroscope. These track players’ movements and how they tilt the screen, so they can play games with motion-based capabilities or see 3-D games from different angles.

A Mii Creator uses photos that players take of themselves to instantly create a cartoon avatar based on their images.

The 3DS includes new social features, including StreetPass, which lets users exchange game information with other 3DS users nearby. For example, the Mii avatar or game high scores can appear on a user’s friends’ 3DS if they have also chosen to activate this feature.

Nintendo said more than 30 games will be available for the 3DS by early June.

Games will range from Nintendogs + Cats, which adds feline companions to the popular puppy simulator, to The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D, to 3-D versions of EA’s Madden NFL Football and Capcom’s Resident Evil: The Mercenaries.

Older games, including those for the original Game Boy, will be available for download.

The 3DS will be available in black and shiny aqua blue. It can play games from older DS systems, but those will not be in 3-D.

The 3-D gradient is adjustable on the 3DS, or it can be turned off completely. If the user’s eyes do not adjust to the 3-D screen immediately, it helps to start the games in 2-D mode, and then slowly turn up the 3-D
slider.

Nintendo recommends that children aged six or younger should not play 3-D games, as these could affect the development of their vision. This is similar to warnings issued by makers of other 3-D products.

But the American Academy of Ophthalmology said there are currently no conclusive studies on the short- or long-term effects of 3-D products on children’s eye development or vision health.

Source: www.mypaper.com.sg