We get a look, literally at the 3DS.
At the end of Nintendo's Press Event, a number of Nintendo representatives lined up at the back of the Nokia Theater and offered journalists a chance to see the 3DS in action.
While we weren't able to actually play a game, we were able to hold the system and mess with the various controls including the 3D slider.
In a nutshell, the system was mind-blowing. The effect created by the polarized top screen was quite amazing and gave a sense of depth that has never been done without the technology. IN addition to depth, a few displays caused the characters on screen to pop-out, yet another impressive effect.
We got a glimpse of a few different dioramas in the game, which we could spin and navigate using the brand new Analog Slider. The Analog Slider seemed to be responsive and worked well for the application. It's hard to say if it will hold up in gameplay, as it is not much different from the PSP nub, though it is much larger and more comfortable.
The dioramas on display included Bowser, New Super Mario Bros. Wii complete with Toads, Pikmin, Mario and Yoshi from Galaxy 2, as well as Link slashing his sword.
Overall, the effect of the 3D screen was very impressive, and the 3D effect was able to slide seamlessly between rich 3D and simple 2D display.
I found that at times if my eyes became unfocused I lost the 3D effect, but this did not happen very often. Again, we'll see how will the effect performs while playing a game.
Actually, I noticed it seemed to adjust to horizontal movement slightly awkwardly, so if you moved left or right, the picture seemed a little out of focus for a moment, then focused back in, similar to holographic images used on some retail products.
Though I'm mentioning it, it's hard to say at this point if it will matter or not.
The 3DS sounds entirely unimpressive to me. I think it may be one of those things which someone needs to experience to appreciate, and I wonder if that will make it a hard sell.
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