At the conclusion of this morning’s Nintendo E3 Media Briefing, a bevy of attractive women descended from Nintendo’s stage with brand new Nintendo 3DS units attached to them. Their purpose was to allow all of us in the Nokia Theater a chance to experience the new glasses-free 3D handheld for ourselves right on the spot. I got my hands on the 3D demo right then and there and enjoyed a hands-on and eye-on tour of the kind of 3D the system has to offer.
The demo offered a rolling video tour of popular Nintendo franchises displayed in 3D without the need for special glasses. Imagery from Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Metroid: Other M, and other familiar titles rolled through automatically over about a twenty-second period. There were no actual playable elements, but I could use the unit’s analog slider to tilt the scenes on display on the 3DS’s upper screen. I have never seen this kind of 3D done before. It was as if I was looking to a shadowbox diorama with significant depth and clarity and tilting the view around a central point. The field of view was limited to several degrees off-axis, but the effect rang through loud and clear. The visuals were especially sharp and vibrant and appeared to be using character models from the late GameCube and current Wii eras, although whether or not these images will be the norm in final gameplay remains to be seen. The 3D slider was also functional, and I was able to turn the 3D effect on and off at my discretion. I kept it maxed out for the majority of the demo, of course. After all, who wouldn’t?
The next step is to try a playable game, of course, and Nintendo’s booth in E3’s West Hall has a twenty-minute sampling of games and other 3DS-related media to explore. Kombo will have more information and impressions as the week rolls on, so stick with us for all of your coverage and commentary needs.
