As polished as the 3DS presented itself at E3 last week, it’s been floating around lately that Nintendo has gone on the record saying that the 3DS’ design is not 100% final – so the question begs to be asked, what would you, the gamer who ultimately buys the thing, change?
When the original DS was announced under the codename “Nitro” it had a very different look from the final launch design, some say for the better, some for the worst. Nintendo is very good about getting feedback on their consoles and either changing them before launch, or soon after releasing revisions that cater to fan needs and wants.
Personally, the 3DS looks nearly perfect. The only real gripe I have with it is that hinge – I just think it sticks out a bit too far and is too angular for my tastes. The lenticular slider I feel could have a better placement, perhaps where it’s not as distracting. The outside cameras also worry me, being so close to the edge of the lid, it looks like they might get scratched too easily.
Keep in mind I never got the chance to hold the product myself, so I can’t exactly comment on how the placement of controls and how they feel based on the game demos shown – though I have heard the d-pad is in somewhat of an awkward position under the slide pad.
So that’s just my immediate take on the design so far, and I’d like to hear what some of you think. Do you want DSi XL-sized screens? Or maybe you would prefer the buttons to be on the top lid? Tell us either in the comments, or go ahead and make an account and chat with us in the forums about it.
I would make the top screen an inch bigger and make the 3D slider sturdier (seems like it could easily break). Other than that my real concern is how much storage space will be included. 1 GB is a given but other than that how much will Nintendo place in the system? My guess is 5 GB since it IS a portable, but hopefully more is what we end up getting so 3DSware games have more “space” available for developers to make.
Comment by EdEN — June 23, 2010 @ 12:19 pm
the slider definitely does look a little week, and I totally never though about them putting in any storage, but i guess i never had to, I have a 32gb sd card so i never really think about storage haha
Comment by Sam Scott Given — June 23, 2010 @ 5:33 pm
I’m surprised with all the hate the PSP gets for not having 2 analog nubs that not once have I heard some one complain about Nintendo not including it! I’d probably include the second analog nub, to not only keep those fans (and possible gameplay designs) happy, but to even out the button setup. Me and my left handed complaints might come into effect on this one, either Nintendo won’t allow for flipping of the screens (in book layout) or games that use the analog nub (in book layout) won’t have the option of flipping screens for lefties.
Comment by Ujn Hunter — June 23, 2010 @ 7:17 pm