1. Nintendo 3 DS launched with very few games, and now a few good ones like Ocarina of Time have come out. E3 announced many good games which we'll see soon. The current lineup is still pretty lackluster and many of the upcoming games are remakes of older ones, but at least it's a step in the right direction. This is currently the biggest con of the system that has everyone online asking "WHERE ARE THE GAMES?". Nintendo has been slow even with their 1st party games which was also frustrating. Hopefully, we'll see some 3rd party developers make some good and new content as they did on the DS.
2. 3DS has poor battery life. The console lasts somewhere between 3 and 5 hours depending on if you turn on WiFi or 3D and how high you keep the brightness and volume. There's also a power saver mode that supposedly saves battery. 3-5 hours is pretty low. It will be enough if you just want to play for a little while or are at home, but it certainly won't work for a road trip or vacation. Compounded with a roughly 3 hour recharge time, the battery problem is further prounounced. This is quite disappointing, especially since the DS Lite could crank out close to 15 hours with the brightness turned down. The 3DS battery life is upsetting and badly limits its portability. Over time, you learn to work around it and really use the home charging cradle supplied. Another alternative is purchasing 3rd party battery pack which doubles the battery life which gets the battery to acceptable levels of 6-10 hours.
3. The 3D effect in most games are used just to add depth. Some games like Ridge Racer use the 3D effect to makes things pop out of the screen at you, but many don't. Some games like Ocarina of Time make good use of the 3D allowing you to properly judge distances and aim, but many other games just tack it on without adding anything to gameplay (and sometimes even hindering it). Like certain Wii games that tack on unneeded motion controls, many 3DS games make poor use of the 3D.
4. Online play is still plagued by annoying friend codes. I wish Nintendo would let us make a username equivalent of gamertags or PSN IDs. Instead we have to enter a long string of digits to add someone as a friend. Nintendo really needs to step up their online gameplay as the entire network is inconvenient and often annoying. Simple things like matchmaking and communicating with friends is a pain.
5. DS game playback is a bit awkward due to the resolution difference between the DS and the 3DS. DS games either are stretched looking blurry/pixelated or only occupy a small box in the center of the screen leaving a black border around the game. So, playing DS games on the 3DS is less than ideal. (But hey, I'm glad we at least have backwards compatibility)
6. Minor complaint: Build quality of the 3DS is so-so. My 3DS has a slightly loose hinge where the top screen isn't exactly helped firmly in place. From searching online, many people are also having some minor quality control complaints.
7. Minor complaint: The 3DS is slightly bigger than the DS Lite. You would expect the new 3DS to be sleeker and smaller than the DS Lite from 2006. I understand the 3DS is more powerful, but I still would have liked it thinner.
8. Minor complaint: The 3D camera on the 3DS is really bad. My celllphone takes better quality pictures (just not in 3D). Don't expect to use this camera after the first day when you're checking out all of the features.
2. 3DS has poor battery life. The console lasts somewhere between 3 and 5 hours depending on if you turn on WiFi or 3D and how high you keep the brightness and volume. There's also a power saver mode that supposedly saves battery. 3-5 hours is pretty low. It will be enough if you just want to play for a little while or are at home, but it certainly won't work for a road trip or vacation. Compounded with a roughly 3 hour recharge time, the battery problem is further prounounced. This is quite disappointing, especially since the DS Lite could crank out close to 15 hours with the brightness turned down. The 3DS battery life is upsetting and badly limits its portability. Over time, you learn to work around it and really use the home charging cradle supplied. Another alternative is purchasing 3rd party battery pack which doubles the battery life which gets the battery to acceptable levels of 6-10 hours.
3. The 3D effect in most games are used just to add depth. Some games like Ridge Racer use the 3D effect to makes things pop out of the screen at you, but many don't. Some games like Ocarina of Time make good use of the 3D allowing you to properly judge distances and aim, but many other games just tack it on without adding anything to gameplay (and sometimes even hindering it). Like certain Wii games that tack on unneeded motion controls, many 3DS games make poor use of the 3D.
4. Online play is still plagued by annoying friend codes. I wish Nintendo would let us make a username equivalent of gamertags or PSN IDs. Instead we have to enter a long string of digits to add someone as a friend. Nintendo really needs to step up their online gameplay as the entire network is inconvenient and often annoying. Simple things like matchmaking and communicating with friends is a pain.
5. DS game playback is a bit awkward due to the resolution difference between the DS and the 3DS. DS games either are stretched looking blurry/pixelated or only occupy a small box in the center of the screen leaving a black border around the game. So, playing DS games on the 3DS is less than ideal. (But hey, I'm glad we at least have backwards compatibility)
6. Minor complaint: Build quality of the 3DS is so-so. My 3DS has a slightly loose hinge where the top screen isn't exactly helped firmly in place. From searching online, many people are also having some minor quality control complaints.
7. Minor complaint: The 3DS is slightly bigger than the DS Lite. You would expect the new 3DS to be sleeker and smaller than the DS Lite from 2006. I understand the 3DS is more powerful, but I still would have liked it thinner.
8. Minor complaint: The 3D camera on the 3DS is really bad. My celllphone takes better quality pictures (just not in 3D). Don't expect to use this camera after the first day when you're checking out all of the features.
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