Nintendo 3DS

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The **Nintendo 3DS** is a handheld gaming system developed by Nintendo and the successor of the Nintendo DS line. It was first released on February 26, 2011 and discontinued on September 17, 2020. It competed with the PlayStation Vita throughout its lifetime.

## Why It Makes Touching Even Better In 3D

1. The top screen of the system uses stereoscopic 3D effects without the need for 3D glasses or other accessories. The 3D effects can also be adjusted to the player's personal preference or turned off completely if not wanted, effectively solving a major problem that Nintendo's previous attempt at a 3D console had suffered.
2. The StreetPass features allow a 3DS to connect wirelessly to other 3DS in the near area for multi-player gaming and collecting Miis. Some games also use this ability for other functions. For instance, using StreetPass in *Bravely Default* can help collect villagers to rebuild Norende and send Nemeses to fight.
3. It also has augmented reality features that are used in the built in 3DS games and multiple other games.
4. The SpotPass feature allows the use of hotspots to collect StreetPass tags when not near an area.
5. The 3DS has a speedometer built into it. For every 100 steps taken, gamers may obtain 1 play coin, which acts as a currency for many games. Ten play coins can be obtained in one day (however, most people who need play coins can just go into the settings on the 3DS and set the clock to 11:59 and thus restarting the play coin count) and a maximum of 300 play coins can be held.
6. The 3DS has its own Virtual Console allowing gamers to buy older games digitally.
7. The introduction of the Circle Pad allowed for better 3D movement than the DS.
8. All the models use the same charger and is the same one used for the DSi and DSi XL.
9. All the models are completely backward compatible with the original *DS* and DSiWare games and software including Download Play.
10. Early buyers could buy certain Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy Advance games in the 3DS Ambassador Program which can be transferred to later revisions, with Nintendo Entertainment System games later being made available to the public.
11. Offers YouTube streaming.
12. A large number of very good games have already been released for it and many more are on the way. Most of these games are designed to be played in a handheld console rather than just being watered down ports of home console games, for example:
	* *Super Mario 3D Land*
	* *New Super Mario Bros. 2*
	* *Fire Emblem Awakening*
	* *Pokémon X and Y*
	* *Kid Icarus: Uprising*
	* *Mario Kart 7*
	* *Hey! Pikmin*
	* *Metroid: Samus Returns*
	* *Fire Emblem Fates*
	* *Fire Emblem Warriors* (only on New 3DS)
	* *Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia*
	* *Rhythm Paradise: Megamix*
	* *The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds*
	* *Bravely Default*
	* *Mario & Luigi: Dream Team*
	* *Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam*
	* *Miitopia*
	* *Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire*
	* *Pokémon Sun and Moon/Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon*
	* *Tomodachi Life*
	* *Donkey Kong Country Returns*
	* *Yo-kai Watch*
	* *Ultimate NES Remix*
	* *Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon*
	* *Xenoblade Chronicles* (only on New 3DS)
	* *Animal Crossing: New Leaf*
	* *Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World*
	* *Kirby: Planet Robobot*
	* *Kirby: Triple Deluxe*
	* *Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask*
	* *Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker*
	* *BoxBoy!, BoxBoxBoy!, and Bye-Bye BoxBoy!*
	* *Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn*
	* *Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS*
	* *WarioWare Gold*
13. There are also a variety of very good and great Third-Party games, perfect examples are:
	* *Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition*
	* *Art of Balance Touch*
	* *Terraria*
	* *Minecraft* (only on New 3DS)
	* *Resident Evil: Revelations*
	* *Rayman Origins*
	* *Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate*, and sequel, *Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate*
	* *Sonic Generations*
	* *Shovel Knight*
	* *Mutants Mudds*
	* *SpongeBob SquigglePants*
	* *Sega 3D Classics Collection*
	* *Project X Zone*
	* *Tetris Ultimate* and *Axis*
	* *Tekken 3D: Prime Edition*
	* *Dead or Alive: Dimensions*
	* *Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth* and *Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth*
	* *Hatsume Miku: Project Mirai DX*
	* *Shin Megami Tensei IV*
	* *Castlevania: Lords of Shadows - Mirror of Fate*
	* *Cave Story* and *Cave Story 3D*
	* *Retro City Rampage*
	* *Bit.Trip Saga*
	* *Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D*
14. Numerous models including the 3DS XL, 2DS (which plays 3DS games without the 3D in exchange of costing significantly less than other models), New 3DS, New 3DS XL, and New 2DS XL (just like the 2DS, this time with flip screens).
15. The *New 3DS* and *New 3DS XL* have extra features such as a C-stick, customizable face plates, a built in NFC scanner, and more powerful hardware than the original which allows for newer style games.
16. It also came in different variations such as the *Hyrule Gold Edition* and *The Year of Luigi Edition,* which had a digital copy of *Mario & Luigi: Dream Team* installed on the SD Card.
17. Some Nintendo 64 games have ports for the system such as *Star Fox 64 3D* and *The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D*.
18. It uses standard SD or microSD memory cards depending on the model, meaning that the price of getting a memory card is low unlike the PlayStation Vita. A 32 GB SDHC card is less than $20 while a PS Vita memory card of the same capacity originally retailed for $99.99.
19. The Nintendo 2DS and New 2DS XL have a lower price and the lack of a 3D made it easier to produce and it was also safer for young children's eyes and although the 2DS was criticized for removing the hinges, that actually made it a bit more durable.
20. You can even watch Netflix and Hulu on the 3DS, assuming that you have access to the eShop.
21. Speaking of variants, some special editions are really creative. Like a SNES New Nintendo 3DS XL. It looks like a SNES with the Power and Reset buttons on top and the buttons are colored to match the SNES controller. It even comes with a download code for *Super Mario Kart*, making it an extremely attractive and cool edition to get.
22. Although it wasn't the best, it used dual camera technology, something that wasn't popularized until it was used in **high end smartphones in the late 2010s.** Back then however dual cameras were used for 3D, which ended up being a fad.

## Bad Qualities

### Overall

1. The cameras have several issues:
	* Images taken with the *New 3DS'*s inner camera tend to have a weird purple-ish tint in certain lightings.
	* Videos recorded in *Nintendo 3DS Camera* (Especially on the original 3DS) suffer from choppy framerates and low resolution.
	* Camera videos filmed with the original 3DS play at 5fps, while ones filmed with the *New 3DS* play at 20fps. The videos filmed with either of them are in 240p.
2. Nintendo announced that the 3DS's eShop, along with the Wii U, will shut down in March 2023.
3. Nintendo focuses way too much support on the New models of the Nintendo 3DS/2DS, basically trying to convince people to stop using their old 3DS/2DS and spend more money on the New models.
	* You can only buy Super Nintendo Entertainment System games on the New 3DS/2DS, despite the fact that these games already run at (mostly) full speed on the original models with homebrew emulators.
4. Unfortunately, the plastic used for their casing isn't very good since it collects lots of sweat and condensation which can occur after playing for a long time.
5. Unlike most other Nintendo handhelds, this console has **region-locking**, when its competitor, the PlayStation Vita had no region locking. However, it will play DS games of any region, though.
6. You can only have up to 300 digital titles at the same time on the console. Also, you can only store 30 save data backups on an SD Card which means that if you have more than 30 backups and decide to delete a game, you'll lose your save data for that game.
7. Some people and players might suffer headaches and eye strain from using the 3D mode for too long (although the manual warns about this, irrelevant to the 2DS and New 2DS XL owners) so in order to prevent this, you have to enable parental controls to turn off the 3D switch. The parental control is extremely necessary for kids 6 and under due to potential vision damage. Fortunately, on the New 3DS/2DS they have improved considerably and it looks less blurry and sharper.
8. Unless you live in an urban area or a country with a high population density like Japan, the StreetPass feature would never work properly.
9. A lot games that released late in its lifespan, such as of *Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions*, *Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser's Jr. Journey*, and *Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn*, don't play in 3D and also didn't sell well as the system was aging and the Switch had already been out.
10. The 3DS and Wii U eShop ended credit card support in all countries on January 18, 2022. Though if you merge your NNID with a Nintendo Account, you can add currency that way.
11. Nintendo announced that on June 30, 2021, players would no longer be able to access Netflix on their 3DS or Wii U.
12. Despite being backwards compatible with DS games, none of the 3DS models have a GBA cartridge slot, meaning that, like the DSi and DSi XL, they are not backwards compatible with GBA games. While Nintendo Entertainment System games were later made on the eShop available to the public, Nintendo has no plans to do the same for Game Boy Advance and DS games (yet games from those systems can be purchased on the Wii U). However, emulated GBA games can be downloaded in the 3DS eShop, although there are only 10 games and this is only if you have bought a 3DS before the August 2011 price drop.
13. PictoChat, a feature that was big on The DS Family, got omitted on The 3DS Family. You can only get it back by hacking the console or via the game *Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten DS*.

### Original

1. The battery life leaves much to be desired, lasting around 3-5 hours. It is possible to get 5-8 hours when playing original DS games. Thankfully, the later models fixed this.
2. The buttons on the original 3DS (especially the Stick) broke easily as they were weak and could wear out more, especially in Smash Bros due to players playing roughly to the point of damaging their Sticks. Fortunately, this was fixed in the next 3DS.
3. It launched at a pretty high price. Fortunately, it got a price drop only months later and people who bought the system before the price drop got 10 free NES games and 10 free GBA games.

### 3DS XL

1. The speakers have the lowest sound quality.
2. Like the DS Lite, the screen can get loose and eventually break.
3. The system takes a while to load and turn on/off.

### 2DS

1. Although it is cheaper and has the 3D feature removed because a lot of people didn't use the 3D feature, there are still some extra changes and downsides with the system.
	* It loses stereo sound to hit the $129.99 price tag which can bother a lot of people; however, like the Game Boy line, it supports stereo through the headphone jack.
	* It lacks the clamshell design that the DS and 3DS families are known for, so you can't put it in your pocket.
	* It's more vulnerable to screen cracking which is especially a problem given that this model was aimed at kids.
	* Games like *Super Mario 3D Land* may be slightly harder since some of the optical illusion type puzzles used the 3D to see properly.
2. While comfortable in your hands, its design makes it impossible to be added in your pocket.

### New 3DS/New 3DS XL

1. Sadly, they weren't very successful in sales (especially the standard model), selling even less units than the Wii U. As mentioned before, Nintendo was trying too desperately to get people to get the New 3DS.
2. One of the biggest problems is that don't come with a charger and which you will be forced have to be purchased separately, except for the New 2DS XL it does come with a charger. Although Nintendo gave an explanation about this as it was for the people who had the original 3DS/2DS chargers.
3. For some strange reason, the SD card is located where the battery is meaning that you'll have to remove the game card and stylus and unscrew the plastic cover to replace the SD card, which can be a lot of work.
4. The ZL and ZR buttons can sometimes be hard to reach.
5. The standard model wasn't available at launch and was never released by itself and only released in special bundles in North America.
6. The XL model doesn't have swappable face plates.
7. The C-Stick's placement is very odd and to use it, you have to jam your thumb into it, which can be very uncomfortable, though you can replace the cap with either a TrackPoint cap from a Lenovo ThinkPad or the PSP's analog stick.
8. Same issues as the original 3DS and 3DS XL.

### New 2DS XL

1. Like the original 2DS, it also loses stereo sound. It even has odd speaker placements. Like the Switch Lite, the speaker is right on the bottom corner, making it easy to obstruct it with your hands.
2. And if the speaker placements weren’t enough, for an even uglier reason, both the front and back cameras are also on the second screen, and not the top screen. While the front camera's placement is fine since your hands don't touch the middle, the back camera might get covered by your fingers at moments.
	* Plus if you use the camera in Stand Mode, you can't take selfies since you have to adjust the front camera, which you can't do.
3. Due to the refined design that this has, it can almost be confused for a DSi.
4. Same issues as the New 3DS and New 3DS XL.

## Reception

Over 75.96 million units have been sold worldwide as of September 30, 2020. Although it’s not enough to outsell it’s predecessor, it is the 12th bestselling console of all time.