This morning, Nintendo held a press conference in New York City to reveal a ton of news regarding its upcoming handheld, the Nintendo 3DS. Believe us, there is a ton of new information, so let’s get right to it, shall we?
Release Dates and Pricing:
North America: March 27, $249.99 MSRP
Europe: March 25, £229.99 UK, €249.99 in Europe
Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime stated that the system will have a launch window of 30+ first and third party game releases, such as Super Street Fighter 4 3D, Nintendogs and Nintencats, Asphalt 3D, Ridge Racer 3D, and more. Sadly, no exact dates were announced, however, we know that Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D will launch this summer.
The system will come loaded with various software including a Mii Maker, where you can take a photo of yourself or anybody else, turn them into a Mii and even edit them. Additionally, Face Raiders allows users to import a photo of themselves and shoot themselves in the face in a shooting gallery. Uh, neat? I reckon most people will import pictures of their boss or ex girlfriend/boyfriend.
A revamped internet browser and a new ‘e-Shop’ for game purchases were also announced, and with the new ‘e-Shop’ we can now download classic Game Boy and Game Boy Color games! Finally!
For those stat trackers out there, the Activity Log application will keep track of both physical and virtual activity, such as what game you’re playing and for how long. A pedometer is included in this, and you can earn Play Coins and trade them in for more content for compatible games and apps. Other applications will be on the system too, but will come at a later time after a few simple system updates.
Augmented Reality cards were another big feature, and Nintendo stated that you can view these cards through the two outer cameras and games will ‘sprout up in 3D.’ A monster trading card game was shown at the event to demonstrate the feature.
Lastly, the system brings the triumphant return of Friend Codes; no, seriously, it’s triumphant. With the 3DS, there is only one friend code across all games, and those with the same Wi-Fi connection as you will not require the entering of their code. So, while the Friend Codes are back, at least they are a lot better.
