Nintendo 3DS Poised to be the Next Big Thing

If there's anyone that knows mobile gaming, it's Nintendo. Once they dropped the Game Boy on the world in 1989, gaming around the world was changed forever. Never mind that it was the size of a brick and that the screen only had two colors (green pea and spinach). And let's pretend that we don't remember how many AA batteries it went through. In the end, everyone who picked it up and tried it agreed: It was fun. And it was relatively affordable to boot.

Virtually every game console developer gave chase to unseat the Game Boy. Sega had the Game Gear. Atari tried with the Lynx. NEC released the TurboExpress, a portable version of its Turbografx-16 console. But Nintendo had a firm hold on the portable gaming market. Every other handheld console that came out was full-color, brighter, and had superior hardware under the hood. But the Game Boy was less expensive than all of them. And even though it housed inferior hardware, it generally had better games in its library, and more of them.

The original Game Boy went through several iterations and sold 118.69 million units worldwide before eventually giving way to its first true upgrade. 11 years later, the Game Boy Advance was released in 2001, sporting a full-color display, a faster processor, and a brand new platform to host sequels for all of Nintendo's famed intellectual property.

The Game Boy Advance didn't do so bad, either, selling 81.51 million units worldwide. However, Nintendo wasted no time in releasing its follow-up in November of 2004: The Nintendo DS.

The vast majority of you who are gaming fans, or those of you with children who are gaming fans, probably know all about the Nintendo DS by now. Two very unique factors made this system stand out immediately: The existence of two separate screens rather than one, and the fact that the lower screen was touch-sensitive, accompanied by a stylus. Touch screens are commonplace these days, but keep in mind that this was 3 years before the release of the iPhone. Touch screens existed, of course, but were far from perfected. The Nintendo DS delivered performance and innovation from its touch screen in ways that no one had thought of before, and it translated beautifully into addictive and compelling game mechanics.

Whereas it took the original famed Game Boy over 11 years to reach an enormous sale count of 118.59 million units, the Nintendo DS has eclipsed that easily. From its inception in November of 2004 to December 31st, 2010, the Nintendo DS sales have reached 144.59 million units worldwide. It is the second-highest-selling gaming console ever, behind only the Playstation 2 which has sold 150 million units as of January 31st, 2011. However, note that the Playstation 2 was released in March of the year 2000, over 4 years before the Nintendo DS was released. It could be assumed that it is only a matter of time before the Nintendo DS claims that title.

But this month begins a new era in the history of handheld gaming. Nintendo is releasing the next model in their storied line of handheld consoles to North America on March 27: The Nintendo 3DS, and it is poised to be a game changer once again.

At first glance, the 3DS looks very similar to its prequel. Returning is the dual-screen format in a similar clam shell design. There is a directional pad on the left, four face buttons on the right, and two shoulder buttons behind the top screen. In fact, the only obvious difference in appearance is the new analog Circle Pad above the directional pad on the left. The real differences are under the hood.

The big selling point of the 3DS is exactly what it sounds like: The top screen is a three-dimensional display. Sounds cool, right? But who wants to carry around a pair of 3D glasses with their handheld gaming system?

That's the coolest part. The 3DS provides a three-dimensional display to the naked eye. No 3D glasses required.

The rest of the upgrades include a slider to the right of the top screen to adjust the 3D depth effect or turn it off altogether, as well as two outside-facing cameras that work together to actually take 3D photos. The 3DS supports 24-bit color, whereas the previous models only supported 16-bit. It also includes an internal 3-axis accelerometer and gryoscope, capable of translating physical movements of the system itself into game mechanics. And like the later models of the DS before it, it has a touch screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a player-facing camera, though the 3DS is capable of taking video with it.

But the hardware itself isn't Nintendo's only plan to continue its domination of the handheld market. Where the Nintendo Wii is often criticized for ignoring 3rd party developers and limiting its software library, Nintendo reached out to a number of big-name developers to create content for the 3DS. Ubisoft, Konami, Team Ninja, Square Enix, EA Sports, Kojima Productions, Capcom, and Visceral Games are just a handful of the developers that have already announced titles that will be releasing on the 3DS, many of them planned for release by this summer.

In fact, nine titles have been confirmed as launch titles which will be available for purchase the same day that the 3DS is released: The Sims 3, Madden NFL 3DS, Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars, Super Monkey Ball 3D, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition, Asphalt 3D, Rayman 3D, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars, and Steel Diver.

It gets better. When connected to the internet using the included Wi-Fi capability, Nintendo 3DS owners can use their system to connect to the Virtual Console, where there will be downloadable classic games originally released for the Game Boy console. Plus, Nintendo has announced that the Virtual Console will host re-tooled 3D versions of other classic Nintendo titles, not to mention Sega Game Gear and Turbografx-16 titles.

What if you already own one of the 144.59 million Nintendo DS systems out there and you already have a bunch of games for it? Not a problem. Every one of your Nintendo DS games will be fully playable on your spanking new 3DS, but without the 3D effect of course.

When the 3DS was first announced nearly a year ago on March 23rd, 2010, just about everyone on the planet was a skeptic. But as more and more developers were invited to try it, reports started to trickle in from gaming publications about the first impressions. The sentiment across the board was positive and skeptics turned to believers. The 3D effect worked as advertised. Popular gaming website IGN also pointed out that the system possesses processing power that "far exceeds the Nintendo Wii," and went as far as to claim that with 3D shaders, games could have visuals that "look close to current generation visuals on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3."

From all of these reports, we can conclude that this isn't simply a re-hash of the Nintendo DS with a 3D screen. The entire system has been re-tooled and upgraded significantly from the inside out. Equipped with contracts from a slew of top-notch 3rd party developers, the game library also looks poised to surpass any of Nintendo's previous handheld lineups.

Priced at $249.99, it's a little expensive while not feeling completely out of reach. But most importantly, if Nintendo's track record is any indication, the Nintendo 3DS will be the game system to purchase this year. It will be available for purchase in stores across North America on the 27th of this month.

Get Nintendo 3DS at these local retailers:

• , 545 South Broad St., Lansdale. (215) 368-1955
• GameStop, 1551 Valley Forge Road, Lansdale. (215) 631-1230
• , 2333 W. Main St., Lansdale. (215) 855-4280
• GameStop, 801 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales. (215) 412-2900
• GameStop, Montgomery Mall, North Wales. (215) 362-2036
• Toys R Us, 2 Airport Square, North Wales. (215) 368-8050
• Best Buy, 801 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales. (215) 855-3528