I assume Sonic meant an actual home console, not a portable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Bandai_Pippin

Except they did have one.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/125772-6 … tml#pippin

"Then, too, it was based on the Mac OS, so almost no games were available for it. And it cost nearly $600--nearly twice as much as other, far more powerful game consoles. Underpowered, overpriced, and underutilized--that pretty much describes everything that came out of Apple in the mid-90s."

OK, so except for the underutilized, I think some people would argue that the above quote still applies to all things Apple!

Likely never will? They managed to sneak into the handheld market without anyone really believing it was happening. Now, Apple makes an absolute fortune from apps, a large chunk of which are games. They are now in gaming. And have a lucrative gaming platform. The new AppleTV thing runs on an iPhone OS. While I can't imagine that is going to take hold, the direction seems pretty natural - apps and gaming on television screens. They may not make the current AppleTV work but, by 2020 (as Cedille predicted), I'd be stunned if they didn't have a viable gaming platform that went beyond the handheld.

Of course, by 2020 they could also be long out of it and dead as a company. Or we could be living in a post-apocalyptic war zone and Steve Jobs could be a supermutant.

But, before then, I want a 3DS.

Does anyone know if the 3ds will be compatable with previous DS games? I know they probably won't be in 3D but I'm on board with the 3ds due to the announcement of Legends 3.

Yep!

I'm still using an original Clamshell DS. It's all scratched now,  label is all faded now.

I've skipped on the DS lite, DSi, Dsi-XL, but held back.

Will get a 3DS for sure.

I'm still miffed that my DS Lite's L button broke before it was even a year old. And $300?! MML3, you better be damn good.

Has that US price point already been confirmed?
Or are people just going by a rough Yen to Dollar conversion?

I wouldn't be surprised to see the US price come in around $250 actually.

This.  And it's a silly assumption.

Mine broke after 2 years. I hope the 3DS is a little sturdier than the DSL was. All of the Game Boys were built like tanks, but my DSL is starting to fall to pieces. In addition to the perpetually stuck L Button, I also have the dreaded hinge crack. Right now my plan is to upgrade to an XL when the 3DS forces down the price, then pick up the inevitable 3DSL.

It's been a crapshoot trying to own a properly working Lite.  I have two launch models, one Japanese and one U.S, back from 2006.  To this day, they're still in top working condition.  On the other hand, I had owned two later U.S. models, one in '07, the other in '08.  Straight out of their boxes there were defects; the '07 suffered from the dimmer, yellow-tinted screens, while the '08 the faulty diagonal d-pad sensitivity issue.  The yellow tint may just have been the way Nintendo opted to manufacture their screens at the time, because the '08 looked fine.  Compared to the contrast-perfect LCDs of the '06 models, however, the '07 distracted me enough to make a return.  '08's diagonal problem was simply inexcusable.

I'll be interested in seeing if the 3DS really hits the U.S./Europe in March.  I expect to see heavy demand in Japan cause the international launches to get pushed back, maybe to June which (at least in the U.S.) would be a better time to launch even though it would cause them to miss the end of their fiscal year.  It's also worth noting that the 3DS is the first all-new Nintendo system to launch first in Japan since the GameCube in 2001 (the DS and Wii debuted in the U.S.).

Well the 3DS has a date and a price. 20-somethingth of March, depending on where you are, and $250, or likely hideously more expensive in Europe.

It's region locked too, which is absolute pox and just makes gaming messy. A real shame and a huge step backwards. Nintendo's statement on this was hilarious - "We want to ensure the best possible gaming experience for our users, and there is the possibility that Nintendo 3DS software sold in one region will not function properly when running on Nintendo 3DS hardware sold in another." Yes, because you've region locked it and prevented them from functioning properly, Nintendo. Bye bye Ouendan.

The launch games so far seem rather underwhelming too. SF4 and Dead Or Alive, Nintendogs and a football thing. A bunch of others in the 'launch window' though. But nothing that I really feel I need.

And yet... I still want a 3DS.

Lame excuse... the PSP can run import games (I personally played Rockman DASH 1&2 on a 2000) and I didn't run into or heard of any issues. Again, lame excuse, the language barrier has always been enough of a lockout feature, at least for text heavy games.

Edit:

Quite honestly, if it wasn't for the European countries getting everything half a year late for some reason I don't think region protection would even be prevalent.

Meh.

250 bucks for a gimmicky handheld that will make you feel sick after playing it for a little while.  Combine that with piss poor battery life, region lock out (wtf really?), and an unoriginal bunch of launch titles (yaaay.. more N64 remakes and Nintendo first party entries).  I was mildly interested when I saw there were two new Resident Evils coming out for it, but after seeing the recent gameplay videos, no thank you.  I'll probably just wait for the inevitable 3DSi Lite XL.  Until then, I'm happy with my dusty region-free DS Lite that can play Ouendan.

Despite the newly announced shortcomings, I too still want a 3DS -- just not as soon as I initially expected.

I've come to terms with the $250 price point, so that won't be a big determent.  And I'm certain the hacking community will find a way to circumvent the region locking sooner or later.  Two remaining factors, then, makes me believe I'll be playing the waiting game a little while longer.  First, the launch lineup is looking less than ideal.  It would have been awesome to see the likes of Kid Icarus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Paper Mario, and that new Chocobo Racing title right out of the gate.  Super IV and Resident Evil would be right around the corner by June, but that's just not enough.

The other is I'm just not a fan of the Aqua Blue or Cosmo Black color schemes.  They're hideous, truth be told.  Will they look better in person than in shots?  Perhaps.  But then it must stand to reason that if that red model already looks great in pictures, then it must truly be a thing to behold in real life.  All the same, knowing Nintendo, I can't imagine seeing any color besides the initial blue or black being released for a long time to come.

I'm probably going to pass on the 3DS for a while as well. I might actually have the money to buy one soon after it launches (March?) if I get a good tax return in April, but I'll just buy Mega Man Legends 3 when it comes out to support it and sit on it for a while until a better opportunity to get the system comes along.

And I have to agree with Mike on the N64 remakes... I played through Star Fox 64 for the first time a few months ago and I wasn't impressed. Had I played it years ago when it came out I probably would have but I doubt adding 3D will change anything.

"Over half of the people said 3D effects on 3DS will accelerate eye fatigue in a short time, at the beginning they look forward to 3D visual effects on 3DS, but they had to turn 3D effects off in the middle of gaming due to eye fatigue."

Could they define "short time"? I believe the general rule is that you're supposed to take a 15 minute break after an hour of playing. How many people follow that rule? How many people even take a 5 minute break? I'm certain that 3D does strain the eyes more, but if you take short breaks I'm sure it would be fine. Also, I think this is definitely something revolutionary here, and it will be in high demand, even if currently there are few games for it.

Not getting the new console for the alleged sickness problems or whatever with some people and the 3D effect is kind of ridiculous and stupid - just turn the effect off.  I kind of feel like the software should be worthwhile with or without the 3D effect.

That said, a crappy launch lineup, region locking (gee thanks, Nintendo - it's not like I split my time between your two biggest regions or anything), and my current financial state mean that I'm probably going to wait this one out for a while.  It's not like my regular DS backlog isn't horrible as-is.

Hahaha... answer: no one.

First, I'm definitely buying this at launch.  I've managed to do away with many of my bad OCD gaming habits, but owning new Nintendo hardware on Day 1 is not something I'm ready to give up yet, so I'll be getting this for the not very good reason of "because I have to have it."  I've got a Cosmo Black unit pre-ordered at GameStop.  After last week's Ghost Trick debacle, I had a nice long chat with both the store and district managers of my local GameStop, so hopefully they'll actually honor this one.  If not, they'll be getting another inquiry from the BBB.

Anyway, here's my take on today's news: Nintendo needs to please its shareholders, so it's rushing this out in all three territories before the end of its fiscal year to make the numbers.  The hardware's been ready for some time, but from the lackluster launch line-up, it's clear the software isn't ready yet.  That's to be expected if you look at previous system launches (outside of the original Xbox and the Wii, no system launched in the last 14 years has launched with a killer app), so I can live with that.  What I cannot accept, however, is the utter bullsh!t that you will find in the following news story: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/01/3 … oad-store/

So, no Shantae for me until Nintendo gets off its lazy ass and bothers to introduce the download store.  That could take months.  Ugh.  I'm also pretty irritated with the [expected] rise in software prices.  GameStop is listing every 3DS launch title at $40 except Dead or Alive which for some reason is clocking in at $50.  We all know how well PSP games sell at these prices, so good luck to Nintendo with that.  It's especially outrageous when you look at games for iOS and Android that average below $5 and rarely top out around $10.  The iPad might cost $500 for the unit itself, but I'd gladly pay $500 for the hardware if the software is all under $10.  I think both Sony and Nintendo are going to have rude awakenings with the 3DS and PSP2, especially outside of Japan where portable games are supposed to be portable experiences, not 120-hour epics that the Japanese seem to think are fun to play while hunched over a tiny screen.

I'm also somewhat irked by the visual look for the hardware itself.  Unlike Angela, I think both color schemes look fine, but what I don't get is why the back panel of the unit is a different tone and (worse) an ever-so-slightly larger size than the front panel.  It just looks sloppy, and I don't understand why they didn't make the lower half of the unit uniform.

Lastly, I can only shake my head as I read reports that Kid Icarus is a fun game, but physically painful to play since it uses the analog slider plus stylus control configuration from Metroid Prime Hunters and other DS FPS titles.  How do their testers not scream about this when anyone can tell it's uncomfortable from a five-minute demo?  I just don't get it.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2011/01/n … ands-on-2/

Wired said the hardware is great, but the launch titles not so.

The 3D is the single selling point of the entire unit. It is its reason for being.

Selling point, yes.  Reason for being, no.  Let's look at the DS and Wii.  The DS' selling points are the dual screens and touch screen.  I'd argue that the best DS games don't really need either of those features.  Same thing with the Wii.  Motion control is the selling point, but the best Wii games don't really need motion control to be fun (it's just tacked on).  3D may be the selling point, but to me this is just DS2 or Game Boy 4 or whatever you want to call it.

Here's Nintendo's explanation of the above: http://www.1up.com/news/3ds-design-explained-detail

I still think it looks sloppy.

I have no problem with the design except for what seems to me to be strange placement of the top screen. Makes it look all bottom-heavy.

I do feel it's going to suffer slightly from not having a second stick though. Still, got my preorder in and I'm looking forward to having one in my hands.

So I was able to give my first 3DS test drive at the demo pod located at Grand Central Station today.  From what I saw, they had Pilotwings Resorts, AR Games, Steel Diver, Nintendogs + Cats, Madden, LEGO Star Wars III, and Super Street Fighter IV available for play.  As Super IV was about the only title I was remotely interested in, I gave it a go.

Even after only five minutes of play, I came away pretty impressed.  I've not much experience with the DSi and DSi XL screens, but the 3DS's is a sharp improvement over the Lite's.  The 3D, too, makes a wild first impression, and seeing as how most importers concur that Super IV makes the best use of the effect, I'm glad I made it my first experience.  Even "Standard" mode looks freaken cool, and overall, I was amazed by the technical quality of this port.  It's confirmation that the 3DS does appear to be a very capable gaming machine, and I think we're going to see some potentially amazing stuff down the road.   

I did have a bit of trouble grappling with the controls, though.  I suspect more play time (as well as getting to configure my own buttons) would do wonders, but the d-pad felt a bit too rigid, and the circle pad a mite too sensitive for comfort.  I was only able to get Ryu's hadoukens out half of the time, and I was accidentally jumping for the rest.  On the plus side, the touch moves can be pulled off in a snap, but may still be too counterintuitive for Street Fighter vets to rely upon.

I'm a step closer to wanting a 3DS now, especially now that Super IV is scheduled for a same-day launch.  If I could get assurance that the online play will be as good as I'm hoping, I think I'd be willing to take the plunge straightaway.  Color-wise, the black does look pretty good in person - moreso than the blue, at least.

Agreed. And the 3D effect is not that good either, at least for me. The 3DS looks like Nintendo's first snooze-worthy hardware since the GameCube. But hey, it's got Resident Evil! And an Ocarina of Time port! Yeah.

Getting to use one in the flesh, I was well impressed with the 3D. Way more impressed than I thought I would be. I think I half-expected the screen to be all liney, like those lenticular 3D images. But it looked great and was instantly 3D. Looked great. And the AR cards work great. It would be lovely if someone finds a great gaming use for these.

And the unit also looked (and felt) more solid and overall just better made than I thought it did when I saw images and videos. Seemed better in the flesh.

I wasn't impressed with the d-pad. It seemed, as Angela said, quite rigid and sharp. Just didn't feel comfortable. It will probably be fine for the right games but I'd be concerned about SF4. The only other concern, and it may not even be much of an issue, is that I was quite aware of the pixels on the screen. It seemed low res, probably because the horizontal res is halved for 3D. It didn't look bad but, in a HD age, the image already looked a little behind. But then it's 3D and no other unit has that. Not really sure that's going to be a real concern.

It felt great in my hands and seeing it in person made me want one even more. Just a few more days (is it 10? Not sure). Quite hyped for it.

In other words I need to run out and preorder the thing right now because it will bring me the best games of the generation?  Sweet!

So, has anyone pre-ordered? I shall wait until better exclusive games are available (I have no interest in Nintendogs nor a port of SFIV), although I do have to say it's still a breakthrough gaming system!

I have my 3DS today. Been playing it all morning. I'm already blind.

It's nice. The 3D has to be adjusted for each game and can be very hard on the eyes. But it works and works well. I got Ridge Racer (doesn't seem any better than the half-decade old PSP version to be honest), SF4 (d-pad, though tiny, is actually better than I thought it would be) and Pilotwings (not much too it but it's a nice, relaxing ride and a 3D showcase).

The extra features are fun too. A 3D camera, the AR cards, Miis and the usual DS stuff. The system feels nice and solid and feels good in the hands. Overall, while the launch titles aren't hugely impressive, I'm happy with it.

Yeah, I caved and put a preorder in for the Cosmo Black.  Took advantage of the Amazon promotional deal that takes $25 off any launch title, thereby netting me Super IV for just $15.

Can anyone recommend a good carrying case and screen protector brand?

K-Mart is doing the $25 off a game thing too if you buy this week, so I'm considering walking into the closest K-Mart around midday and seeing if they have any in stock.  That way it's sort of like letting fate decide.