Hands are on the new 3DS ⊟
Right now at Tokyo Game Show 2014, hands are touching Nintendo’s new hardware. Gentle fingertips are resting on the lower backs of 3DS XLs. Palms are pressed against the handheld’s face, testing its texture. Thick thumbs are pushing its soft analog bump, nudging the rubber nub in different directions.
Those hands are not ours. We could not afford to send our mitts to Tokyo, small as they may be. Thanks to the keyboard and mice that our fingers are touching right now, though, we are able to communicate to you what those hands across the Pacific are experiencing, via blockquote technology.
Let’s start with that new analog nub Nintendo’s thrown north of the ABXY buttons. Some of these impressions read like erotica:
“I didn’t want to stop fiddling with it. I found myself controlling the camera in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate with the little C-stick constantly. Not because I had to, mind you, but because it just felt so nice. It’s rubbery, soft, and inviting. I kept sliding my thumb above the X button and giving it gentle little nudges and pushes just to see the camera move around. It felt awesome, and I loved using it.” - IGN
“Since it’s a small nub, that seemed ideal for camera movement in that you can easily push it. I tried pushing on it as hard as I could to actually see if I could break it, but the nub appeared very sturdy. I am curious to see how it will hold up over extended play. However, this C-Stick isn’t really something you can flick, which makes me wonder how it will feel to use in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. … The C-Stick is an extremely welcome addition for camera controls.” - Kotaku
“It’s not like the circular analog Slide Pad; it’s a firmly planted, sturdy rubbery nub that requires a bit of force to use and has almost no detectable range of motion. In a game like Monster Hunter, it’s good for controlling the game’s camera — certainly better than other options — but it’s not quite a second analog stick.” - Polygon
There’s a lot of praise for the improved viewing angle for the New 3DS’s stereoscopic 3D:
“The stereoscopic 3D on the upper screen looks sharper than ever. Nintendo promises a wider viewing angle for 3D viewing, and tilting the New 3DS from side-to-side showed that the handheld will live up to that promise. The same expanded viewing angle doesn’t apply when you’re tilting the New 3DS up and down, but the better 3D view is welcome regardless of its limitations.” - Polygon
“The 3D effect is better. Way better. That blinding, jittery flicker that current 3DS users are used to seeing every time they move the handheld with the 3D slider up is mostly gone. I guesstimated around a 45 degree tilt in any direction before the 3D effect ‘broke’ for me. That made me want to play with the 3D slider up the entire time.” - IGN
“It actually surprised me how good the effect looks now. This is something I’ve long hated on the original 3DS and have rarely used because it made my eyes tired. Instead of making you feel like you are crossing your eyes, the new 3DS effect has more of a shadow-box effect than you get with the current 3DS. Instead of feeling like the game is popping out, it’s as though the New 3DS is drawing you into the game.” - Kotaku
Back to controls, there are also two additional shoulder buttons:
“The ZL and ZR buttons seem like they might be a big tough to reach or reliably touch, but they’re good too. I found it easy to rock my index fingers from the outer shoulder buttons to the inner shoulder buttons without much trouble.” - Polygon
“The new added shoulder buttons (ZR and ZL) required more of a reach to use, but since they stick out slightly, they were easy enough to use.” - Kotaku
Several outlets also noted that the New 3DSes they tried out had a glossy back, which didn’t feel as nice as a matte texture. That might only be the case with the XL/LL units used for these demos, and not the standard-sized New 3DSes.
The New 3DS models launch in Japan on October 11 (no release plans for the West have been announced). Play-Asia seems to have run out of preorder units, but the retailer will likely stock them once the system releases. You can currently reserve a limited edition Pokemon ORAS New 3DS and New 3DS accessories, though.
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