3D, Or Not 3D, That Is The Question

This year is most definitely going to be the year of the handheld, with not one, but two new consoles due this year. In the latter half of the year we should be getting our hands on the worst kept secret in gaming, the Playstation Portable 2, but before then we are going to be treated to the latest incarnation of the Nintendo DS, the 3DS. Recent press conferences have given us a glimpse of what to expect, how games will play and look, and most importantly how much the unit will cost. The 3DS launches at the end of March for a wallet crippling £230 or thereabout. It pushes it beyond a casual purchase and dearer than an Xbox 360 and only marginally cheaper than a Playstation 3. Can this price point be justified for the inclusion of a better quality of games than the bog standard DS and the added bonus of 3D?

Interestingly, a Nintendo bigwig put the pricing point as a fair comparison with the current generation of smartphones, which he cited the 3DS was competing with. That’s fair enough but it doesn’t take a genius to see that the 3DS is not a smart phone, yes it plays games and has browsing software and a camera but that’s where that comparison stops. Even at that, a modern phone can be picked up cheaper than the 3DS and do much the same without the inclusion of 3D. To take this comparison even further it’s necessary to look at the pricing of the games, from what I can see at this point in time, 3DS games will be retailing for anywhere between £32-£40, that is steep for handheld games. Yes, the games are superior to any other handheld just now and feature 3D graphics, but at a price point comparable with the console games? I’m not sure if that will put many people off, especially when the same games, albeit slightly less featured are available on phones.

Some of the launch games that may be appearing for the 3DS are Resident Evil, Street Fighter 4 and Super Monkey Ball, all popping in for £40 each, a hefty price tag for games most people have played, lots. Load up the apple app store and the same three games can be found at a hugely reduced cost over the versions. There are a few Resident Evil games on the app store, most noticeably, Resident Evil 4, complete with most of the features intact for a pocket money-friendly £2.99. Street Fighter 4 is also present on the app store for a slightly dearer £5.99. Yes, it has fewer fighters and isn’t as intuitive to control with the touch screen, but it looks gorgeous, almost on a par with the 3DS. Finally, Super Monkey Ball also makes an appearance at a “that can’t be right” price point of £1.79. The sequel is also there for exactly the same price. So, if you were to go out and purchase these three games for the 3DS you’d be looking at £120 or thereabouts, but all three of them for your smartphone and you’d have change from £12. Quite a difference, I’m sure you’ll agree.

There is no doubt in my mind that the 3DS is going to be the must have thing this spring, but I’m not sure who it’s going to be a must have for. It’s maybe a bit too gamey for the casual DS market but verging on the too expensive for the curious gamers. The thing is, the 3DS almost represents a step back in the evolution of the DS, we’d just been treated to the impressive size and style of the DSi XL. Mainly designed for the older DS players who may struggle to see the smaller screen, but all comers could use it no bother. It was great to see DS games on a larger screen. The 3DS  has resorted back to the smaller screen, maybe to make the 3D effect work better, but surely it’s only going to be a matter of time until the 3DS XL is unveiled. Will the early adopters be cursing at not waiting for what seems to be inevitable? Of course, it may be that the 3DS fails long before that can even happen, it’s a high price point, the games are expensive, it could be a very risky gamble for Nintendo. There is already a huge installed user base of smartphones, to attempt to go in to direct competition to them may prove to be frivolous. It could be that the 3DS becomes a niche machine.