User:Salnax

I'm a fan of various Nintendo handheld games. I'm currently working on several guides for the Nintendo 3DS.

My Favorite Games

 * Age of Mythology
 * Chrono Trigger
 * Final Fantasy
 * Kid Icarus: Uprising
 * Kingdom Hearts
 * Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
 * The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
 * The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
 * Metal Gear Solid 3
 * Mother 3
 * Pokemon Black
 * Pokemon HeartGold
 * Resident Evil 4
 * Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
 * Team Fortress 2
 * The World Ends With You
 * Yoshi's Island

Origins
Until 2010, when people mentioned Nintendo and 3D gaming together, they were either referring to the success of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, or the ill-fated Virtual Boy of 1995. The latter in particular is seen as one of the company's greatest failures But Nintendo's association with 3D Gaming in its current definition, referring to stereoscopic 3D, has a long history.

As early as 1988, Nintendo was releasing games that made use of 3D technology of the time. One of these games was Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, a Japanese Family Computer Disk System exclusive.

The Virtual Boy was the child of the now often-forgotten Gunpei Yokoi. Although now a relatively obscure character, Yokoi was a major player in Nintendo from 1974 through the mid-90's. Yokoi's most notable works included designing the Game & Watch series of handheld games and the original Game Boy.

By the time the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto came to work at Nintendo, developing the original Donkey Kong, Yokoi was a mentor figure, teaching the young Miyamoto the intricacies of game design. Many traits of the Mario series, including the early multiplayer of Mario Bros. and Mario's superhuman abilities, were originally suggested by Yokoi.

He also worked on the production of several classic games, including Kid Icarus and Metroid. The Virtual Boy was simply his last major project, along with the Game Boy Pocket, before leaving Nintendo. Tragically, Gunpei Yokoi died in a car crash in 1997, just long enough to see his final product fail.

With a pedigree like that, how did the Virtual Boy fail? Several reasons seem to up up. First, Nintendo's desire to keep costs down led to the use of low-cost Red LEDs rather than colored ones. This, along with several design other choices, made the Virtual Boy rather cheap and flimsy for its $180 price-tag. Second, the Virtual Boy was competing for resources with the Nintendo 64, which would be released about a year later. Third, and possibly most importantly, was the fact that the technology wasn't there yet. Battery technology wasn't ready for the intense drain, none of the design choices were without sacrifice, and the very system's cumbersome design suggested that its time had not yet come.

Despite the failure of the Virtual Boy, Nintendo still kept 3D gaming in mind. The GameCube was equipped with the hardware to play 3D games. One major game, Luigi's Mansion, was even designed to be played in 3D. However, the lack of 3D displays at the time killed the idea early.

A year or two later, Nintendo considered, for the first time, using the same basic technology that was ultimately used for the 3DS. The low resolution of the GameBoy Advance and DS, however, limited the usefulness of this technology. However, by the dawn of the 8th Generation of Video Gaming, the technology was finally in place.

Announcement
Starting in 2009, details about the next generation of Nintendo handhelds began trickling in. It would incorporate a motion sensor. It was in the hands of an elite group of developers. And on March 23, 2010, it got a name.

Nintendo 3DS

Details were scarce. The system would be able to display games in 3D without the need for glasses, and would be backwards compatible with the DS family. And apparently, it would be out within the next year. Would it be released that year in time for the holidays? Would the 3D just be a gimmick? And, most importantly, what games would there be?

Finally, June 15 came. And with it, a storm of information.

The top screen would be a widescreen 3D display, while the bottom one would remain a touchscreen like the DS family's. The 3D would be adjustable, there would be three cameras built into the machine, a new analog stick for playing games in 3D environments, and there would be games.

The first trailer of a 3DS game was for the then announced Kid Icarus: Uprising, the rebirth of the long dormant franchise. People mistook it for a Wii game before being corrected. Other Nintendo games in the works included a new Paper Mario, a new Animal Crossing, a new Mario Kart, Nintendogs + cats, PilotWings, Star Fox 64 and Ocarina of Time remakes, and a new IP called Steel Diver.

But strangely enough, some of the best news was from third party developers and publishers. Metal Gear Solid, Kingdom Hearts, Assassin's Creed, Saints Row, Shin Megami Tensei, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Madden, Fifa, The Sims, Bomberman, Contra, Frogger, Pro Evolution Soccer, Professor Layton, A Boy and His Blob, Dragon Ball, Gundam, Pacman, Ridge Racer, Sonic, Monkey Ball, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Dead or Alive, Dynasty Warriors, Ninja Gaiden, Naruto, Tom Clancy, and Lego games were all announced.

It was grand, it was spectacular, and it was renowned. But in the hubbub, two things were never mention: the Price and the Release Date.

Waiting for Launch
As information about the 3DS continued to leak out, many began to wonder when it would launch and for how much. Early interviews after E3 2010 suggested that the 3DS would cost more than the DS did at launch. The thing was, nobody knew what that meant. Would it cost $170? $200? $250? Whatever the price was, Nintendo planned to profit from the hardware from Day 1. The price and release date in japan were finally announced September 29, and info for the rest of the world soon followed: $250, with a February launch in Japan and a March launch in the West.

There was some disappointment that the 3DS would miss the 2010 holiday season, but as we will see later, the system came out arguably too early anyway.

Meanwhile, the anticipation was growing, despite the late release and high price for a handheld. New games like Mega Man Legends 3, Monster Hunter, BlazBlue, and Castlevania were announced that would presumably join the already impressive lineup.

Then the bad news started hitting.

Kids under the age of seven were advised to keep the 3D off, for health reasons. The battery life would only be 3 to 5 hours for 3DS games. The Friend Code system would return. The eShop would not be in operation for the first few months. And finally, the launch lineup.

In retrospect, it wasn't bad. Big names like Street Fighter, Nintendogs, and Professor Layton were present in various territories. But Kid Icarus: Uprising? Mario Kart? Paper Mario? The Ocarina of Time remake? Animal Crossing? 3rd party behemoths like Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid? All absent.