I’ve been happy as a clam looking forward to getting my hands on the 3DS. I even defended the steep price here, pointing to the novelty, the innovation, the whimsy that only Nintendo seems to reliably bring.
Well, today I finally got the device in my hot little hands, and I stand by just about everything I’ve said previously. 3D without glasses is just not something you’re ready for until you see it with your own eyes.
But that said, I will admit to one fairly serious drawback I’ve heard from several journalists and bloggers and just about anybody who’s spent enough time with the device. 3D without glasses hurts.
I was on the handheld for not even five minutes before I started dialing down the 3D effect. At first it was just to see how high and low it could go, but after a while I realized it was a lot more comfortable to just turn it off.
I didn’t have enough time with the device to make a firm stand one way or the other, but I will say that while it was on I quickly felt cross-eyed. What’s more, once it was turned off it wasn’t long at all before I instinctually reached to fire the 3D back on for that satisfying, and distinct, depth of field transition.
These things considered, I may not get one at launch, though that has more to do with a bum launch line-up than anything else. It remains a fascinating device with a slew of other features to be sure. But 3D is and has been the selling point, and 3D without glasses is certainly a novelty.
We’ll just have to wait and see if an entire generation of 3DS users winds up cross-eyed.