The 3DS Is Wonderful And Is A Great Value For These Rough Times.

The Nintendo 3DS Is The First System To Provide An Impressive 3D Gaming Experience Without The Need Of Those Silly 3-D Glasses. 3-D Does Not Work With Every One The Same Way, So Nintendo Has Solved This Problem With The 3D Depth Slider, And If You Get Headaches From The 3-D Effect You Can Turn The 3-D Off All Together And Still Enjoy Your Game In A Crisp Colorful 2-D Screen. The 3DS Is Like An All In One system Which It's Backwards Compatible With DS Games, DSi-Ware, GBA, And GB Games. (Note: DSi-Ware, GBA, And GB Games Are Only Available For Download Through The Nintendo eShop.) The 3DS Comes Preinstalled With A Few Software, Like FaceRaiders, AR Games, & The eShop, Where You Can Download DSi-Ware Or Transfer Games From Your Current DSi To The 3DS, You Can Also Download Free Applications And Demos, And Download Virtual Console Games. The 3DS Has Internet Browsing That Can Be Used While A Game Is Suspended, Which Is Great For Game Hints And Guides, As For It's Rival The PS Vita You Must Close The Game To Run The Web And Could Get Annoying During Intense Game Play. The 3DS Also Has StreetPass and SpotPass Services That Shares Game Data From One 3DS Owner To Another. With It's Built In Pedometer, You Can Earn Points By Closing Your System And Going Out For Walk, The 3DS Also Comes With It's Own Charging Dock Which Is Backwards Compatible With The Dsi. The 3DS Can Record Media, It Shoots And Displays 3D Photographs & Video's With Its Dual Back-Facing Cameras, Or It's Single Front-Facing Camera. You Can Enjoy Editing Your Photos With All The Neat Camera Effects It Has Built In. Plus The Nintendo 3DS Camera Has A Better Resolution Compared To It's Rival The PS Vita. Overall The System Is A Great Value For It's Price And Would Make A Great Upgrade From Your Current Handheld Or As A New Handheld All Together.

Great system! Durable and fun, but watch the battery on long trips.

I bought the 3DS because I've played games on handheld Nintendo systems since my childhood when I started with a Gameboy Color and have always enjoyed them. I would qualify however that in my gameplay I tend to enjoy the games released on these Nintendo systems, such as Pokemon and Fire Emblem. Nintendo has not been known to branch out to third parties to make games for their systems, so if you don't like the 'classic' Nintendo games you may have a hard time finding games that you enjoy for this system.

This system has an intuitive design, and I enjoy being able to switch freely between the d-pad and the circle pad. The slider to adjust the depth of the 3D is very nice - I've found that I can view some scenes better at a lower depth while I can view others just fine with the 3D all the way up. The addition of the Home button was also a nice touch. The system is also really tough. My aqua system has been dropped, accidentally thrown, sat on, etc and the only wear it shows are some bumps on the corners and light scratches on the case. Classic Nintendo hardiness at its finest.

On the downside, I'm not a fan of the new design of the Start and Select buttons. They're just too far over to be in easy reach of my thumb. While this is somewhat rectified by the fact that I don't use them nearly as much with DS and later games as I did with GBA games it is still very annoying at the times when I do use said buttons. They're also rather awkward to press - I always feel like I'm in danger of splitting the system in half when I go to press the home button.

The 3D itself is nice. It can take a bit of getting used to at first, and I find it hard to play in 3D for extended periods, but it is a very nice feature. One thing I've noticed is that in scenes with dark backgrounds and light subject matter there tends to be a bit of a double image. This may simply be my eyes, but I've tilted the screen every which way and even tried taking my contacts out to see if that was the issue and nothing fixed it. This isn't too big of a deal, it can just be annoying during darker scenes.

Battery life, especially when using 3D and wireless together, can be an issue. I haven't had too many problems as I am seldom far from an outlet but it can be bothersome when taking the system on long trips. Apparently the battery life issue is fixed on the XL model, but I don't have that model so I don't know for certain.

I've personally had a lot of fun with the wireless features, especially Streetpass. Unfortunately you still need Friend Codes to connect with friends over the internet, but I think it's really cool to walk around campus with my DS in my bag and come home at night to find a bunch of different Miis waiting for me. Most games for the 3DS also share data with others that have the same game. For example, in Fire Emblem: Awakening if you play the game and pass someone that has also played the game you can meet and recruit their avatar. Fun!

As for how the 3DS compares to other products, it's definitely a step up from the DSi. I can't honestly compare it to the Vita or other such handhelds because I haven't used those systems, but I will say that I love the 3DS and would highly recommend it.

DSI is so much better

this is a good handheld but you are better off with the dsi.
They may say that it still has the features of the older models but you have to re-download them. The dsi you could use flipnotes now you can't. The camera is not the best, and 3d is not as amazing as it is. It just depends on your expectation, if it's high you'll be disappointed. If you buy the 3ds and have no cash then you'll be bored. You can play dsi games as well as ds but there's a limited amount of 3ds games. i thought this was goinng to be slimmer but it wasn't. The circle button is the best, the new home button is good, but if you like the dsi a lot and you want an upgrade don't do it, but if you want a new one or whatever you can get it.

BEST PORTABLE GAMING SYSTEM ON THE MARKET

Recently purchased this item as I was looking for a fun portable game system. I had tried the PS Vita, but was left unimpressed.

Positives:

1) The 3DS is pretty much the same size and weight as the DSi.
2) One of the best features of this model is the addition of the analog thumpad which really helps in 3D games.
3) Very bright 3.5" screen
4) Comes with retractable Stylus.
5) Adjustable 3D Effect (Adjust the lens so if you are holding the DS closer/further away from you the picture still will come in clear)
6) 3 Cameras
7) Built-in WiFi

Negatives:

1) Cannot play Gameboy Advance Games.
2) Only About 4 1/2 hours of battery life.
3) Only has 2 GB Storage on SD.
4) Picture quality is average at best.


In addition, the game selection for the Nintendo 3DS is good if you include all the Non-3D games. Pick this portable system up if you are looking for good games with good system functionality.

Awesome system! would buy again!

bought this for myself because i miss mario!!! i really like the optional 3d. i worried that it might give me a headache as 3D movies do but for whatever reason this doesn't bother me. it's easy to use, pretty good battery life, and light weight enough that i can carry it around in my purse without feelinglike im obviously carrying more weight! I love it and plan to buy another one for my husband.