Nintendo Okie

E3 is next week, y’all.  No doubt we are going to get all kinds of new information on the 3DS.  I have been trying to think about how Nintendo will handle the 3DS at the show.  I imagine both Reggie and Iwata will speak of the 3DS and the impact it will have on gaming.  I wonder how far they will take things, not only with the marketing but with the system capabilities a well. 

The 3DS is rumored to come out before the year is up.  If that is true there will have to be several playable games on the show floor.  Everybody lucky enough to go to E3 will be able to appreciate how the system creates its 3D image, but what about everybody else?  How will all of us watching over the internet be able to get the 3D effect?  I remember when the Wii first came out, all game videos were an off screen perspective so you could see how the motion controls worked with he game.  Perhaps we will get a similar thing with the 3DS.  I’m not sure how the 3DS is going to produce its picture but I don’t think you will be able to reproduce the same image through a camera lens.  I’m worried that the only way you can fully grasp the 3DS will be by playing it firsthand.  If that is true then that might reduce the number of impulse buyers for the system. 

I’m dying to know if Nintendo will use the Virtual Boy legacy in their marketing for the 3DS.  The comparisons are too obvious not to mention.  The VB is a 3D handheld system just like the 3DS is.  Hopefully playing the 3DS won’t give players headaches and cause permanent eye damage.  I don’t think anyone will argue that the Virtual Boy was a failure but does that mean Nintendo should avoid the comparison?  I think it would be awesome if they embraced it.  People are going to make the connection between the two systems anyway, so why try to avoid it?  The Virtual Boy was a flop but it also has a certain amount of charm about it.  I hesitate to call it a cult following but I can’t think of a better way to describe it.  It just has such a so-goofy-it’s-cool aura to me.  I not saying Nintendo should post pictures of  the VB next to the 3DS on billboards, but I think it could be a cool marketing spin for long time Nintendo fans.  I guess the long time Nintendo fans don’t really need the extra marketing attention since they will buy it anyway. 

One thing I think Nintendo will bring with the 3DS is a Game Boy Virtual Console.  I thought for sure they would announce it for the DSi when they reveled the SD card slot.  Many people were surprised by that because it seems like a no brainer.  It’s instant money just as the Wii Virtual Console is.  There are so many iconic Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advanced and Game Gear  games that people would flock to.  Well, maybe not Game Gear.  Anybody around me knows I would by Metroid II: Return of Samus in a heartbeat.  I cannot think of a single reason why Nintendo hasn’t released a VC for handheld games yet.  That makes me think it has to happen with the 3DS.  I have been wrong before though.  Nintendo seems to be pretty good and being unpredictable. 

I’ll admit, I am not sold on this whole 3D revolution that is sweeping the entertainment business right now.  As a person that wears glasses, I find it awkward to wear another pair over them.  It just isn’t comfortable at all.  The idea of wearing them for two hours is a huge deterrent.  Obviously, I haven’t seen any of the 3D movies to come out lately.  I prefer the normal screenings.  Maybe I am missing out on how cool the 3D effect is and that leads to my distaste for 3D games.  I am willing to give 3D a chance if I don’t have to wear special glasses.  So the 3DS has the potential to be bring me into the realm of 3D.  I will hold off on the system until I can try it for myself but I am not going to write it off.  I remember thinking that a touch screen for games was a horrible idea.  Oh, how wrong I was. 

Hopefully in the future we look back on the 3DS and we don’t just think of it as Nintendo’s part of “that 3D fad.”  I think after E3 is over, a lot of people will be speaking highly of the 3DS.  I’m not sure if this rise of 3D technology will last as long as companies hope it will, but it could lead to some interesting innovations.  After all, it does bring us one step closer to virtual reality.  Now that is the gaming of the future.