7 Suggestions to Improve the 3DS
What could make a great system even better?
The Nintendo 3DS is one of the few systems I’ve bought almost at launch and kept playing it ever since. I’ve played a majority of the system’s big releases as well as some Nintendo DS games I haven’t played back then. It really is an amazing system, boasting a library that was both huge and of quality, as well as a somewhat affordable price — when considering the 2DS, at least.
The 3DS is at the end of its life cycle and I believe 2017 will be the last year with major launches for Nintendo’s portable. Nintendo stated that they’ll continue to support the 3DS in 2018 and beyond, but there aren’t any big releases announced as of now. Not that I’m complaining. After the drought that plagued the first few months after its release, there was The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land. Then, a torrent of great games until now. When I thought the 3DS was already on its way out, Nintendo releases a new Mario & Luigi, a new main-series Pokémon, as well as Layton’s Mystery Journey and Monster Hunter Stories. That and Metroid: Samus Returns, a remake of Metroid II for the Game Boy — something the fans have been clamoring for years, a true 2D Metroid game.
Whether its legacy is maintained through the Switch or Nintendo ends up announcing a proper portable follow-up, this article serves as celebration of what is an almost perfect console.
1— A better non-3D screen
The biggest gripe I have with the 3DS. The 3D effect was cool, worked well in some games and that was it. It was a gimmick, and a polarizing one. It gave some people nausea and made the console expensive at launch. Every previous portable console from Nintendo was released at a sub-150€ price point and then comes the 3DS with an astounding 250€ price tag. With the popularity of the smartphone, a dedicated portable console was much harder to justify, for most people.
I’d sacrifice the 3D function for a screen with a good resolution — 240p was ancient even in 2011. Specially after my recent purchase of a PS Vita, a portable console from the same year as the 3DS and its (supposed) rival. And that’s the only advantage that the Vita has over the 3DS. And Tearaway. And Sound Shapes. And that’s it.
2 — Bigger game variety
In my opinion, this problem is related to the previous one. I think some developers might have diverted from the 3DS because the screen resolution was a constraint.
And I say variety — absolutely not quality or quantity, because the 3DS’ library is filled with that. There are a lot of strategy, RPG and platforming games, and those work great on a portable console. But I would love to have some fighters, racing or even sports games. I know Nintendo consoles are bought to play their exclusives, but some variety on top of that is always welcome.
Even some recent indie games ended up going multi-platform but never came to the 3DS. But as most of us know, up until recently, indie developers were having a hard time working with Nintendo.
3 — Game Boy Advance on virtual console
I was one of those lucky few who were able to get a 3DS at the discounted price and still being eligible for the Ambassador’s Program. It truly was a blessing given the lack of games released during the first few months, for the system. And the game selection was outstanding. Still, there were a few games I’d like to buy, or rebuy, so I could play on a system that is with me most of the time.
Nintendo claimed that the 3DS wasn’t powerful enough to emulate GBA games properly, but in my opinion it was to prevent that the 3DS would canibalize the Wii U, a system that was already struggling for quite a while.
4— Ability to connect it to a TV
During the GameCube era, there wasn’t something cooler than the Game Boy Player. It was an ingenious add-on that you could connect to the bottom of the GameCube and play original Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games on the TV. Probably, there isn’t anything cooler even today — the ability to play something like Pokémon Emerald on the go and when you got home being able to keep playing it on a big TV was the stuff of dreams. Truly, of dreams, since I’ve never owned it. But I am now a big boy and was able to afford a Switch!
Now that I think of it, Super Game Boy and the Game Boy Player probably influenced some of the design choices of the Switch. But this is an article about the 3DS and I am digressing a bit too much.
But well, this one’s self-explanatory — play the 3DS on the go, then come home and connect it to a big TV. Either trough a Wii U or a dedicated device, like the PlayStation TV.
5 — 3DS’ eShop sales
That Nintendo is still living in the past when it comes to online services is not a surprise to anyone. But what I think people don’t usually talk about is how their pricing on eShop games is ridiculous. Besides games maintaining their release prices for way too long, the scarcity of sales is abysmal. And when there is, in fact, a sale, the selection of games is really small and the price drop is not that significant, sometimes hovering between 10 and 20%. Just for comparison sake — I know the PS Vita has been dead for quite a while, but I recently got one to play just a few exclusives I didn’t play back in the day. In the two weeks following my purchase, there were two huge sales in which I got great games for the console, most of which were 70 or 80% off. And their normal prices are decent to begin with!
I unfortunately don’t have any other explanation for this other than greed, because it’s a known fact that Nintendo games end up selling either way. What I can hope for is that Nintendo becomes a bit more conscious when it comes to this because I, for one, am abstaining of buying multi-platform games on the Switch due to this reason.
6 — Interaction with Wii U
I feel like I am praising the Vita a bit too much in here, and I don’t even like the console all that much to begin with. But it truly made some things right. And one of them was Remote Play — the ability to play PlayStation 4 games directly on the Vita. Every PS4 game was supported and it worked pretty okay, from what I have seen. If only Nintendo could have made something similar with the Wii U and 3DS...
The 3DS supports dual screens, so it could mimic the TV and the GamePad’s screen at the same time. Or even just for 1-screen gameplay — even though you can play some games on the GamePad only, it is limited to Bluetooth’s range, while the Vita can be played wherever your home’s Wi-Fi signal can reach.
Another great use could’ve been game sharing functionality, which was confined to Super Smash Bros., Mario Party, Animal Crossing or Mario Kart that you could play on whatever device you wanted, or even use the 3DS as a multiplayer controller, would have been an incredible addition to the consoles’ functionalities.
7 — ADVANCE WARS!
Seriously, I bought a 3DS when its future was still a mystery, and thought to myself — “Hey, even if it ends up as a failed portable, I’m sure I’ll at least enjoy Pokémon, Mario Kart and Advance Wars.” I didn’t enjoy Advance Wars. Nor Mario Kart. For different reasons.
This article was written by Super Jump contributor, João Francisco Duarte. Please check out his work and follow him on Medium.
