Reactions: Nintendo jumps on the bandwagon with the 3DS

*Sigh.* I suppose it’s naive to think that technology will ever slow down enough for actual game-design and story to take prominence. Ever since Avatar, one of the most overrated movies of all time, made as much money as sliced bread and hot cakes combined, 3D has been all the rage. Evidently, Nintendo isn’t content to sit back and watch the movie industry soak up all those profits.

That’s why the gaming company that real gamers no longer like has announced the DSi XL’s successor, the Nintendo 3DS. Mind you, this announcement comes before the XL has even been released in the U.S. But that’s not stopping the Mario Factory from capitalizing on the 3D craze as soon as Holiday 2010.

As for the specifics of the new system, Japanese business daily Nikkei reports that the 3DS will feature a thumb stick for controlling movement in a 3D plane, rumble functionality, greatly enhanced battery life, improved network connectivity, and a screen size that’s smaller than four inches. It will be capable of playing regular DS and DSi games as well. Oh, and the whole 3D thing won’t require any special glasses.

The system itself sounds pretty cool, even if I’d never waste my money on a portable gaming system. But it’s the very high likelihood of 3D becoming a gimmick that scares me. I hope you didn’t like good DS games, because everything for 2011 and beyond is probably going to be shovel-ware along the lines of Wii games.

Author: Cody