Nintendo 3DS release date, price, features

[dpodblood]

At $250 I might buy one. More likely I will wait till it's < $200.

 

[borisvodofsky]

Nintendo 3DS will battle piracy with automatic updates

As successful as the Nintendo DS has been since it was launched in 2004, it has also been pirate's dream. The system has proven to fairly easy to hack in all of its iterations including the latest versions of the DSi. Obviously this is a concern for Nintendo and one that they hope to correct with the Nintendo 3DS with automated firmware updates.

Speaking during a Q&A session with investors, CEO Satoru Iwata said, "As part of the functionality of SpotPass, we're looking into having automatic system updates via the internet."

Previous firmware updates methods required players to manually start the update which Iwata says did not happen much. With SpotPass, Nintendo will be able to update the firmware automatically while the 3DS is in sleep mode or playing a game and connected to a nearby wireless network.

However, Nintendo promises that that is not the primary reason for implementing SpotPass as it will also allow for many different uses. Some of the ones mentioned include the automatic download of demos, downloading magazines and articles and more.

un hun... as long as there's incentive, "money" people will pirate, realize that there is money lost due to piracy, and conversely money Made..

However, I do not condone piracy, as it is destructive to the gaming enterprise. Though there is a necessary evil part of it to deter corporations from putting iron fist to the anus of the consumer. That is really the main reason pirating started.. :\

 

[warcrow]

Totally preordered this yesterday! 🙂

 

[Homerboy]

Nintendo 3DS will battle piracy with automatic updates

As successful as the Nintendo DS has been since it was launched in 2004, it has also been pirate's dream. The system has proven to fairly easy to hack in all of its iterations including the latest versions of the DSi. Obviously this is a concern for Nintendo and one that they hope to correct with the Nintendo 3DS with automated firmware updates.

Speaking during a Q&A session with investors, CEO Satoru Iwata said, "As part of the functionality of SpotPass, we're looking into having automatic system updates via the internet."

Previous firmware updates methods required players to manually start the update which Iwata says did not happen much. With SpotPass, Nintendo will be able to update the firmware automatically while the 3DS is in sleep mode or playing a game and connected to a nearby wireless network.

However, Nintendo promises that that is not the primary reason for implementing SpotPass as it will also allow for many different uses. Some of the ones mentioned include the automatic download of demos, downloading magazines and articles and more.

Forced firmware updates never sound like a good idea to me.

 

[SandEagle]

Totally preordered this yesterday! 🙂

Nerd!

I'll be getting it at midnight launch.

 

[zerocool84]

Forced firmware updates never sound like a good idea to me.

They're both good and bad. Ability to update things long after the system has come out is great cus they could fix bugs and add more functionality but obviously as we've seen with console's they can be bad as well.

 

[Pheran]

Some really good news for DSi owners is that Nintendo will allow you to transfer over a limited number of DSiWare games. They've also added a new in-game menu browser by pressing the home button. This keeps you in the game while doing other things like browsing the web.

All I can say is that Nintendo isn't getting a single cent of my money for DSiWare until they stop being retards and make DLC behave reasonably (something like the Xbox live model where you can download anything on your account to any console but it will only work on the primary console unless you are online would be fine). This is one reason I haven't bothered to upgrade from my DS Lite to anything newer.

 

[Tom]

un hun... as long as there's incentive, "money" people will pirate, realize that there is money lost due to piracy, and conversely money Made..

However, I do not condone piracy, as it is destructive to the gaming enterprise. Though there is a necessary evil part of it to deter corporations from putting iron fist to the anus of the consumer. That is really the main reason pirating started.. :\

bull. piracy started for the same reason kids shoplift. greed and narcissism.

 

[magomago]

i dunno the system's graphics look great to me, and i'm sure the 3D element is going to be huge - imagine how many little 9 year olds will get giddy when they see their nintendog jump out at them.

I agree that 300 is a hard pill to swallow. Truth be told, its not that bad. If you work and you have the money, just save up an extra month and buy it (although from my POV, I understand I have the mentality of a single mid 20s male, so its a lot simpler than someone with a family and a mortgage, etc). The hard part is for parents trying to decide on the purchase for their child - 300 is quite a bit.

but ultimtaely the 3DS is not for me; i am just not a handheld gamer. even when i do have a game, like FF:CC, i sit down and play it like a console. i can't do it on the go, or outside, etc. etc.

 

[Homerboy]

I have a 7yr old daughter that LOVES her DS...
There is NO WAY I'd drop $300 on this thing for her though. I know she'd love it, but $300? Forget it.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

If you're a parent to two or more kids I can understand that it can be extremely expensive toys for your kids. As a single guy $300 may not be all that hard to swallow.

I've seen parents get their 7yr old kids ipod touch and iphone 4s so it may not be totally out of the question. But that is poor parenting imo.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

Good news for parents worrying about the high price tag of the 3DS: Nintendo is warning that there is a risk of the 3D mode adversely affecting the eyesight development of young children. Kids will just have to rely on older and cheaper methods to go blind.