Nintendo 3DS: A Review

Whilst the Nintendo 3DS is a great console in its own right, sometimes the average gamer can have too many consoles. When push comes to shove, or you just want to cut down, do you really need your 3DS anymore? This is something that I’ve been thinking about for some time. I could, for instance, quite easily sell my Nintendo 3DS for money; money that would undoubtedly be useful for any other console or gaming needs. The question is, however, whether or not I would miss my 3DS? It certainly has its uses, but do I really still need it?

 

Range of Games

First of all, the best way to judge any device is through the range of games. The 3DS might have a few features going for it, such as e-mail, internet and a camera, but most of these can be found elsewhere, such as on your phone. Given that it is, primarily, a game console, are you happy with the range of games?

The 3DS didn’t open to the greatest series of launch titles and many early games were ports of other games you’ve already played, such as Metal Gear Solid 3. Whilst it’s a fun experience, not every gamer can justify this outright for having an entire console.

Gimmick or Useful Feature?

Similarly, one has to arguably look at the other features the 3DS can offer. Of course, the biggest one that comes to mind is the use of 3D. Whilst this is useful, and can improve many games, how much does it benefit your gaming experience?

Likewise, do you need a camera and online features? These are all things your smartphone can do (and often better); are two devices doing the same thing a necessity? Whilst having these options on your gaming console is useful, it’s not the only method of accessing the internet on the move and a phone can also make phone calls and texts.

Portability

Where the 3DS does shine, however, is through its portability. The 3DS is still a hand-held console, which gives it an edge over its home console counterparts. This is certainly more of a niche market, its main rival being the PSP Vita. Hand-held gaming is a very small, niche market when it comes to the actual consoles, unless you count the ever growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, which gives the 3DS some strong importance as an actual modern, current generation console.

As such, whether or not you ‘need’ a 3DS depends on how you like to game. If you’re out a lot and want to game when you’re on the move then, yes, you certainly need a hand-held console. If you just play at home, why not use the home console? The Wii U offers a similar dual screen experience, although it does lack the 3D feature (or ‘gimmick’ depending on your opinion).

Hopefully this should show some of the pros and cons to the 3DS. Whilst some people may still enjoy their device, it might turn out you really don’t need it as much as you think.