The Nintendo 3DS lets you play games in 3D without having to wear any glasses. But how good is the 3D effect? We tell you exactly how good, and explain how it works.
With diagrams! You've probably heard a thing or two about Nintendo's brand-new handheld games console, the Nintendo 3DS. It's the follow-up to the immensely popular DSi , and as Ninty is wasting no time in telling you, it lets you play games in eye-snapping 3D without having to wear any dorky glasses. It's an innovative feature, but is it actually any good?
Read on for our verdict on the 3DS' 3D tech, and impress your friends by knowing how the blasted thing actually works. Viewing a 3D image on a screen without using any glasses might sound complicated, but in fact the technology used in the 3DS is deceptively simple.
As your eyes perceive the world from slightly different angles, with the two images melded in your brain to provide the sensation of depth, to make 3D appear on a single panel, you have to make the screen show two images at once -- one for each eye. The 3DS has a thin layer in front of its display called a 'parallax barrier', and this thin sheet is full of really tiny gaps.
These gaps mean certain parts of the screen are hidden from one angle, but visible from another. So with your two eyes placed at different angles to the screen, each peeper sees a slightly different picture. All the 3DS has to do is slice up two very similar images and place them behind the barrier, arranged so your left eye can view certain parts of the image, and the right eye can see others. With a different image hitting each eye, your brain does its combination voodoo, and a sense of depth is achieved.
Once the 3DS identifies the card and judges your distance from it, you'll see a virtual, three-dimensional box pop up on the surface of the card as you look at the 3-D display.
You can interact with the virtual object in several ways. You can play a couple of different games that require you to move around and shoot virtual targets as you keep your cameras trained on the real card in front of you. There's also a program that lets you draw images, which the 3DS renders as an object with actual depth. It will look as if your drawing is standing up on the flat surface that supports the AR card. Using both cameras, the 3DS can gauge the angle and distance of the card by comparing the two sets of images, much the same way as we perceive 3-D with our own eyes.
As you move the 3DS around the card, the cameras detect the new angles and distances and the 3DS adjusts the rendering of the virtual objects to match the new position. Move too close or too far away and the 3DS warns you to adjust back to the optimal distance. The AR games only work with specific images. You can't point the 3DS at a building and expect to have a virtual game pop up.
The processors will only work with patterns they recognize, like the box with the question mark on it. If you lose the AR card, you can print out a replacement from Nintendo's Web site.
The operations manual for the Nintendo 3DS contains a section on potential health hazards users might encounter while playing the Nintendo 3DS. One of those is seizures. According to the manual, about one in 4, people may suffer seizures as a result of looking at flashes of light. This sensitivity tends to decrease if the viewer is farther away from the source of light but with a handheld device that's not really an option.
Still, it's rare. Nintendo also warns users of the potential for eyestrain. The manual suggests that players take a to minute break for every hour of play. If you're using the 3-D feature on the 3DS, that frequency doubles to a break every half hour. It also warns that if the player begins to feel dizzy or nauseated, he or she should stop playing for several hours. The company stresses that such symptoms are rare. There are other potential health problems as well. If you're a gaming junkie, you may be tempted to play all day long.
That can lead to injuries as you repeat the same motions throughout the day. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an example of what can happen if you play for long stretches of time frequently. Nintendo also cautions players who wish to change the 3DS battery. If your battery's life isn't what it used to be, you can swap it out for a new one. But you should be careful with old batteries -- if they're damaged they may leak battery acid. Finally, the company warns that since the device is capable of broadcasting over WiFi , it should not be used near people who have pacemakers.
The concern is that the WiFi will create radio-frequency RF interference that could cause the pacemaker to malfunction. Early reviews of the 3DS unveiled concerns unrelated to health. Despite an early demo of a game that used 3-D as an integral part of gameplay, the company now supports a different approach to game development.
People with vision problems in one eye may not perceive 3-D images at all. Nintendo doesn't want to leave these people out of the fun and so the company stresses that games should be playable in either 2-D or 3-D mode. But that means the 3-D feature becomes more of a gimmick than an integrated feature necessary for gameplay.
And not all 3DS games will be in 3-D. Several 3DS titles, including an entry in the popular Street Fighter franchise, don't support 3-D at all. While the 3DS has other new features besides the 3-D capability, it may not pack enough punch for gamers to decide to upgrade to the new system. Will the 3DS pave the way to a new era of handheld gaming or is it destined to join Nintendo misfires like the Virtual Boy or Power Glove?
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Video Game Systems. How the Nintendo 3DS Works. The Nintendo 3DS brings three-dimensional gaming to handheld devices. See more Nintendo 3DS pictures. Nintendo 3DS Features and Specs " ". The Nintendo 3DS comes with a telescoping stylus that fits snugly in the back of the device. Gaming on the 3DS " ".
The front-facing camera on the Nintendo 3DS can take images that you can use in applications and games. Under the Hood " ". This is the main circuitboard inside the Nintendo 3DS. Seeing Depth " ". This is what the Nintendo 3DS's 3-D screen looks like with the protective covering removed.
You can see the speakers mounted to either side of the screen. The Parallax Barrier " ". By directing light to each of your eyes, the parallax barrier allows Nintendo to create the illusion of depth on the 3DS screen.
Augmented Reality " ". The Nintendo 3DS introduces augmented reality gaming into the Nintendo experience with special cards. Nintendo 3DS Homepage. Sources Nintendo. Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad. March 21, April 24, April 5, Does 3DS online still work? Reading Time: 7 mins read. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Also, Is the 3DS Dead ?
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