Nintendo Admits 3DS Won't Beat Regular DS on Battery Life

[Tom Phoenix]

They said that they are aiming for a battery life similar to that of the DSi, which would put it at about 9-14 hours on the lowest brightness. If they can manage to squeeze about 10 hours from it, I think that would be perfectly sufficient.

Anything less, though, would start to become a tough sell. A good battery life has always been one of the major advantages of Nintendo handhelds and one of the reasons they have always trampled the competition. If they don't want to open a potential window for a competitor, they better keep it at least at a decent level.

Personally, I don't mind a shorter battery life as long as it is closer to the DS than it is to the PSP.

 

[Delusibeta]

Considering the old DS Original had an amazing battery life, it's not at all surprising that it's replacement doesn't match it, especially considering AFAIK the DSi didn't.

 

[SharedProphet]

I would bet the 3D depth setting has no effect on battery life. And I'd also guess that the reason for the battery life reduction is much more due to the always-on wi-fi than the 3D.

 

[Beyond D espair]

It's starting to remind me of one of those wireless landline phones that needs to be returned to it's base after every use.

 

[Xanthious]

Soooo let's review what we've learned about the 3DS in the past week or so. It secretly downloads and installs software on your console with or without your permission. The price for the Japanese launch will be the roughly 300 dollars. Despite being Nintendo's "most powerful system to date" it still fails to meet the minimum requirements to run a game engine (UE3) that has been out for more than 3 years now. And now we learn battery life looks like it's going to be pretty mediocre.

Boy, this thing just keeps looking better and better. I know I for one can't wait to throw down 300 dollars for a console that's three years or more out of date at launch and secretly installs new software on my console against my wishes. . . that is if it can stay powered on long enough to do so.

 

[_Cake_]

It's like Nintendo can't stand having everyone like them.

"You love us? Your not even going to call it a gimmick or talk about how you hate 3D?....Well what if we make our handheald 300$? No? Still don't think we're mediocre? HA the battery life will suck! Luke warm with us yet?"

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

I hope it at least doesn't run the battery down while it's switched off like the psp seems to do.

The 3DS is going to slowly drain the battery even while "turned off", since it puts itself in a low-energy sleep mode with limited network communication that allows it to exchange data with other 3DS units in the area.

There was some focus on this feature in a recent Super Street Fighter IV 3D trailer.

There's likely to be a way that the sleep mode could be turned off if you don't want to use it, privacy/ child safety concerns alone should ensure that.

flick off switch = standby, uses battery but lets you keep your place in a game.

Hold off switch for three seconds = off. No battery usage, has to fully reboot when switched on.

It's a feature, being able to just switch a game off at any time and continue later is a pretty nice feature for portable playing. I'd rather it had built in drive space and saved state to it rather than stayed on but I guess the PSP was expensive enough.

So long as the 3DS lasts more than a couple of hours this really isn't an issue.

 

[Buizel91]

My DS light is pathetic with Batter anyway, it's always on charge.

Then again i am on it for AGES, and when i see red, and then notice the time, I'm like wtf! Where did them 4 hours go D=

Meh it won't affect me, much anyway the thing i like about the DS is the controls aren't backwards like the PSP. God i hate them controls.

And also they have Pokemon...so it just beats everything <3

 

[Electrogecko]

As long as I can turn the 3D off to save battery life, I'm fine with that.

I mostly use my DS at home, anyway.

I have a hard time believing that turning off the 3d will increase the battery life very much. Both 2d and 3d light the same amount of pixels, and isn't the misdirection of their light a physical property of the screen? The only change will be a slight difference in processing. It seems to me like the energy output wouldn't change much but idk.
Also, when they say "regular DS," do they mean the first generation, DSlite, or DSi? DSlite improved the battery life and DSi maintained DSlite's more or less, but I've been using a generation 1 for the last 5 years. Thus, at this point, the battery life is pretty abysmal and I think that buying a new 3DS would greatly expand it.

Soooo let's review what we've learned about the 3DS in the past week or so. It secretly downloads and installs software on your console with or without your permission. The price for the Japanese launch will be the roughly 300 dollars. Despite being Nintendo's "most powerful system to date" it still fails to meet the minimum requirements to run a game engine (UE3) that has been out for more than 3 years now. And now we learn battery life looks like it's going to be pretty mediocre.

Boy, this thing just keeps looking better and better. I know I for one can't wait to throw down 300 dollars for a console that's three years or more out of date at launch and secretly installs new software on my console against my wishes. . . that is if it can stay powered on long enough to do so.

Hey look who it is! Troll much?

 

[Rect Pola]

That's a shame but even the best batteries can only hold so much charge for it's size. Until battery cells that do the job of today's batteries in the space of a stamp become conventional, we aren't going to see a lot of improvement.

 

[Xanthious]

Hey look who it is! Troll much?

Please, explain. How is pointing out the facts all of a sudden trolling?

 

[starwarsgeek]

I rarely play my DS anywhere but my home anyway.

 

[Rad Party God]

Heh, I'm fine with it, I mostly play my DS indoors and I rarely play it at the bus stop or anywhere else outside, also I mostly play with the second lower brightness to save a few more minutes of battery.

But c'mon people, this isn't anything like the Sega GameGear, that thing used 6 AA batteries (yeah, you read that right... 6) and it lasted for an hour or two if you were lucky.

Also PSP owners are already used to this, as I've already heared/seen that the battery doesn't last as long as the DS.

 

[Mr. Omega]

So it's not gonna be as good as the DS. I usually play in my room, so that won't be a problem. Still, as long as "less battery life" means "a little less than the DS" rather than "a little more than the first iPhone", I have nothing to complain about.

 

[Electrogecko]

Hey look who it is! Troll much?

Please, explain. How is pointing out the facts all of a sudden trolling?

For one, you're hardly pointing out facts.
Just because it doesn't ask for a terms of user agreement doesn't mean it's updating "secretly." Infact, there's a switch that can turn wireless communications off completely. Once again, you're ignorant.
The battery life isn't bad either. The original DS battery life was around 10 hours and DSlite and DSi were more than that, meaning the 3DS' will probably be around 7-8 with normal settings. Also, it's pretty stupid to complain about the battery life AND the processing power, considering the 2 are inversely proportional.
You have done nothing but point out all the negative aspects of the console that you percieve and you have already expressed your hatred for Nintendo several times across several different forums.
This is why I believe you're trolling.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Please, explain. How is pointing out the facts all of a sudden trolling?

Because the facts are lacking all context.

Soooo let's review what we've learned about the 3DS in the past week or so. It secretly downloads and installs software on your console with or without your permission.

Most likely Nintendo's method of combating piracy...explain how this is a bad thing.

The price for the Japanese launch will be the roughly 300 dollars.

That is just the exchange rate, which is a terrible way to predict the price. The Japanese launch is also the same price they paid for the Wii, so $250 (at the most) is much more likely.

Despite being Nintendo's "most powerful system to date" it still fails to meet the minimum requirements to run a game engine (UE3) that has been out for more than 3 years now.

A statement he admited to making purely on specs he read online. He even said he needs to see it before he can make a final statement. Besides, you do remember this is a handheld, right? They tend to lag behind the home consoles a little bit.

And now we learn battery life looks like it's going to be pretty mediocre.

All we know is that its battery life is less than the Nintendo DS.


You may not be trolling, but you are making assumptions and taking facts out of context.

 

[mjc0961]

Oh good, I was going to turn off the 3D anyway so that's cool. Although I actually think maybe the charging cradle is a bad idea now. Suppose I'm playing DS at home and the battery goes into "Charge me!" levels of low. I can just plug in the power cable and keep playing. But now here's the 3DS and it wants a charge, and it has to sit in this cradle... Guess I'm doing playing now? Booo!

Oh yeah guys, stop feeding the troll.

 

[Xanthious]

For one, you're hardly pointing out facts.
Just because it doesn't ask for a terms of user agreement doesn't mean it's updating "secretly." Infact, there's a switch that can turn wireless communications off completely. Once again, you're ignorant.
The battery life isn't bad either. The original DS battery life was around 10 hours and DSlite and DSi were more than that, meaning the 3DS' will probably be around 7-8 with normal settings. Also, it's pretty stupid to complain about the battery life AND the processing power, considering the 2 are inversely proportional.
You have done nothing but point out all the negative aspects of the console that you percieve and you have already expressed your hatred for Nintendo several times across several different forums.
This is why I believe you're trolling.

So you would say that installing software without asking permission while it is off/hibernating as long as there is a wifi connection it can connect to doesn't count as secretly? Seriously, most people who buy this won't even know about this "feature" it will just update w/o their permission. Having to kill network connectivity any time I'm not there to personally monitor it to keep unwanted software off my console doesn't seem to me to be a good thing.

As for the battery life, does or does not the article read "Iwata's comments seem to imply that the battery life on the 3DS is significantly less than the regular DS"?

Finally, is it somehow outside the realm of reasonable thought to believe that if a company is releasing a console they call "their most powerful system to date" that that console at least meet the minimum specifications to run a gaming engine that's over three years old?

I'm not making these facts up. I wouldn't be saying these things if they weren't being reported on. Maybe instead of being upset that I'm attacking your beloved Nintendo maybe you should start looking a little closer a the 3DS and you might realize it's just an outdated gimmick.

 

[starwarsgeek]

Oh good, I was going to turn off the 3D anyway so that's cool. Although I actually think maybe the charging cradle is a bad idea now. Suppose I'm playing DS at home and the battery goes into "Charge me!" levels of low. I can just plug in the power cable and keep playing. But now here's the 3DS and it wants a charge, and it has to sit in this cradle... Guess I'm doing playing now? Booo!

Hopefully the cradle won't interfere with gaming (maybe it'll be like playing a slightly thicker 3DS?).

 

[Semudara]

A reasonable argument, Xanthious, but what exactly are you concerned it will secretly download? Surveillance software? Brainwashing? Could you clarify what troubles you about automatic upgrades?