Sun Declares 3DS is "Game For a Barf"

[The Sane]

It confuses me why stories like this get posted here. I know it's The Escapists job to go looking for game related news but you would think they would keep away from notoriously unreliable sources like this.

 

[Byere]

Playing the Xbox 360 in SD makes it just an Xbox. Playing a PS3 in SD makes it a PS2.

No... as a person who has played both on an SD tv, I can safely say they are both STILL an Xbox 360 and PS3 (respectively), just without being able to see every frigging hair on the testicles of the aliens you are trying to shoot!

...or whatever type of games you play...

EDIT: Also, playing a 3DS without the 3D function makes it a 3DS, but without the stupid "make-you-puke" function switched on.

 

[Balobo]

Playing the Xbox 360 in SD makes it just an Xbox. Playing a PS3 in SD makes it a PS2.

No... as a person who has played both on an SD tv, I can safely say they are both STILL an Xbox 360 and PS3 (respectively), just without being able to see every frigging hair on the testicles of the aliens you are trying to shoot!

...or whatever type of games you play...

Then please tell, how is the 3DS just a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

 

[Lyri]

To be fair to The Sun, it's probably not unreasonable to suggest that two hours of banging away on the 3DS will have a physiological impact on most people, especially if done in the passenger seat of a moving car, as Price did for at least part of test. I can't even read in a car for extended periods without feeling a bit woozy. But whatever shred of legitimacy this report may have had, it goes sailing out the window thanks to the ridiculous headline and insane photographs that accompany the article and are obviously meant to put the system in a bad light.

Why The Sun seems so determined to prove that the 3DS is a deadly weapon is a mystery but it is worth noting that the doctor's final sage advice - "Children should not be left to play on it for hours" - pretty much jibes with Nintendo's own recommendation [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108799-Nintendo-Responds-to-3DS-Headache-Complaints] to take frequent breaks, "as with anything that requires focus, from reading to staring at a computer screen." So what's really at issue here?

The pictures (the ones someone posted earlier) are clearly not taking themselves seriously at all.
The one on the left is hugely dramatized and looks like it comes from that stupid agony aunt advice strip they have for people with marital problems.

It's pretty unfair to knock the partial study though, considering they didn't go through any real effort to do it.
Average looking guy in an average situation, seems pretty ok to me.

The problem is that it does cause headaches and nausea for folks, plenty of people can look at a computer screen for an extended period of time and not suffer such things, people can watch their 3d tv and not suffer those effects.
Why should Nintendo market a product that does so easily?

And I declare that The Sun is retarded.

Some actual discussion: The 3DS does come with a lot of safety leaflets and even a Health & Safety channel on the menu, if they actually read them they would find that the break period is half hour for every hour.

Manuals go the way of ToS I'm afraid.

 

[Byere]

Then please tell, how is the 3DS just a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

Does a DS lite have 3D capabilities? No
Does a DS lite play DS games? Yes

Does a 3DS when the 3D feature is switched off play DS games? Yes

That simple enough for you?

 

[Balobo]

Then please tell, how is the 3DS just a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

Does a DS lite have 3D capabilities? No
Does a DS lite play DS games? Yes

Does a 3DS when the 3D feature is switched off play DS games? Yes

That simple enough for you?

So because it has backwards compatibilities, it's exactly like a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

 

[Monsterfurby]

Anything that helps Nintendo realize they should stop trying to force innovation through pointless gimmicks like the 3DS is welcome, even if it's the Sun doing it.

 

[Plucky]

The test was flawed, they didn't even test previous models of the DS, or even tried a regular DS game on a 3DS, sure you can't use a 3DS game in a regular DS but the tests were done somewhat professionally....but who actually stops playing a game after 30 mins to sit doing nothing for 10?

I mean the people who complained about nausea and stuff...did they stop after 30 mins?

For all we know the test subject blood pressure could've atleast be effected by *gasp* the entertaining aspect of the game right? wondered if they filmed what he was playing and what was happening on the screens at the time when his blood rose, and perhaps what he thought of how he was doing ingame, including things like shuddering or somthing?

 

[Eldarion]

Why do we care about what The Sun reports? Its, you know The Sun.

 

[Detective Prince]

Ah as someone who lives in the UK and unfortunately knows people who read the Sun I'll tell you straight. No one really is bothered by what The Sun has to say. It has and always will be a 'newspaper' for people who like sports and tits. Seriously that's all. I'd listen to the whole 3DS debate when people other than The Sun are covering it.

 

[Byere]

So because it has backwards compatibilities, it's exactly like a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

Ok, let's look at the description on Amazon for the 3DS. It has a list of the USP (unique selling points) of the item in question. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Handheld-Console-Aqua-Blue/dp/B004ISLDUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302137180&sr=8-1

3D Screen: Admitted, the updated technology allows for more colours and the like to be used, and that's fine. However, the whole depth part is removed if you turn off the 3D feature.

3D Depth Slider: The feature that turns up or down the 3D feature so you can have varying levels of depth. Since we're assuming it's off, it's all the way down.

Motion Sensor/Gyro Sensor: This is a feature of the 3DS specific games that won't work on a normal DS. Since we're comparing this DS to an original, you won't be playing those games on the original anyway...

Circle Pad Analog Joystick: Now this might be a good thing for any game since some older DS games do have 3D-style environments and running around in a smoothed plane (as in not isometric and/or top-down movement like for example Pokemon).

3D camera functionality: The small saving grace? Not likely. Again, I admit that it's a kind of nice feature but it isn't involved in the games themselves (to my knowledge. There may be games that use it, but again, we're comparing the console, not the games themselves)

Adjustable stylus: Oh, whoopy... Yea, it's nice that they thought so kindly to make sure that people with larger hands don't have to fiddle with a tiny stylus and such, but whatever. To the average player, the small original stylus is more than enough (no, I'm not going to go into the "It's not the size that counts" humour)

Cradle Charging: What? The 3DS can now charge AND be standing up? Pfft, no thanks. If it has to be in a cradle to charge up, how am I supposed to play it for ages? The battery life on these things suck at the best of times, but when I can't even play it while it's charging like the original DS's could with their cable chargers, what's the point?

Street Pass: So, you want to leave your DS in sleep mode... a mode that drains the battery even faster as it has to keep local memory stored... while you walk around down exchanging your details with random people you don't know and wouldn't even think might have a DS? What next? People hacking that system to allow them to steal your Mii data and such?

SpotPass: Doesn't the original DS have that sort of feature? You know... finding and connecting to WiFi. While the security has been increased on later models of the DS, it's all the same thing really.

2GB Memory: Yea, we covered this. Local memory, etc...

Backwards Compatibility: Not all games covered by it, though most of those that aren't are crap anyway...

Wireless Comm.: Yea, covered... WiFi... original DS and other models do that.


All in all, I'd say yes... turning off the 3D gimmick makes it pretty much exactly the same as a DS/Lite/DSi/other models of DSs, just with updated storage space and other basic technology that's been included since the DS was released over half a decade ago.

 

[OmegaXIII]

You lost me at 'Sun'

 

[KalosCast]

You do yourself a disservice by even acknowledging The Sun, Escapist.

 

[Balobo]

So because it has backwards compatibilities, it's exactly like a DS Lite when you turn the 3D off?

Ok, let's look at the description on Amazon for the 3DS. It has a list of the USP (unique selling points) of the item in question. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Handheld-Console-Aqua-Blue/dp/B004ISLDUG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302137180&sr=8-1

3D Screen: Admitted, the updated technology allows for more colours and the like to be used, and that's fine. However, the whole depth part is removed if you turn off the 3D feature. yes because it's not a higher resolution or anything

3D Depth Slider: The feature that turns up or down the 3D feature so you can have varying levels of depth. Since we're assuming it's off, it's all the way down.

Motion Sensor/Gyro Sensor: This is a feature of the 3DS specific games that won't work on a normal DS. Since we're comparing this DS to an original, you won't be playing those games on the original anyway... And while I'm at it, I might as well just say that you won't be playing ANY 3DS games on the original.

Circle Pad Analog Joystick: Now this might be a good thing for any game since some older DS games do have 3D-style environments and running around in a smoothed plane (as in not isometric and/or top-down movement like for example Pokemon). It might be? How about it IS.

3D camera functionality: The small saving grace? Not likely. Again, I admit that it's a kind of nice feature but it isn't involved in the games themselves (to my knowledge. There may be games that use it, but again, we're comparing the console, not the games themselves) Face Raiders, Augmented Reality, etc. use it

Adjustable stylus: Oh, whoopy... Yea, it's nice that they thought so kindly to make sure that people with larger hands don't have to fiddle with a tiny stylus and such, but whatever. To the average player, the small original stylus is more than enough (no, I'm not going to go into the "It's not the size that counts" humour)I'll give you this one, considering that there were adjustable stylus' on the original DS.

Cradle Charging: What? The 3DS can now charge AND be standing up? Pfft, no thanks. If it has to be in a cradle to charge up, how am I supposed to play it for ages? The battery life on these things suck at the best of times, but when I can't even play it while it's charging like the original DS's could with their cable chargers, what's the point? You are aware that you can unplug the charger from the cradle and use it to charge while you play, right?

Street Pass: So, you want to leave your DS in sleep mode... a mode that drains the battery even faster as it has to keep local memory stored... while you walk around down exchanging your details with random people you don't know and wouldn't even think might have a DS? What next? People hacking that system to allow them to steal your Mii data and such? Umm... it hardly drains the battery at all. 3D is the feature that kills the battery, not Street Pass. Oh well, I guess instead of playing for four hours and thirty minutes straight, you'll have to settle for four hours and twenty-five minutes straight.

SpotPass: Doesn't the original DS have that sort of feature? You know... finding and connecting to WiFi. While the security has been increased on later models of the DS, it's all the same thing really. SpotPass is the name of the 3DS' online service. It's not specifically for finding hotspots immediately, although it probably can do that.

2GB Memory: Yea, we covered this. Local memory, etc... Because an SD card drains so much battery

Backwards Compatibility: Not all games covered by it, though most of those that aren't are crap anyway... Only like five titles are not covered by it.

Wireless Comm.: Yea, covered... WiFi... original DS and other models do that. Original Xbox and PS2 did that...


All in all, I'd say yes... turning off the 3D gimmick makes it pretty much exactly the same as a DS/Lite/DSi/other models of DSs, just with updated storage space and other basic technology that's been included since the DS was released over half a decade ago.

All in all, I'd say yes... turning off the HD gimmick makes it pretty much the same as an XBOX/PS2/PS2 Slim, just with updated storage space and basic technology that's been included since the XBOX/PS2 were released over half a decade ago.

 

[Jopoho]

Okay, The Sun is silly and all, but the thing that really bothers me is "Game For a Barf." What does that mean exactly?

The 3DS is game for a barf.

I mean, it's implied it makes you sick, but still.

Perhaps they meant one of these:

The 3DS is A game for a barf.
The 3DS is game (as in, willing to participate) for barfing.
The 3DS is a console that can induce motion sickness but we can't confirm that because we only took one sample and also our subject and doctor might be biased.
Our reporters are game for a barf.
All your base are belong to us.

Please tell me if "The 3DS is game for a barf" is grammatically correct and I am missing it.

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

I think I'll go with The Sun on this one. Not for their overwhelming credibility, but because I have yet to hear ONE GOOD THING about the 3DS.

Personally, I have no problem staring at a screen for hours on end, whether its playing games on my 360 or working on a project on my PC.

 

[Kamehapa]

The Sun is news? I honestly thought it was like the National Inquirer and all those "My Baby is an Alien Vampire" trollpapers

 

[subtlefuge]

"Sun Doctor"

That tickled me. Also, there's a slider.

 

[aashell13]

harrumph. you know what else is game for a barf? a shoddy tabloid circus that wouldn't cut it as an elementary school science fair project being passed off as legitimate investigative journalism. cue any one of a dozen xkcd comics about this.

I haven't heard anything about the 3ds that makes me want to buy it either, but that's an entirely different matter.

 

[theultimateend]

Wouldn't this be easily fixed by turing off the 3-D effect on the 3DS?

Would not that just make it a DS? As loosing the entire point of this device..

If you ignore the power difference between the consoles yes.

The 3DS is far less health harmful than a McDonalds hamburger. (Which I bet is both anecdotally and scientifically true)