Sun Declares 3DS is "Game For a Barf"

[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)

 

[vivster]

maybe they should make a case study out of me too since i got a slight headache and significantly raised pulse while reading the article...

 

[pigmypython]

And I declare that The Sun is retarded.

I second this motion. All in favour?

Aye...
I do like the Sun girl though...

 

[Silent Biohazard Solid]

Unlike you, I'm not buying systems based on the system; I buy them based on the games. I didn't buy a 360 until a year ago, for example, because I just didn't feel compelled enough to get it until it had a large enough library of things I liked. Everyone and their grandmother wheezed praise about the 360, but that wasn't enough for me to buy one. Right now, your entire argument had been that the 3D of the 3DS is the only reason to own a 3DS. For me, there's a few reasons to own it: I never bought a DS but want the games, 3DS is backwards compatible. I like the releases that will be coming out later. The 3D isn't the draw for me (although the augmented reality is). For me, the $200+ is justified because I know that upon purchasing it, I'll have a pool of desired games that is probably triple that of the games that I own on the 360.

Again, "Unlike you," why are you assuming all these things about me? I have never bought a system in my life until the games I wanted on it came out. So don't be assuming things about me.
But to buy a 3DS, and then say you hate the 3D aspect of it is like buying a Wii and saying you hate motion controls. Yes, there are games out there that are great and don't require motion controllers. But frankly, when SSB Brawl came out, I was like, "If they wanted to make it for the Wii, why didn't they include the ONE unique thing that the Wii has going for it? Motion controls?" I just think that developers should be trying to make the most out of the system they're working on, and that it's only natural for the players to enjoy all the features that system has to offer.

You were the one who started dropping things like, "analog stick, superior graphics, better online," which said nothing about the actual games that are on it. You made it sound like those are the main selling points that make you want it.

But you know, we got way off topic. The whole debate started when someone said, "If it's hurting your eyes, can't you just turn the 3D off?"
And yes, you can do that, and you might buy the system for its games, even if you don't care about the 3D. But my issue was that 3DS promises 3D, that's its one key feature. And if a person buys it FOR that feature, if they really want to play their games in 3D, but then realize that that 3D is hurting their eyes, so they're forced to turn the 3D off to enjoy their games, that person is not getting what they paid for. That's all I was trying to say.

 

[PurplePlatypus]

Looks like the Daily Fail?s competitor piped up.

 

[Sparrow]

Stop. Taking. Sources. From. THE FREAKING. SUN.

Honestly, Escapist. The only reason you put these up is to rile people. The Sun is a paper of bile and hatred, posting source from it just makes everyone look stupid.

 

[Bobbity]

I've never, ever needed to take a break from a video game. I'm just saying that my horribly devolved eyes have never needed to not look at the screen except during periods of insane tiredness. About two hours into actually feeling tired, it's time to shut down, other than that I've never been "oh, this is making me feel bad" and I feel that anything that would actually do that to you probably isn't safe. But then again, 3D is stupid, and as a news bit on here said last week I believe, the 3DSs 3D is caused by tricking your eyes into seeing two different images, and honestly, that doesn't sound health.

True. Most of the warnings are a load of crap. The 3DS does seem to be different though, in that regard.

OT: How hard is it for Nintendo to just implement an automatic rest feature for the 3DS?

 

[Slanzinger]

What's at issue here is that people are taking the Sun as a serious news source ¬_¬

Some of our press in Britain is fine... But then things such as the Sun and the Daily Fail - don't even go there.

I used to play on the Gameboy (original and later Advance) in the car and as you said, that contributed massively to motion sickness for me {it doesn't help matters that my coordination has never been all that good}. Playing it in a stationary environment is a better test of whether the device is causing this.
Not that the Sun would care that much about extenuating factors being taken into account...

 

[Desert Tiger]

While I'm not a big fan of the 3DS (3D as a whole is a hurdle many companies have tripped over while we're stuck for the next four or five years until somebody actually finds a way to find something that actually innovates the industry), I'm really, really, REALLY not a fan of the Sun. It's not fit for housetraining the dog.