Since I haven't experienced all parts of the 3DS (StreetPass and experiencing coping with the battery) I thought I'd post up the thoughts of my....interestingly minded older brother. He's not as avid of a gamer as me, but he plays regularly, and pays attention to games and tech news.
Q: What do you think of the design (look) of the 3DS?
A: It's a great size, not too big, not too small. It has a good weight and feels well constructed, though the hinge should have a stronger hold (Editor's note: this concerns the hinge staying locked into it's open positions, not necessarily an issue of wobbling while in the open position). I would prefer it in a different color (red) and I'm not a fan of the tri-color scheme.
Q: Are there features or hardware you would like to have added (or removed) or improved on the 3DS?
A: No additions really but there are some things I would change. I would prefer that both screens have the same aspect ratio, even if it meant they were both 4:3, but I would prefer wide screens. I don't like the location of the power button or d-pad. I feel like I could accidentally turn it off, and I have to readjust my hand to use the d-pad. I would much rather have a rocker or two buttons for adjusting the volume. I think that it's an improvement that they moved the headphone jack to the middle and made the buttons snappier (vs. a DS lite). I love the new stylus; it feels high quality and looks nice. I also like the speakers; they seem a ton better than any of the DS' speakers (Editor's note: Neither my brother nor I have experience with the DSi).
Q: Concerning the operating system/user-interface, how easy or tough was it to navigate the menus and find features you were looking for? (Editor's note: My brother is a fan of Mac computers and owns an iPhone 4, so I was hoping to see if there were any navigation concerns from someone used to those interfaces)
A: No real trouble (Editor's note: He took a few seconds to find the Internet browser). It feels "familiar".
Q: Have you already seen or could you imagine, a way that 3D would improve your ability to play a game? What do you think of 3D in general?
A: No, between the built in software, PilotWings Resort, and Ghost Recon Shadow Wars, I don't see the potential for 3D enabling me to play games better. It's really neat and not needing glasses makes this a better experience than movie theater 3D. In general though, I see 3D as more valuable in games than movies.
If you have any questions or comments for my brother, throw them in the comment section and I'll send them his way for rebuttal.
"Editor's note: he took a few seconds to find the Internet browser"
ReplyDeleteThe internet browser isn't functional is it? I thought it wasn't functional until the May update...
No the browser isn't functional yet, Wes was just asking me to find random things on the screen to see how quickly I could find them without having studied the UI.
ReplyDeleteZach
To add to that, the icon for opening the browser is visible on the home menu. I think it was a good idea to go ahead and have the icon there, in case people didn't realize the browser was coming later.
ReplyDelete