Score One for the Little Guys

The Day has Finally Arrived...I'm Excited for a Handheld System

Behold, the Nintendo 3DS

Today was a big day for Nintendo junkies worldwide. Today, the folks behind the "Big-N" announced the price and release date of the Nintendo 3DS handheld system. During it's annual world press conference in New York City, Nintendo announced the 3DS would release in North America on March 27, for the not so consumer friendly price tag of $249.99. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime promises that the 3DS will release up to 30 games within it's first three months. While there's no official list of the current games that will be available at launch, there's a lot to be excited about with the new handheld system.

I've never been one to ride the wave of popularity most of the world has with handheld systems. Many handheld games are meant for short playthroughs with little emphasis on story development, and due to the obvious lack of technology, were never able to graphically compare to console games in terms of processing. Now, we are finally seeing a paradigm shift with Nintendo. The 3DS allows user to play in full stereoscopic 3D *without* the use of glasses. A 3D filter allows users to turn on/off the 3D effect, to enjoy the most out of their games in either 2 or 3 dimensions. I'm not too sure about the technical jargon involved in making a 3D effect sans glasses, but it's mostly due to the fact that the 3DS has a smaller screen, allowing for the images to be easily combined through use of extensive pixellation for the resulted 3D effect.

This is a huge step in terms of technological advancement. I believe 3D is the future of motion pictures, video games, home entertainment, etc., but with the current barrier of 3D glasses, I just can't seem to go along with the craze. 3D televisions are the hot new "go to" item for retailers, but because many sets require owners to wear re-chargeable 3D glasses, it seems too silly to me. Imagine a time where you invite your friends to watch the Super Bowl in 3-D on your brand new 3DTV, only to realize you have 4 glasses, with only 2 of them fully charged. It's an inconvenience, and frankly, you may impair the vision of your non-3D guests. However, with the 3DS, scientists and engineers have proven that it is possible to make a perfectly clean 3D image without the use of glasses. It's only a matter of time before 3D images can be combined on a much larger scale, allowing us envision a world without the cheap plastic 3D glasses that wind up in our glove compartments.

How far we've come

Handhelds have found a renaissance of sorts over the past decade, thanks to the creation of the Nintendo DS. The DS proved to be one of the fastest selling pieces of hardware out there, with more than 135 million units sold worldwide since it's launch in 2004. That pales in comparison to the 50 million XBOX 360 units sold since 2005, or the 41 million units the PS3 has sold since 2006. Now, Nintendo looks to instill a paradigm shift in the way we play video games, by turning millions of casual and hardcore players from consoles to handhelds. The games that are on the docket for the 3DS contain some of the most impressive tech I've ever seen in a handheld game. We've come such a long way from the old, archaic, gray, body-building machine that was the Game Boy, to a system that can seriously blur lines between console and handheld. Some of the more impressive games utilize game engines that are just one step shy of making a leap to a console platform. Plus, the 3DS is filled with some of the most gadgets I've ever seen in a handheld. Wi-Fi, 3 different digital cameras, a 2 Gig SD card, motion detection, full blown internet, a soon to be enabled 3DS online store, the list goes on. And for the final cherry on top, it's backwards compatible, meaning you can play all of your old DS/DSI games, even though those games *won't* be displayed in 3D.

The actual 3DS gameplay will feature graphics just like this

Regardless of my excitement, that's not to say I don't have my own concerns. First, battery life on the handheld is said to only last 5 hours tops. I'm assuming the power used to generate 3D will suck the life out of your 3DS faster than MTV sucks the life out of teenagers. On top of that, the price tag is still a little too much for my own taste. At $249.99, the 3DS costs more than a Wii and a 360. I still find it hard to justify paying more for a handheld than a console, but for those of you who are patient and can wait for the price to drop to $200, I say we twiddle our thumbs. On top of that, as with any new console/handheld that's launched, we're sure to see a series of lackluster launch games. While Nintendo IS promising to have at least 30 games out within the first three months, there's still no list or idea as to what those games might be. I will say some of the more promising looking 3DS games that are on my radar are the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D remake, and a new Resident Evil Game called Revelations. There are some other goodies like Kingdom Hearts, Kid Icarus, and even a Metal Gear game to boot, but those are not in the realm of releasing within the first six months of the 3DS release.

Another concern I have deals with the reports of how the 3DS' use of 3D technology could damage the development of some children's vision. According to several reports, all 3DS' will include a warning for parents of kids age 7 and younger, which claims that if they use the 3D filter too much, their eyes won't develop correctly. Kind of scary when you think about the fact that a handheld now has the power to melt eyes nationwide. I'm a little concerned that many ill informed parents will see an increase in optometry bills for their kids.

Regardless of the faults, and the price tag, the 3DS is looking like a fine piece of technology. Worse yet, I myself haven't even seen the actual 3D effects of the 3DS (considering the evident difficulty for online publications and magazines to properly portray the power of the tech). I'm ultimately basing my faith on the scores of praise from established critics like IGN, G4TV, 1UP, and Kotaku, who sing nothing but praise about their hands-on time with the handheld. Revolutionary doesn't begin to describe their pleasantries, and if it's all it's hyped up to be, the 3DS will make a mark in video game history, or for that matter, 3D technology, for years to come. It's just a shame that Sony is attempting another iteration of its PSP system in a world where Nintendo has a tight vice on parent's balls nationwide.

No One Puts Nolan in a Corner

Warner Brothers Pushing for Batman 3-D

Wanna Know how I got these scars? Because of misuse of 3D that's how.

Some new reports are circulating that Warner Brothers Studios is pegging acclaimed director Christopher Nolan to film his next Batman film in 3D. Given the obvious success of Avatar, Warner Brothers hopes to put the best of a great narrative, cohesive action sequences, and 3D technology into one bundle of a batarang film in Batman 3D. According to several reports, Warner Brothers says it is also planning on converting Nolan's latest masterpiece "Inception" into 3D, in a joint deal with a new on demand 3D channel HBO is planning to release next year. Although Nolan has flirted with the idea of filming in 3D, the Batman helmer admits that he doesn't think the timing is right, and I ride the "in Nolan we trust" bandwagon.

My problems with 3D films are plenty. For starters, many films hoping to duplicate the success of Avatar are adding the 3D label as a gimmick. (See 'The Last Airbender' if you don't believe me) Films like 'Clash of the Titans' and 'Alice in Wonderland' used a post production conversion process to create their 3D effects, and the end result was a sloppy mess of fake depth. In both of these films, I never felt like I could 'Last Action Hero' my way into the movie like I felt with Avatar. The best way I could compare it was like the first time I read a pop-up book, it was fun for a while, but you eventually put it away in your repressed childhood memories. I think in order to make a successful 3D film, you need to have the right technology, the right direction and camera work, and the proper post production time to add the finishing touches. Case in point, Avatar did all of these things. It took something like 4 years just for the actual filming process. 

IMAX at its finest...3D not necessary

So what's Nolan's take on 3D? Straight from the man's mouth, Nolan spoke at a press conference in the UK before the release of Inception saying "3D is something we’re looking at, but I see at the moment significant technical limitations to the presentation format, mostly with the dimness of the image and the fact that you have to wear the glasses. The post-conversion process can be done very effectively, actually - we did tests for this film, but decided we didn’t have enough time to get it to the standard that we wanted." So besides some of the technical jargon involving color and lighting effects on film, Nolan believes that 3D CAN be done with the right technology and production time. I think the idea of an on demand HBO 3D service is great idea that will pave the way for 3D TV's in the future. However in the case of Batman 3D, Warner Brothers is hoping to release the film by summer 2012, and the film is only in the early script stages...Meaning no time for love Dr. Jones!

Unless Warner Brothers intends to rush the 3D conversion process, then Batman 3D will be laughable. As is the case with all these 3D wannabe movies, the studios are looking to make money. But you don't have to tack on a lame 3D conversion process to reel in the big bucks. The Dark Knight was able to haul in more than $1 billion because of many reasons, but most significantly was the use of IMAX. Many scenes in The Dark Knight were shot in IMAX very effectively. Nolan used at least 4 IMAX cameras to film The Dark Knight, and had to re-invent the wheel when it came to filming many of the action sequences. The same was said when James Cameron filmed Avatar. If you want to create a successful product, you need to go the extra mile when creating your films. The Joker chase scene in The Dark Knight re-imagined the way IMAX can be used in films, just like how Avatar changed the way 3D technology can be used in films. I'm not against 3D movies, I just don't want a half-assed product that'll ruin such a beloved franchise similar to what Spider-Man 3 did. Otherwise, Warner Brothers will have to listen to fanboys screaming their lungs out as to "Why do we fall down?" And besides, all this talk of Batman 3D is premature. How about Warner Brothers and Nolan figure out who's going to be their next villain already.