Nintendo 3DS' questionable future and Society's view on games

Hey everyone, I stumbled upon an article from Kotaku which I found from a Tweet from Julian Spillane (A lecturer of mine at UOIT). It claims that the Nintendo 3DS is the anti-Game Boy. In fact, I agree with them. They explain how the original Gameboy was designed to be a cheap handheld ($99) with low-resolution gray-scale graphics, and a powerful battery life (Around 30 hours).

Nintendo 3DS

Now today with the Nintendo 3DS, it will be very powerful with stereoscopic 3D visuals (without the need for glasses), augmented reality games, and system power almost matching that of Wii. Sure, sounds fantastic, but with a hefty price ($250) and the worst battery life in Nintendo's history (3-5 hours), I just wonder what the late Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi-San would say about this. The original GameBoy's competition ridiculed it because of its lack of power, however the Game Boy is what blew their handheld products away with its long-lasting battery, cheap price, and slew of fantastic games like Tetris and Pokemon.

Sure, Nintendo has always been about quality games, and hasn't stopped that trend; however, they've created the Nintendo 3DS which follows the philosophy of, "the more power the better", which has been a proven failure. So I'm not so sure how the Nintendo 3DS will fair in the 8th generation of video games. Also consider that I live in Canada, also known as "The Great White North", also known as "the place that's friggen cold when it's winter". Cold temperatures affect any battery negatively. So you can shave probably another half-hour of gametime off my 3DS. Now pack that with 3D visuals on 100% (because I'd like to get my money's worth) and I've probably got 2.5 hours of gameplay. That sucks Nintendo, I'm sorry. What happened to the 18 hours of gameplay with the GameBoy Advance, or the Nintendo DS Lite? I bet the PSP2 will have a better battery than the Nintendo 3DS. Tsk tsk, Nintendo.

Nintendo Game Boy

You may also consider that there will be a console re-release in a couple year's time (3DSi anyone?), but I don't have the money to update my hardware every new release, and spend full pop on it. No. I'd suggest releasing a better battery in the future that can fit into the same old 3DS, and you've got yourself a deal.

Now the biggest concern for the 3DS is not just the PSP2, but smartphones BlackBerry, iPhone, and smartphones that carry the Google Android OS. Day by day they're taking chunks of the handheld gaming market, with cheap ($1), quirky, small games like Angry Birds. Are they fun? Yes! Are they full of depth, immersion, and quality? No. However people (especially non-gamers and those of the casual audience) seem not to care about that, they just like cheap games that can pass time. That's it. People today don't understand what it takes to make a game, they subconsciously think it runs on magic, and that it takes nothing to whip it up - no matter how revolutionary or ingenious the product is. Meanwhile, when I sent a sneak peek of my own video game to my non-game development friends, they were wowed beyond belief - despite my game being a simple arcade shooter that can be completed in 15 minutes. I'm not saying this to gloat, or to heighten my ego, I'm just trying to prove a point. People believe that when corporations create something, it's like as if it's open to the public, stealing/pirating it won't hurt them, and it took nothing for them to create it. But when a family member or friend creates something that many other individuals usually don't create themselves, it's like that product is an invaluable piece of awe and amazement.

Sony's [codenamed] NGP, also known as PSP2.

So my suggestion for corporations is to give an idea on how their products are made. Sure, getting the people to say "Wow, that's like magic, I have no idea on how that was done" is a good marketing mechanic, until a certain point in time where that "magic" becomes part of everyday life. For example, back in the 1930's Disney's animated movies were incredible, unique, and magical. The amount of appreciation people had for animation back in the day is unrivaled by the appreciation of animation today. Today, the general public see animation as if it takes nothing for a company to create. There's no astonishment, no "Wow" factor. They subconsciously think it runs on magic, and put little thought into how it could have been created. Why? Because they've got more important things to think about; like their job, supporting their family, paying bills, and stalking celebrities through magazines. What about children? Their minds aren't on such things, right? Yes, however any child I've spoke to does not know how a television even works. I asked my seven year old cousin how he thinks a picture is displayed on a TV. He answers "umm... some kind of camera?".

If people knew how technology works, then maybe they would appreciate their product, and realize that we still live on the same planet as our primitive ancestors. Maybe there would be a less desire to pirate, and customer value of technology will adjust proportionately to the hard work developers put into creating it.

This is why technological corporations need to work together to enlighten the world on how their products are made, because society is only becoming more ignorant as people take "magic" for granted. I'm sure you're wondering now, "I thought you were talking about the Nintendo 3DS?". Well I was, I just went off on a tangent, and was forced to change the title of this article to match that.

Anyway to wrap up, I'm looking forward to the Nintendo 3DS, I hope Nintendo will soon correct its negative qualities; and I more importantly hope that in the future people will understand how technological products are made, so that they'll have a more appropriate view of their value, not take them for granted, and remember humanity's roots on Earth. Thank you for reading!