The Next Big Thing

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was held last week in Los Angeles. It is always interesting for me to watch the coverage in the gaming media during that week, looking at live blogs about the different press conferences (Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, primarily), and gathering everyone’s opinions about the proverbial “future of gaming.” Essentially, E3 is the time where most consumers hear about what games or platforms will be available for the holidays, or shortly thereafter. All the major media outlets tend to cover it in order to tell their viewers what they’ll be buying for themselves or their kids this Christmas.

You may have read in the news about Microsoft’s Kinect, or Sony’s Move. Both of these systems are attempts at cashing in on some of Nintendo’s motion control success that the Wii had. Microsoft focused a bit too much on Kinect, while Sony did a little better job of showing some games that the wider audience would want to play. No pricing has been announced for Kinect, but $150 seems to be the prevailing wisdom, plus the cost of the console. The Move will cost $120 or so to get started, but an additional $60 per person in order to get the “full motion control effect.”

While Microsoft and Sony were duking it out over motion control, Nintendo went a different direction: the Nintendo 3DS. I kinda wanted to post something about it last week, but I wanted to hear more analysis from the weekly podcasts I frequent, as they were able to get some “hands on” experience with it. To quote Jeremy Parish over at 1up:

Then I actually got to use the 3DS, and… wow. It works. It doesn’t strain my eyes at all, yet I can absolutely see the depth. I’m not exaggerating that the realization that my poor eyesight won’t shut me out of the next generation of portable gaming was the single happiest moment I’ve ever had at a gaming industry event.

To get a sense of what the 3DS can do, check out this YouTube video. This video does NOT take place on a 3DS, but demonstrates the kind of visuals and gameplay it should be able to handle when it comes out in 2011.

Nintendo will have a tough time demonstrating the 3D technology in TV commercials as very few TVs actually display 3D images. The tech is rumored to work by having two LCD screens overlapping, where the top one is shifted slightly such that one eye sees the top one and the other eye sees the bottom, allowing for stereoscopic 3D without the need for glasses.

That last bit is why this technology will be the new hottness next year, and why this thing will sell like hotcakes. You don’t need 3D glasses. And it’ll probably sell for close to $200, making it affordable 3D, as opposed to needing a multi-$1000 TV and 3D shutter glasses that sell for a few hundred dollars each (like Sony was demonstrating). This product marks the first time real, working, 3D images will be available to consumers (no, the Virtual Boy doesn’t count).

The Nintendo 3DS even has two cameras on the outside, allowing you to take 3D pictures.

Also, Nintendo was demonstrating some 3D movie trailers on the 3DS as well, suggesting that the device will have the ability to play movies. So, your kids that loved “How To Train A Dragon” or “Shrek 3D”…they’ll be able to watch it in 3D, and you won’t have to spend that much money to make it happen.

So, for the average consumer, the 3DS is a pretty big deal. The Nintendo DS has sold 130 million units, making it the most successful console ever. Parents buy them for their kids for Christmas without even thinking about it. It’s a way to entertain the kids at home and in the car without requiring you to give up your TV. If it sells for less than $200, it will still be a no-brainer. But, the fact that it has true 3D without the need for glasses will get the average consumer that doesn’t have kids to sit up and take notice.

I’ll be first in line when it releases in Spring 2011 (projected release time frame).