Peter’s opinion: Why you should wait to buy the 3DS

I’d like to begin by saying that I’m not telling you to never buy the 3DS. Actually, I think it’s a very cool system. I just do not believe it’s worth a purchase right out of the gate. Here’s why:

The Launch Titles

At the moment, all of the 3DS’ biggest games aren’t going to be available at launch. In fact, most of them aren’t available until months later. Games like Ocarina of Time, Kid Icarus, Star Fox, and Super Mario don’t even have set release dates. The best we’ve got is a “June 2011” on Zelda. As for what is actually available right now, there are few games worth getting excited about. Sure, a few games are worth your money such as Super Street Fighter IV 3D and LEGO Star Wars III, but are those the titles that people really want to play on their 3DS? I doubt it (I could be wrong though). The meat of the 3DS lineup is releasing in the few months following launch.

The Way 3D Is Used

The main gimmick of the 3DS is the glasses-less 3D. From the many reviews I’ve seen of 3DS launch games, the 3D effect either doesn’t add anything to gameplay or makes the title run slower. There are exceptions of course – such as Ridge Racer – which are shining examples of the 3DS’ capabilities. The games that do use it well, such as Zelda, will be released later in the year.

Developers Will Get Better At It

Developers always struggle in properly using a new system’s hardware when it first launches. Many parts of the system are improperly utilized or never used at all. As time goes on, though, they begin to learn the ins and outs of the system and are able to use things at full capacity (an obvious exception to this is the console maker themselves). Hopefully, this is when the games will truly shine. This also bodes well for many of the third-party titles set to hit towards the end of the year and into next year.

Not Everything is Present Yet

At the time of the 3DS’ launch, not all of its features are available. Applications such as the eShop and Netflix will not be ready late May. While you may not think this is a big deal, the problem lies in the fact that these missing features have been promoted quite a bit. As much as you may try, touching icons on the 3DS only result in a “coming soon” page. If you were looking forward to downloading titles, surfing the Internet on your system, and transferring software from your DSi, I would recommend waiting a bit.

Remakes Abound

Now, this reason is more user-specific. Most of the bigger games I referenced above are remakes of old N64 classics. That’s a great list if you’ve never played them before (such as myself) or no longer have the ability to play them, but for the most part they’re recycled content from the cartridge days. For those of you who are looking for more original content such as Paper Mario 3D (confirmed to be a new game), Kingdom Hearts, and Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, look to the end of this year and possibly 2012.

Again, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out and buy the system. And I’m sure that a bunch of you probably have at this point. I’m just giving you a few reasons to consider about why you should wait to spend $250 on a new handheld. The 3DS has great potential and a lot of awesome games heading its way. It’s just unfortunate they could be ready in time for the system’s release.