The Nintendo 3DS and how I fell in love with the DS all over again.

I had a 3DS on pre-order at Game for a very long time. As soon as the 25th of March hit, I picked up my new 3DS and 3D Street Fighter IV on the way into work. I cant say I was blown away with the 3D feature - it is pretty cool, but instead I found the bundled apps and games to be slightly more engaging, and definitely highlighted Nintendo's position as an innovator.

Playing the latest iteration of Street Fighter on a portable console is novel enough, playing it 3D just makes you smile like a little kid. However the Augmented Reality games that come with the 3DS make you really step back for a bit an take stock of this new device. By simply placing a card on my desk and pointing my 3DS at it, dragons started to claw their way out of hole dug out of what looks to be my desk. No, I wasn't on any drugs. One of the bundled games relies on AR cards to unlock some functionality. Whilst this will not be everyone's cup of tea, it does highlight the fact that Nintendo is one of video gamings greatest innovators.

I am not sure how much of a success the 3DS will be when compared to the DS, that console literally printed money for Nintendo. But one thing the 3DS has definitely done for me is play almost all of my DS games again. That means Mario Kart, New Super Mario Bros. and, one of my all time favourites, 42 All Time Classic Games. And that is fine for me, until they release the 3DS versions of course ;)