3ds

Throw in the towel, Sony and Nintendo; it's game over. Portable console gaming no longer has a practical place in the current landscape of casual flick, drag, and swipe games. There is no room for the 3DSes and Vitas of the world when all-in-one functionality is now more important than high-tech, gaming-focused mobile systems.

Current consumers are more concerned with brief sessions of stimulation than they are with playing a complex 25-hour RPG. Take it from me, I've played those games on a Nintendo DS and Sony PSP before. I know how great they are.

But gaming is a serious business, and if consumers are content with an iPhone for music, video, and games, there is absolutely no practical need to carry around another bulky piece of hardware that is more than twice a smartphone's size and needs to be recharged after five hours of play time. The audience--or attention span--for hard-core mobile gaming may be shrinking. … Read more

Hulu Plus will be arriving on the Nintendo Wii and 3DS by the end of the year, the game company announced today.

As with other Hulu Plus integrations, Wii and 3DS owners will be able to access the streaming company's entire library of movies and television shows, including "Modern Family" and "Battlestar Galactica." In order to watch Hulu Plus content from the devices, users will need to pay the $7.99-per-month fee required to access the service.

The addition of Hulu Plus to the 3DS comes just a few months after Nintendo announced that Netflix's streaming service would be made available to the portable's owners. Both integrations are part of a broader strategy on Nintendo's part to bring more consumers into the 3DS fold.… Read more

At today's Apple event, a new iPhone was announced. Surprise, surprise: the iPhone 4S is a modest upgrade, at least in terms of design. However, it shares a benefit with its larger iPad 2 cousin: significantly improved graphics.

It's no longer a secret or even an aspiration: the iPhone and iPod Touch are now the most popular gaming handhelds on the planet. The Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are, at best, hopefuls trying to steal away Apple's newfound crown. So, how does Apple's latest iPhone hold up the mantle as the reigning gaming handheld du jour?

In short: by continuing to do what it does best.… Read more

Sprint has signed a $20 billion dollar deal for 30.5 million new iPhones, and Adobe releases Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 with accelerated 3D graphics support, and check out CNET.com's live coverage of Apple's announcement of the next iPhone(s).

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Nintendo has inked a content-partnership deal with DreamWorks Animation SKG and a couple other companies to bring more 3D video content to its 3DS.

According to the game company, DreamWorks will be offering two Halloween-themed animated shorts to the 3DS handheld game player. The first video, which is available for download to the portable starting today, features characters in the company's "Monsters vs. Aliens." The second short will feature the three little pigs from the "Shrek" franchise. That video, Nintendo says, will launch later this month.

Video has become a key ingredient in Nintendo's … Read more

Nintendo is looking to November to be a big month for its 3DS portable.

The game company announced yesterday that it plans to launch a 3DS update in November that will allow users to capture 3D video with the device. According to Nintendo, after capturing the video, users will be able to "create their own original 3D productions," and then view them on the portable.

In addition, Nintendo is waiting until November to offer up its most anticipated titles. On November 13, Nintendo will launch Super Mario 3D Land, the first-ever "true" 3D Mario game. Just … Read more

preGame is back from the dead with two demos: Dead Island and Resistance 3. We return from our summer hiatus with an announcement on some recent changes that include the show moving to the end of the week and other things viewers can expect down the road.

The summer had its share of quality games and we summarize our past month of gaming with a few notables like Infamous 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Catherine.

Then we discuss some news regarding Nintendo's right thumbstick attachment announcement following a six months of lackluster 3DS sales. Max Payne fans can … Read more

Following its price cut last month, the Nintendo 3DS has finally started flying off store shelves, the game company announced yesterday.

After the price was slashed from $229 to $169 on August 12, Nintendo sold 185,000 3DS units in the U.S. That figure was up a whopping 260 percent, compared to the same 19-day period in July. Prior to the price cut, Nintendo had sold 50,000 3DS units in August, bringing its total to 235,000 last month.

"Consumers are responding very positively to the new suggested retail price," Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's … Read more

The Nintendo 3DS is in a state of crisis. You could argue that's the case for all of Nintendo, too, especially this holiday season.

Handheld games are no longer a domain dominated by Nintendo, not with phones offering so many alternatives for less. The 3DS needs top-notch software to help it prove its worth, and while other games are no doubt on the way, titles like Star Fox 64 3D, Nintendo's latest franchise rerelease, just don't do enough for a software-starved 3DS holiday lineup.

Scott: Nintendo fans will rejoice: much like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, released earlier this summer, Star Fox 64 3D is a pitch-perfect and graphically remastered version of a beloved N64 console game. The only problem with Star Fox is that a rails-based shooter has less to offer than a well-developed adventure game like Zelda. I loved Star Fox on my N64; its 3D graphics were unprecedented for a Nintendo console, and the sci-fi effects were a kick. Now, games like Galaxy on Fire for the iPhone can offer many of the same thrills for a few bucks.

Newly added gyro controls add motion control to the classic Star Fox, using the 3DS' internal gyroscope to tilt-steer. Unless you turn off 3D, don't bother, as 3D effects are bound to break up due to line-of-sight shifts when continually tilting. It only took one try to convince me to turn gyro off for good. You can have 3D or motion, but not both.… Read more