3DS unboxed, 3DS impressions and Ninny at SXSW

the.3DS.has.landed.

Thanks to the lovely folks at GolinHarris and Nintendo (props to Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aime for a letter in the box from him), your favorite, neighborhood gamer, M4d Ski11z is currently busting a move with the Nintendo 3DS. It's out this Sunday, but let me be the first person in H-Town to tell you this - it's a game changer. Fo sho.

You may ask why is the new DS a game changer. It has some to do with the 3D aspect, no doubt. It has some to do with the killer lineup of launch titles - but that's not what makes it a game changer. What makes this shake things up in the land of handhelds is this - it's a huge upgrade for all DS owners - including DSiXL owners. It rocks with or without the 3D. And just to spice things up, Nintendo has Sony in its periscope and ready to torpedo any possible threat the NGP will bring.

The handheld brings nothing really new to the table - built-in wifi - three cameras (two outer, one inner cameras) - and a few built-in games as well. The 3D is pretty slick and taking pictures in 3D is mouth-dropping too. Without the 3D enabled, the pictures are standard and blurry at times.

In the near future, the device will offer Netflix streaming and the ability to swap data between 3DS owners with "Streetpass."

Stay tuned for my full review before Sunday's launch - and the review of launch titles -

Super Street Fighter IV 3D
Steeldiver
Madden NFL
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars

Video games at SXSW: Part II

After spending mad time with the Sony gang, salivating over Uncharted 3 and SOCOM 4 (and the ohhhhh-so-hot Forty-Five) in 3D, I made my way across the street to Screenburn Arcade.



It was an interesting collection of video games and other things electronic, and jam packed with several attendees. The first exhibit to catch my eye was the Mortal Kombat trailer with a line almost out of the door. Sony had two sets of LCDs with Resistance 3 and Kill Zone 3 going. A few kiosks down, there was a large Marvel vs. Capcom 3 display, complete with slick fight stick controllers.

Wal-Mart had the largest display - a portable trailer with some wrestling video games, loud as all-get-out and on repeat. They also had a tent next to the trailer with the upcoming Ubisoft release Michael Jackson: The Experience on the Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect. The game isn't out yet, but attendees could see if they can match moves with "The Gloved One."

The last two exhibits we hit were very, very interesting. The first, a Capcom kiosk with comfy sofa-like chairs, had several Nintendo 3DS handhelds chained to four tables - but each table had different games. Some tables had Resident Evil: The Mercenaries. Other tables had Super Street Fighter IV 3D and other upcoming 3DS games.



At first, the 3D took some getting used to. Eventually, I was able to not only play but enjoy the effect.

The last exhibit I hit was for RedFly Studios - http://redflygames.com - a studio in Austin working on the new Thor game on the Wii. Attendees could play as a host of characters on the short demo. Even though the game is slated for release a few months out, the presentation I saw (and played) was very, very polished.

Here's a small video of gameplay from Thor.



Overall, I had an awesome time at SXSW. I look forward to hanging with video game types again and this time, staying (and playing) for a spell.

- Ski11z