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Nintendo 3DS explained in sadly two-dimensional video review

The all-new Nintendo 3DS gets a thorough going-over in our hands-on video. Hit play to learn how the glasses-free 3D works, and what other tricks are waiting up the 3DS' sleeves.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
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Luke Westaway
2 min read

Lookie what we got here -- CNET UK's got its paws on the Nintendo 3DS, the new handheld console from the Mario Factory that fires 3D images into your eye-globes without you having to don any dorky glasses. We've already written up our exhaustive 3DS review, so now click the big play-shaped button above to watch as we slide the 3DS under the microscope in our hands-on video.

The 3DS creates a 3D effect using a lenticular screen, similar to those eye-bending posters that used to adorn our bedroom walls. Inside the display is something called a parallax barrier -- a layer within the screen covered in tiny slits.

These slits mean that two different images are beamed out of the 3DS' screen at different angles, and when you line your peepers up with those two separate images, you'll experience a stereoscopic 3D effect.

We were really impressed with the quality and depth of that 3D tech, but if you're not a fan, don't despair -- a little slider to the right of the screen lets you tone down the effect, or even turn it off completely. Nifty.

As we noted in our in-depth 3DS review though, there's a good deal more to the console than a measly extra dimension. Indeed, it's a device with real depth (arf!), thanks to a tonne of connectivity features, backwards compatibility with DS and DSi games, and a feature called Street Pass that lets the 3DS trade information with other 3DSes in close proximity.

Walk past a fellow 3DS owner, and next time you fire up the console that person's Mii avatar will pop up on your own console, bringing you odd little gifts like puzzle pieces, and battling ghosts on your behalf. It's all rather odd, but it's dripping with trademark Nintendo charm, and means there's plenty to mess about with once the 3D novelty wears off.

But what are you reading this for? Hit play and ogle the thing for yourself, then let us know in the comments or on our Facebook wall whether you'll be splashing out the requisite £200 when the 3DS launches on 25 March, or whether you'd rather hold out for the Sony NGP.

  • Video produced by Alper Cagatay. Presented by Luke Westaway.