Nintendo 3DS - Every Demo Detailed!

Nintendo's 3DS is the talk of the show here at E3 2010.  There's a line wrapped around the block to play a handful of titles on a raised platform in the back of the show floor.  I waited in line, so that you don't have to - here's detail about every single title that's either playable or viewable here at E3 2010.  Cameras were not allowed on stage at the Nintendo 3DS booth, so you'll forgive the lack of pictures.  I did take copious notes, however, and came away from the experience grinning like a madman.

There is a reason the Nintendo 3DS is the talk of E3.  It is awesome.

There are a ton of non-interactive demos available for the 3DS, beginning with the tech demo that you're treated to while waiting in Nintendo's line to see the 3DS playable line-up above the show floor.

Show Floor Tech Demo:  The 3DS demo playing on the show floor, worn on the waist of several ladies cruising the line, was semi-interactive.  Basically, you could move the camera with the analog stick to view pictures floating in space.  There were champaign bottles, glasses breaking, Link, Samus, a scene from New Super Mario Brothers, and more - but your movement was fairly limited.

Walking up to the 3DS stage with the main demo stations, there were several interactive games / game segments, a few 3D movie trailers, and some non-interactive tech demos of games which will be released some time after the system becomes available.  The playback of movies is fairly flawless, and the games feature graphics which are about on par with the PSP.  The screen is a bit smaller, however, so it's a bit difficult to determine if it's better or worse than the PSP at this point.  "In the range of iPhone and PSP" - let's call it that.

Resident Evil Tech Demo - you're looking on a hostage scene.  GUNS ARE DRAWN!  People make angry faces!  This goes on for a minute, then fades to black.  This is one of the non-interactive demos that at least allowed you to move the camera around, so that's nice.  Unfortunately, the 3D wasn't as well executed as in other demos, for one reason or another.

Dead or Alive Non-Interactive Demo - This was one of the more fun 3DS demos to look at.  I've described the 3DS' 3D effect as kind of like looking into a box, rather than having the 3D pop out at you.   The Dead or Alive demo showed me that fighting games will look really nice, as the entire rotating, moving background makes it seem more like you're playing with a diarama than a flat experience.

Kingdom Hearts Non-Interactive Demo - I wasn't nearly as impressed with the bulk of this demo, because the Kingdom Hearts game seemed to go out of its way to add jagginess to each of its scenes.  Really, it didn't feature a whole heck of a lot of action, either.  The demo consisted of a lot of running.  The intro movie, while obviously a render, was fairly soft and nice looking.

Samurai Warriors - This was the first playable demo for the 3DS that I got my hands on at the Nintendo booth.  After a minute or so of non-interactive movie, the game started.  If you're not aware, this one's basically Dynasty Warriors.  My sole mission was to kill 50 characters in one and a half minutes.  I killed 47.  I didn't see anyone that beat the demo, so take that, Internet!  I almost beat a demo that no one will ever see again after today!  (Achievement unlocked?)

Hollywood 61 - Nintendo was allowing each group 20 minutes to play with the 3DS.  After that, you had to scram.  The Hollywood 61 demo didn't get much of my time, because the intro sequence was rendered like a comic book.  You read that right, on a stage full of 3D games, for the 3DS system, Hollywood 61 starts out with a 2D cutout of a man riding in a car, talking nonsense.  It was interesting to see this, however.  It does tell me that there's a reason for the 3D-off position on the 3DS' slider.  This game's intro (but only the intro) just wasn't as pleasant to watch in "3D."

THERE ARE A TON MORE TITLES!  Click to the next page to read about more of the Nintendo 3DS games!