Nintendo ds console question

angeldaisy

Hi my 7yr old son has asked for a nintendo for his birthday, it will be his first one, although he has been using my old (original) ds for the last couple of years.
I won't be letting him use the 3d function if we get him the 3ds, so is it worth getting the 3ds or am I better off with a different one?
Thanks

Myrddin

The 3DS offers the best value, it's backwards compatible with DS/i games, & is current generation so he can enjoy all the latest 3DS games on it too. Buying a DSi XL or something now will only mean having to buy a 3DS in short succession, as the 3DS seems to be finally kicking into life now.

Banjo

The 3DS is more than just a DS with a 3D function. That's just the gimic that gets most people through the door.

• 3DS games do not run in 2D mode on a DS. They don't even fit into a DS.
• all DS games work in a 3DS except the 3DS is region locked, so you can't play a US or Japanese game cart in a European 3DS. Also, there's no GameBoy Advance slot (which the original DS and DS Lite had).
• The 3DS has an online shop (that you can access from a DSi but not a standard DS) - however some of the software is only compatible with the 3DS.
• The 3DS has StreetPass which is a bizarrely compelling wireless feature that exchanges data with other 3DSes you pass while it's in your pocket, allowing you to complete puzzles by swapping pieces, exchange game data (Eg Mariokart 3DS ghost laps or Freaky Forms creatures). (If he played Pokemon Black/White there was a prototype of this functionality called the C-Gear built into it).
• Nintendo Letterbox. It shouldn't be a selling point but it is. It's like a convergence of the Post-It note and twitter.

Actually it's not that extensive a list, but the price difference is minimal. The DS (including DS Phat and Lite) and DSi (and DSi XL) are now dead hardware. It's not worth investing your money in them.

Just get him a 3DS and turn on the parental lock to turn off any features you don't want him using.

jaydoxx

I'd also like to point out that stereoscopic 3D wouldn't have a detrimental effect on the eyes unless there is something wrong with them, and in that case the 3D would reveal an underlying problem which could then be dealt with.

TanG411

All the warnings that Nintendo have about the 3D effect to children under six means nothing. They're simply covering themselves.

The American Optometric Association have said the 3D effect has no ill effects.
http://kotaku.com/5725770/doctors-say-the-3ds-is-safe-potentially-beneficial-to-children

I'm not here to ask why you won't let your son use the 3D feature, but if he's going on eight, he's well old enough to use it.

angeldaisy

thanks for all the advice.
Any good deals around at the minute??