Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's favorite legendary designer, recently did a press tour talking up the Wii U and 3DS and their respective upcoming releases. "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon" did not go unmentioned, Mario's brother is taking the spotlight as a show runner for more than just one game this year, including multiple titles on the 3DS itself. But, funnily, Miyamoto forgot to be excited about something the company couldn't stop talking about when the 3DS first arrived: 3D without glasses.
It's such an intriguing innovation the Louvre employed those systems as digital guides. Change is in the air, however. In a recent interview with Gamespot, Miyamoto seemed to avoid the feature entirely.
"So with 'Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon,' one thing that's particularly unique about that game is the way that it relies on the bottom screen--the touchscreen--for the map," he told Gamespot. Really? Because I'm pretty sure games have been doing that since the original DS first hit shelves. It's a bit ironic too, since "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon's" 3D effect really took hold during demo performances with the press.
"The use of 3D effects boosts the illusion of a little shoebox diorama, similar to 'Paper Mario Sticker Star' and 'Super Mario 3DLand,'" 1Up writes, "and the developers utilize it to hide dozens of keys and collectibles across different locations."
Miyamoto hasn't forgotten what the 3DS can do. Unfortunately, consumers don't care about it. The trend was, before the 3DS surged back from the dead following a massive price drop, many games had a cute "3D" attached to their title somewhere. Launch titles like "Rayman 3D" and "Super Monkey Ball 3D" had it. The "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and "Star Fox 64" remakes both made their point in existence about the 3D effect.
There was even the core, 3D Mario game "Super Mario 3D Land" that admittedly played a big part in the system's revival, but since then the 3D moniker has totally dropped. It's worth noting "Super Mario 3D Land" was in development before the 3DS even released. Now we have a "Paper Mario" game, a "New Super Mario Bros. Game" and a "Fire Emblem" game that all seem to have forgotten the unique feature exists as well.
And from a 3DS owner's point of view, somebody who really bought into the concept and reveled in the realization of it, the effect still makes most of these games better, and in some cases makes it hard to imagine playing the same title on any other device. While the gameplay isn't necessarily affected, the cut scenes in "Fire Emblem: Awakening" are captivating as displayed three dimensionally, and just sort of interesting when you turn the feature off. 1Up's reporter did note how the effect helped improved "Super Mario: Sticker Star" and Luigi's next.
Both the 3DS and 3DS XL, while not necessarily thriving now, are just about the best selling consoles on the market as the industry gears up for a new generation. It's hard to tell whether it's the marketing or lack thereof for the 3D effect, or simply the price drop that enticed new buyers and keeps these systems going, but Nintendo seems to have made up their mind. The 3D effect is not the selling feature they thought it would be early on.
Go ahead and look into the system's close future, you won't find the 3D moniker anywhere. Even third party publishers are looking at the device in a new light. "Animal Crossing: New Leaf," "Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate" and "Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins" join "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon" as ambassadors of non-3D marketing. So the question remains, does the 3DS follow-up even have the feature? Does it matter to Nintendo, as pretty much the only one left with 3D as a bullet point on the feature list, if 3D makes it into the next generation?
The evidence says absolutely not.
