E3 2010: critical reaction to the 3DS

So Nintendo's shown off the 3DS, its no-glasses take on the 3D phenomenon.

To us stuck at home, gawking at the shiny new gadget through our LCD monitors, it's about as exciting as watching water evaporate.

But to the journalists having their first hands on time, it's apparently pretty fantastic. Here are some quotes from those who've seen the thing in the flesh.

"Just went hands on with 3ds. Wow!! This thing is amazing, best thing of show so far."

"Just got hands on with 3DS. It's un-freakin-believable. Gorgeous screen, fantastic sense of depth"

"Just tried it. 3D effect is stunning. Like, wow. Pikmin, Mario Galaxy, Metroid scenes to look around. Analogue controller feels good. "

GamesRadar (via. Twitter)

"Just got a brief hands-on with the Nintendo 3DS. Totally works like they claim. Pops right out of the screen. Wonderful."

"Anywhere but head-on, the 3D effect fails completely and the colors wash out a bit." "Imagine a polygon-based character becoming intrinsically more corporal and easier to see—a character that just, well, pops out a bit. That's what the screen feels like."

"3D effect on 3DS is SHOCKING. Seriously, you have no idea. This thing is going to be awesome."

"Seeing all the tech for the 3DS with Nintendogs+Cats is actually very cool. The camera allows for face recognition."

"You need to stare at the screen for a moment for your eyes to adjust and then not move around too much. If you do you’ll need to adjust again. But, stay reasonably still and it’s a compelling effect."

"#3DS really has a cool 3D effect. At least the 20 seconds hands on rocked at the press conference. No games but demo screens of Mario."