E3 2010: First impressions of Nintendo 3DS in action

Following Nintendo's E3 press conference, we were allowed to watch a brief semi-interactive demo of the system in action.

As tends to be the case in these events, the actual device was mediated by - i.e. held by and physically connected to - pretty young ladies in tightish white T-shirts, proximity to which always get geek's blood racing.

They were strict, too, not letting people take photos of the 3DS screen straight on, presumably because you can't see the 3D effect in photos.

In terms of the demo, using the new analogue slider pad you could rotate various animated scenes using characters such as Samus, Mario, Pikmins, Link, etc.

If you've seen anything in 3D - or even a hologram - you'll know what to expect. Basically, you have a better depth perception on anything onscreen. It looked great, if a bit gimmicky in non-moving content.

More significantly, perhaps, the angle of view where the 3D works - the so-called sweetspot - was pretty impressive. Over 90 degrees I would estimate, so you had to move your head laterally some distance before the 3D stopped working.

However, when you rotated some of the models, you could more easily see the two overlapped images that go up to make the 3D effect, which may be something developers have to be more careful about in terms of working with moving images and games.

So it certainly worked, but we’ll have to see a lot more before we’re truly convinced. Anyhow, no doubt we'll find out much more on the show floor.

Expect an update soon.