The Nintendo 3DS
3DS logo
The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld game system by Nintendo that was released in February, 2011 in Japan and March 27, 2011 in North America and Europe. The 3DS is the successor to the Nintendo DS and is the first ever system to fully integrate stereoscopic 3D graphics. To do this, the system uses a technique known as autostereoscopy, which involves rendering two separate images, one for each eye. This allows the top screen to present a sense of depth (but not pop-up). Note that the bottom screen is not a 3D screen.
Sonic Generations was released for the 3DS in North America on November 22, 2011, and was also released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC beforehand. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games was recently released on the Wii, and was released in February 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS. The upcoming sequel to Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, will come out sometime November 2012. The 3DS versions of these games support 3D graphics and analog control.
The 3DS is also compatible with the entire backlog of DS Sonic games.
Sonic Games
Upcoming Sonic Games
Virtual Console
The 3DS allows players to download old games onto their system via the eShop's Virtual Console service, similar to the corresponding service on the Wii. Like the console version, the 3DS version includes games from non-Nintendo systems. A couple of Game Gear games are available internationally; namely, Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Blast, and Sonic Labyrinth.
Game Gear games on the Virtual Console come with more features than other Virtual Console games. In addition to Restore Points (save states), users can select whether the display fits the screen as a square, stretches to fill the screen, or is surrounded by a detailed, 3D Game Gear border. The latter comes in 3 colors: red, blue, or black. Screen blurring is an option that emulates the original screen if chosen. Even game performance can be altered between "original" and "special" (original accurately emulates slowdown and special fixes the slowdown issues of the original games).
Box Art Gallery
Trivia
- At one point, when the 3DS was unveiled for the first time, Sega expressed their interest in making a 3D gameplay, open-world Sonic game for the 3DS. It is currently unknown if such a game will be developed or is in development.
- When the original Sonic Generations trailer was released, only PS3 and Xbox 360 logos were shown. The 3DS version was revealed much later in the June issue of Nintendo Power. There was much speculation on this front about such a portable version.
- The first hint of a 3DS version came in the form of a GameStop release list that showed Sonic Generations (3DS). Later, 3DS and PC versions of the game showed up on a Sega-Sammy earnings report, but were unexplicably later removed.
- There is no 3DS exclusive Sonic game so far, with all the games that have released are console ports.