Nintendo 3DS

[Professor Puzzles]

It's so you can say "There's a party in my pocket... and Mario's invited!"

[Darren]

There's another Nottingham streetpass meet tomorrow. 12-4 at the Walkabout pub on Friar Lane. Focus this time is on fighting, so that's SF4, DOA, MH3 and Bomberman! Plus I'm sure there'll be plenty of people (like my daughter) playing Pokemon because they have those special 3DSes that can't play any other games.

There's also going to be Wii Smash Bros on a big screen too.

Sorry for the late notice again. I always forget until the night before...

[mrsnrub]

I have become increasingly of the opinion that the DS platform (encompassing everything from the original DS to the current 3DS Xl and 2DS) is perhaps the biggest success story of recent times in terms of videogaming. Possibly on a par with the original famicom or zx spectrum in terms of breadth of titles and quality, as well as perception.

I never leave the house without my XL and every member of our family has a DS of some description now. Amazing.

[Mentazm]

I've said before the 3ds is matched only by the SNES in its ratio of high quality titles. Another few years and it may be the greatest console ever.

[Not Thread Owner]

The 3DS has a lot of great games, sure, but the ratio matches the SNES? There are 50 shit 3DS games for every good one. That was never the case with the SNES.

[Dudley]

I think it was.

Anything THQ shat out during that time period for a start.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Yeah, it easy to forget the stinkers. The amount of shovelware and lazy license tie-in platforming dross in the 80s and 90s was staggering. We just tend to forget them.

[Halo]

I've never owned a DS before and now I own a 3DS (well, two...). Is there a master list of good games?

As mentioned above, there seems to be a lot of shovelware to wade through.

[deerokus]

According to the internet there are around 1300 English language DS games*, around 700 SNES. I'd say the quality ratio is probably similar, leaning slightly to the DS because fewer games are downright miserably terrible than they were in the 90s.

*At least 300 of these are those 'Imagine' games which Ubisoft shat out. Imagine Babies, Imagine Make Up Artist, Imagine Tea Lady etc

[Protocol Penguin]

Yeah, it easy to forget the stinkers. The amount of shovelware and lazy license tie-in platforming dross in the 80s and 90s was staggering. We just tend to forget them.

True. Open an old issue of Super Play from 20 years ago, among the gaming gems you'll see long forgotten crap like Amiga Port With Added Parallax Scrolling 73, Cash-In Cartoon Licence 57, and EA Sports Game 3. Although perhaps it speaks in the Super NES' favour that we think of the console so highly in 2014, as the good stuff for the format was just so damn good.

[Wiper]

The 3DS has a lot of great games, sure, but the ratio matches the SNES? There are 50 shit 3DS games for every good one. That was never the case with the SNES.

Aye, the ratio of great games is closer to PS2 levels than anything thanks to the sheer number of releases. It's generally only failed consoles that have a chance at a ridiculous ratio of quality:quantity, as the more successful ones will always see an influx of mediocre third-party support in an attempt to jump on the bandwagon; that's largely the reason that the Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket are so fondly remembered by those who actually bought them, as the libraries were small but uniquely high in overall quality.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

I'd say the quality ratio is probably similar, leaning slightly to the DS because fewer games are downright miserably terrible than they were in the 90s.

That's a pretty bold statement. Have you ever tried the likes of Pony Party Island?

[Dudley]

Yeah, it easy to forget the stinkers. The amount of shovelware and lazy license tie-in platforming dross in the 80s and 90s was staggering. We just tend to forget them.

Well as deerokus points out the dross is now "Imagine" shite which is usually fine, just not for most of us. Rather than stuff like well.... this.

[Wiper]

On the other hand...

(but yes, there is less utterly broken shite put out these days, at least. Assuming those aren't just a vanguard of the Bone's clever plot to deliver us to a brave new era of broken shovelware)

[Dudley]

Even those aren't quite as broken as some. Wasn't it one of the Back To The Future 3 versions where it was literally impossible to complete level 1?

[Not Thread Owner]

Yeah, it easy to forget the stinkers. The amount of shovelware and lazy license tie-in platforming dross in the 80s and 90s was staggering. We just tend to forget them.

Oh, I know, but there are more shit games for the 3DS, and more to come, than games of any kind at all on the SNES. And the quality of shit is lower on the 3DS too. Or is that higher?

Yeah, it easy to forget the stinkers. The amount of shovelware and lazy license tie-in platforming dross in the 80s and 90s was staggering. We just tend to forget them.

[Dudley]

And the quality of shit is lower on the 3DS too.

I still disagree with this. Even the Imagine stuff is fundamentally a working game whereas there is stuff from the 16-bit world that's utterly irredeemable.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Well, it IS true that there were some abominable big name titles. I can't imagine any person in the 90s who was not hugely pissed off when they played the Terminator 2 video game Ocean made for the Amiga. Thinking of that era, the movie tie-in has all but died out, hasn't it?

[Shimmyhill]

Well, it IS true that there were some abominable big name titles. I can't imagine any person in the 90s who was not hugely pissed off when they played the Terminator 2 video game Ocean made for the Amiga. Thinking of that era, the movie tie-in has all but died out, hasn't it?

Because movie tie-in games were always utter garbage in them days.

The overall standard on games is way better on 3ds than snes, the worst 3ds games and no where near as bad as the worst snes games!

[Dudley]

Well, it IS true that there were some abominable big name titles. I can't imagine any person in the 90s who was not hugely pissed off when they played the Terminator 2 video game Ocean made for the Amiga. Thinking of that era, the movie tie-in has all but died out, hasn't it?

I think it's because game dev times are now longer than film dev times so for it to be credible you'd pretty much have to start making the game before the film was a sure thing.

[Not Thread Owner]

They still manage to churn out a game for every single kids film though.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

What was the turning point? "Enter the Matrix"?

[Not Thread Owner]

There've been plenty since. Skyfall, Avatar, Transformers, Scott Pilgrim (although that was closer to the book...), Pacific Rim.

[Dudley]

They still manage to churn out a game for every single kids film though.

Generally simpler to produce games than an AAA title I'd suggest.

[Not Thread Owner]

Well, they're all basically the same game, so yeah.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Put some recognisable characters in it with some stuff to collect and the children are pretty happy. My children happily switch between Mario, Zelda and Dora games without judging the latter as vastly inferior.

[Not Thread Owner]

I hate your children and you are a terrible parent.

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

Well, if it's any consolation, I pirated the shitty kiddie games.

[Not Thread Owner]

So you don't even have the excuse that well meaning but ignorant grandparents bought them?

You're worse than Hitler.

[mdn2]

I think it's because game dev times are now longer than film dev times so for it to be credible you'd pretty much have to start making the game before the film was a sure thing.

This is true. Look how long it's taken to finish that Rambo game. The film came out in the early 80's!