From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
 ニンテンドー3DS Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||||||||||
 The Nintendo 3DS | ||||||||||||||||
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The Nintendo 3DS (Japanese: ニンテンドー3DS Nintendo 3DS) is Nintendo's handheld game console for the eighth generation of video games, which serves as one of the company's competitions for Sony's PlayStation Vita, the other being the Nintendo Switch.
Announced in a March 23, 2010 press release,[1] the Nintendo 3DS is fully backwards-compatible with all Nintendo DS games (except those that require the GBA slot). Its revolutionary feature, however, is its ability to display stereoscopic 3D graphics without the use of glasses, using the technique of parallax barrier.
More details on the 3DS were revealed at E3 in 2010, with graphics reminiscent of a Nintendo GameCube game being shown. The 3DS is fully compatible with Nintendo DS games, as well as its own games, while the 3D depth-sensing features are able to be adjusted at-will using a slider on the right side of the top screen. The top screen is slightly wider than the bottom, with a 5:3 aspect ratio, while the system itself features a control stick dubbed the "Circle Pad", in addition to the normal D-pad featured on all prior handhelds. The 3DS is also fully compatible with DSi-only features, such as those from Pokémon Black and White. While capable of playing Nintendo DS games from any region, 3DS titles and DSi exclusive titles are region-locked. Its home console counterpart is the Wii U.
A larger version, known as the Nintendo 3DS XL, was released in Japan, North America, Europe, and Australia in 2012. A stripped-down cheaper model (lacking stereoscopic 3D and the clamshell design), known as the Nintendo 2DS, was released in North America, Europe, and Australia in 2013; it was released in Japan in 2016. A pair of powerful models, the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL, were released in Japan and Australia in 2014 and in North America and Europe in 2015. A cheaper version of the more powerful model, known as the New Nintendo 2DS XL, was released in Australia, Japan, North America, and Europe in 2017.
Technical specifications
- Size: 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, 0.8 inches tall.
- Weight: 8 ounces
- Top screen: 3.53-inch widescreen LCD, autostereoscopic 3D capability, 800×240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing)
- Bottom screen: 3.02-inch LCD, touch screen, 320×240 pixel resolution
- Cameras: One inner camera, two outer cameras, both at 640×480 pixel resolution (0.3 MP)
- Nintendo 3DS game card: 2GB max at launch.
- Wireless communication: Can communicate in the 2.4 GHz band. Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems can connect via a local wireless connection to let users communicate or enjoy competitive game play. Systems also can connect to LAN access points to access the internet and allow people to enjoy games with others. Supports IEEE 802.11 with enhanced security (WPA/WPA2). Nintendo 3DS hardware is designed so that even when not in use, it can automatically exchange data with other Nintendo 3DS systems or receive data via the internet while in sleep mode. Additionally has an infrared port, utilized by games for line-of-sight matchmaking and by official peripherals.
- Game controls: Touch screen, embedded microphone, A/B/X/Y face buttons, +Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons, "Circle Pad" that allows 360-degree analog input, one inner camera, two outer cameras, motion sensor and a gyro sensor.
- Other input controls: 3D Depth Slider to adjust level of 3D effect (can be scaled back or turned off completely depending on the preference of the user), Home button to call system function, Wireless switch to turn off wireless communications (even during game play), Power button. The telescoping stylus is approximately 4 inches when fully extended.
- Input/Output: A port that accepts Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo DS game cards, an SD memory card slot, an AC adapter connector, a charging cradle terminal, and a stereo headphone output jack.
- Sound: Stereo speakers positioned to the left and right of the top screen
- Battery: Lithium ion battery
- Parental controls: Included
- Later firmware updates allow for the purchase and download of custom menu themes featuring various game franchises and characters.
Pokémon games
All releases listed are the year in which the Japanese version was released.
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop used the internet to purchase for download select full 3DS titles, 3DS-exclusive downloadable games (including 3D Classics), downloadable content for 3DS titles, DSiWare, and Virtual Console games with money uploaded onto the player's account. Some such products were available for download for free, such as Pokédex 3D, and some were free to download but contain in-game purchases, such as Pokémon Picross.
From March 27, 2023 onwards, it is no longer possible to make purchases of 3DS content, as the 3DS and Wii U eShop clients, listings of digital 3DS content on Nintendo's website, and the transaction applet used by 3DS software ceased to accept sales. Pokémon Bank became free for usage as a result. It is similarly no longer possible to download 3DS content made available for free if the eShop account did not previously download it before cessation of purchases. Content previously purchased or downloaded on an eShop account can still be redownloaded, excluding a handful of titles that are fully delisted like the now non-functional YouTube app.
Retail titles
Select Nintendo 3DS retail software titles were available to purchase for download via the Nintendo eShop from August 2012 to March 27, 2023.
Virtual Console games
Virtual Console games are old games that were originally released on past consoles and had been re-released on the Nintendo eShop. They could be downloaded after being bought.
Patches
Patches for various Pokémon games have been released on the Nintendo eShop. Additionally, Pokémon Shuffle could perform minor updates when performing the daily check-in; such updates could not be downloaded through the Nintendo eShop and can no longer be downloaded because checking in is no longer available. If an update is available on Nintendo eShop for a game the player has, the update has not been downloaded yet and there is an attempt to launch that game while connected to the internet, the system will inform the player of the update and offer to download it immediately, view its details on the eShop, or temporarily ignore it.
| Title | Genre | Release |
|---|---|---|
| Pokémon X and Y patches | Update | 2013 - 2015 |
| Pokémon Bank patches | Update | 2013 - 2014, 2020 |
| Poké Transporter patches | Update | 2013 - 2014, 2020 |
| Pokémon Art Academy patch | Update | 2014 |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS patches | Update | 2014 - 2016 |
| Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire patches | Update | 2014 - 2015 |
| Pokémon Sun and Moon patches | Update | 2017 |
| Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon patch | Update | 2017 |
| Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon patches | Update | 2017 - 2018 |
Via backwards compatibility
The 3DS can be used to play games playable in the Nintendo DS series of systems, excluding Game Boy Advance games.
Gallery
A Flame Red Nintendo 3DS
A Pearl Pink Nintendo 3DS
A Cosmo Black Nintendo 3DS
An Ice White Nintendo 3DS
A Metallic Red Nintendo 3DS
A Midnight Purple Nintendo 3DS
An Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS Open, Closed and front view
A Red Nintendo 3DS Open, Closed and front view
The fore edge of an Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS
The fore edge of a Red Nintendo 3DS
Cameos
Sophocles's Nintendo 3DS
Trivia
- The Nintendo 3DS family of systems:
- Can play Pokémon games from the most generations, being able to play games from the first seven generations (all core series and one spin-off from Generation I, all core series and one spin-off from Generation II, a few Generation III handheld spin-off games, and all handheld games from Generations IV, V, VI, and VII).
- Can play core series Pokémon games based in every core series region prior to Generation VIII.
- Are the only Nintendo systems with core series games to not have any solitary core series releases.
- The Nintendo 3DS's word filter (swear filter) has a different list for each region and language combination (for example, Canadian French and European French have different word filters). However, the US English word list also applies for all U region languages, and the UK English word list also applies for all E region languages (no additional lists apply in the J, K, and T regions). Unlike the Generation V filters, spaces are removed from names before checking them against the filter(s). The region- and language-exclusive lists apply when entering something like the 3DS's username. However, when entering something like Pokémon nicknames, all of the lists apply at once (including those that do not match the 3DS's locked region, and even including internal lists for region and language combinations that are not selectable on any system in the Nintendo 3DS family).
