I’m not a fan of the current 3D movie craze, to be honest. I think it’s kind of dumb to pay extra money for fake 3D that tends to hurt your eyes. Besides, the movie theaters near my house all use outdated technology like “film reels” and “projector screens,” instead of Super Digital Plasma HD 3D Blu-Ray BUY BUY BUY Quality flatscreens, so the 3D effect isn’t as good as it should be.
Therefore, I am hesitant about Nintendo jumping on the 3D train to bring us all the 3DS. I know that all the reviews so far say that the 3D works great/perfectly/better than the U.S. economy. But, as Mr. President of Nintendo said multiple times during their press conference, they can’t show us any pictures of it. And that makes me slightly suspicious and/or confused. Why can’t they show pictures of the 3DS in action? Is it because the device is unfinished? Or is it just for technical reasons, because it doesn’t work on non-3D projectors? If so, why didn’t they say the 3D effects couldn’t be shown for technical reasons? I dunno, I just find it weird that Nintendo openly said they couldn’t show pictures of the 3DS in action, but they never clarified why.
We know that the 3DS comes with a slider (in the lower-left?) that controls the 3D effect. You can turn it on full or you can turn it off completely. My guess is that the slider controls the depth of the 3D projection. Say, the full 3D effect is four inches. Turning the slider to halfway makes it project two inches. Turning it off will make it project a really short distance, like a millimeter, so it looks like the effect is off, even though it’s not.
The fact that you can play 3DS games in non-3D brings up a question: how important is it to have the 3D effect? It can’t be absolutely necessary to the gameplay, because you can play the games without it. So…if it’s not absolutely necessary, why is it there? Is it just a gimmick, or is it really important?
I’m trying to think of a situation where 3D effects would be absolutely necessary to gameplay, but I can’t think of any so far. Oh well.
And finally, to ask a question I’ve heard no one else ask, can the 3D effect of the 3DS hurt your eyes? I’m thinking the answer is “yes.” Kids (and adults) already hurt their eyes by playing videogames for too many hours in a row. The 3D effect might aggravate this problem.
In conclusion, I’m not sure about the 3D part of the 3DS. The other things about the 3DS—like video capabilities and an Internet browser that works well—sound pretty good, though.
Michael Gray is a former staff writer. Most of the work he does for GameCola nowdays is copy/pasted from his blog. 
The 3D feature tacked on? REALLY? Like you didn’t actually know that?
This is Nintendo. The Wii -> Old people. 3D -> Young people. Audience grabbing bandwagon riders.
The reason why you need a 3DS to play 3DS games? The hardware is better, specs are higher and the screen is larger, making this system a possible PSP beater. 3D effects are just a silly extra, and I doubt they’ll really matter unless Cing develop a game for the 3DS.
Why they couldn’t show us the gameplay was (in my opinion) that the device clearly wasn’t ready at E3. Either that or, as you guessed, the 3D effect might be similar to that of a holographic trading card or tazoo, in that the effect doesn’t work on a camera or inside a scanner.
I’m as skeptical as you are, because I know 3D’s just a silly anti-piracy measure that doesn’t even work. Companies are pushing 3D right now and it just seems like an awful waste of time and money. And that is what will reveal all in the end, time and money. We’ll see when the Japanese get their hands on the 3DS if it’s really up to much.