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Nintendo 3DS Game Lineup Round-Up

 & Will Greenwald Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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The Nintendo 3DS is now on sale, and with it are 19 available games. That number will increase to dozens, and eventually hundreds as the months pass by, but until then the selection is sparse.

Nintendo itself has only released a handful of games for the 3DS, including "Nintendogs+Cats," "Pilotwings Resort," and "Steel Diver." With "Nintendogs+Cats," Nintendo's beloved virtual puppy game returns with improved 3D graphics and cats. Using the 3DS's pedometer, you can even take your Nintendog on a virtual walk with you, on your own two feet. This stands out as one of the best-developed and most attractive 3DS launch titles.

Many gamers are anticipating the future releases of "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time," "Star Fox 64," and "Kid Icarus: Uprising," but they won't come out for a few months. The company is also planning to launch a service where classic Game Boy, Game Gear, and Turbografix-16 games will be available for download, along with other Nintendo titles remade for 3D. Unfortunately, even that service will not be enabled until May.

The third-party side of the system, however, has some impressive titles, including Capcom's "Super Street Fighter 4 3D Edition," Namco Bandai's "Ridge Racer 3D," EA's "The Sims 3," Ubisoft's "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars," and LucasArts' "Lego Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars."

The latest chapter in the "Lego Star Wars" series uses Cartoon Network's The Clone Wars series as a backdrop. It's the same action-platforming goodness that's been around for years, but with a nice amount of 3D to make the various minifigs pop off the screen.

For more, see the slideshow below.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I've served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

The Technology I Use

Where to start? I have a standard IT-issued Lenovo Thinkpad for writing and editing, supplemented with an iPad Air and an 8Bitdo Retro Keyboard when I want to write on the go. I also have a Lenovo Legion Go as a platform for running Portrait Displays’ Calman software and controlling the Klein K-10A colorimeter, Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Leo Bodnar 4K Video Signal Lag Tester I use for testing TVs. 

For gaming, I use a Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X, and a GeForce 5080-equipped MSI gaming laptop. I like collecting retro games as well, and have an Analogue Pocket and a ton of classic consoles and portables. Photography is another interest, and I use a Sony A7 IV when I’m shooting products and events, and a Fujifilm X-Pro3 for my own attempts at visual creativity. And for reading and writing, I’ve become partial to the Kobo Sage for books and the ReMarkable 2 with Type Folio.

When it comes to phones and tablets, I’m pretty platform-agnostic. I use a Google Pixel 8 for my phone and an iPad Air for a tablet. Android, iOS, and iPadOS are all totally fine, but I need a Windows PC. MacOS just isn’t for me.

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