According to Japanese technology paper Nikkei, the 3DS has the ability to install software from Game Card. This is a feature that Nintendo didn’t even mention during their press conference, but raises some interesting possibilities and more than a few questions.
First up is the question of how much internal storage space the device offers. Nintendo have announced that the Game Cards for the 3DS will have a 2GB maximum capacity at launch, but didn’t mention how much internal memory the system has. To put things in context, the DSi has 256MB of internal flash memory, along with an SD/SDHC slot. It is known that the 3DS also features the SD/SDHC card slot, which should allow cards with capacities of up to 32GB to be used. But will the internal memory be bumped up given the ability to potentially install up to 2GB of data at a time? And if it does, what does this mean for Nintendo’s downloadable software services? Does it mean that there’ll be the opportunity to download full games like Sony offer for the PSP?
Another key question here is the inevitable one of piracy. The benefit of installing software to a system which is already based on cartridge is, presumably, convenience. Having easy access to a selection of games without having to physically carry cartridges around is a great idea. Until you consider that some enterprising young souls could easily rent a bunch of games, copy them to their 3DS or SD card, return the cartridges and never have to worry about paying full-price again. Presumably there’s some sort of method in place to combat this, but it’s difficult to predict what it might be. Requiring players to on occasion insert the original cartridge, for example, defeats the entire object of the feature.
Something else which might cause some concern is Nintendo’s current controversial user account system. At present, downloads for the DSi are locked to the unit they were purchased on. This means that should the system become faulty, gamers have a tough time getting their content back. Of course, if the 3DS does happen to adopt some kind of Xbox Live-like system – which is looking increasingly likely – this will be less of an issue. Using the LIVE approach, users would be able to recover their ID and, in theory, re-download all their content.
All this is pure speculation, of course. Until Nintendo release some further details about the system, there’s going to be a lot of conjecture. The features which have been announced so far, though, have made a lot of people very happy indeed. It takes just a brief glimpse at E3-related tweets on Twitter to see many gamers are already convinced they will be making a day-one purchase of the system.
Keep an eye on Kombo for the latest updates about the 3DS as they happen. There might even be a few surprises still left in E3 yet.
