Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Nintendo Video for 3DS launching in North America this summer

Mike Flacy
By

Nintendo-3ds-netflixNintendo of America announced that an official video service is headed to the 3DS handheld gaming device later this summer for North American audiences. However, Nintendo Video is launching first in Europe and Japan on July 13. The service is expected to deliver both 2D and 3D content to the 3DS in the form of cartoon and comedy clips as well as music videos. Nintendo is unlikely to deliver content consistently and is relying on a second video service called Spot TV for original programming.  Programming for Japanese audiences from Nippon and Fuji TV features shows around animals, news and celebrity wrestling. Video content and updates are automatically downloaded when a user is in range of a Wi-Fi access point.

nintendo-3dsThe update to the video service also brings Netflix to the Nintendo 3DS. If subscribed to the Netflix Instant streaming service ($7.99 a month), 3DS owners simple download the Netflix application and authorize the device. Netflix allows for up to six devices to utilize the streaming service per account. It’s unlikely that Netflix will offer any content formatted to take advantage of the 3D effect though. Netflix streaming was originally announced for launch in May 2011 at the Game Developer’s Conference, but was pushed to late summer by Nintendo of America.

Recommended Videos

The Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system hasn’t performed as well as the company originally hoped. President Satoru Iwata directed blame at the weak launch titles in a response to a recent investor question. However, Nintendo also made it clear that there are no plans on bringing its vast library to mobile devices such as the iPhone or Android phones. Nintendo is revamping classic titles like Excitebike for the 3DS with an upgrade to 3D.  The volume of classics receiving this treatment is low due to the difficulty in development. For instance, converting Excitebike to utilize the 3D screen took about twenty times the planned development period.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mike Flacy
Mike Flacy
Contributing Editor
By day, I'm the content and social media manager for High-Def Digest, Steve's Digicams and The CheckOut on Ben's Bargains…
Nintendo’s Wii Shop Channel and DSi shops are back online
Nintendo 3DS close-up.

After months of service outages, Nintendo's Wii Shop Channel and DSi Shop are back online.

Nintendo's two virtual marketplace services went down in March of this year. In a statement to Kotaku on the outage, Nintendo acknowledged the downtime but had nothing to report other than that the shops were undergoing maintenance and that it would provide updates on them at a later date. It seems it completely skipped the update and simply put both back online instead.

Read more
The 25 best Nintendo 3DS games
Nintendo 3DS close-up.

If you're looking for the best Nintendo 3DS games, there's no shortage of titles to choose from, thanks to the console's long life cycle.

The 3DS has enjoyed several updates over the years, but each was compatible with its predecessor, and that translates to a large and diverse library. It's getting increasingly tough to find a 3DS, especially since Nintendo has officially discontinued the console and no longer supports it to focus on releasing Switch games. Even so, the legacy of the 3DS lives on with a long list of excellent, pocket-sized adventures. Here are our favorite ones.

Read more
The best video games for kids
nintendo switch games black friday deals 2021 super mario odyssey announcement screen 1 e3

Finding the best video games for kids is no easy task. There are a lot of video games geared toward children, and some of the bestselling games of all time are made for a younger audience, but sifting through all the options to find what's "good" is quite the undertaking.

Thankfully, you don't have to go through the process. We've rounded up 30 of the top games for children across PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. Although we've included ESRP ratings for reference, some of them don't quite fit. For example, Super Mario Odyssey is rated E10+ for everyone 10 and older, but the game doesn't feature any content that really earns that rating, especially compared to previous 3D Mario games.

Read more