Nintendo’s next-generation handheld will let users install games from cartridges onto internal memory, so you won’t need to carry them around with you when you’re on the go.
Handheld systems have always been great for long journeys, whether you’re plugging away at your original Game Boy in the back of your parents’ station wagon in 1990 or playing on your DS on a plane flight in the present day. But when your packing space is limited, it’s always been a hassle to take too many games with you – most of the time, you just ended up picking one game that’d hopefully last your whole trip and sticking with it.
Nintendo wants to change that with the 3DS. According to Japanese news source Nikkei, the handheld will feature an optional “software install,” which lets you copy a 3DS cartridge to internal data storage. Multiple games can be stored in this manner, and you can then select and play the games from the system’s menu screen – as long as they’re stored internally, there’s no need for a cartridge.
Essentially, this means that the days of needing to bring a cartridge-filled carrying-case with you are now in the past. Before a trip, just install your favorite games, and switch between them without ever having to swap cartridges.
So, let me get this straight: The 3DS has massive third-party support, remakes of some beloved classics, and damn good graphics for a handheld. The glasses-free 3D effect really does work, and the control slider is a better version of the PSP’s analog nub. And now you’re telling me I don’t need to swap cartridges on the go anymore to play multiple games?
Good lord. Everything I’ve heard about the 3DS has been nothing short of fantastic. If this thing isn’t too expensive and has a half-decent battery life, we could be looking at the goddamn Holy Grail of gaming. What’s next? Will it come packaged with cake and a free kitten?
