3DS charge cradle motivated by StreetPass

Those of you who have spent a day out in the world looking for Dragon Quest IX tags know how taxing the DS's Tag Mode can be on its battery life. It appears that's still going to be the case with the 3DS and its expanded "StreetPass" passive communication mode. And that's one reason the 3DS comes with that fancy charge cradle.

"As for the battery," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said during an investor Q&A, "it is inevitable that Nintendo 3DS will be a device which requires more frequent recharging than Nintendo DS. This is why we are going to include the cradle, which is a dedicated battery charger. Perhaps we may need to dispatch to our consumers a message, something like, 'Please place your Nintendo 3DS on the cradle as soon as you return home with it.'"

Though we like how Nintendo thought about the consequences of increased battery use on the daily DS routine -- and we happen to think the cradle is a really attractive accessory -- we must admit that we wonder how much that cradle adds to the cost of the 3DS package.

Reader Comments (36)

I think it may add a bit to the cost, just a guess.

@RobS the 3rd

Why? It's just some extra plastic around a power adapter. It's not like you can charge it without the cradle (I assume) and use a second included adapter that works like the old DS.

I doubt it adds much at all to the price. It certainly adds a lot more VALUE, though. What adds to the price more than anything is the "hype" around this thing. Nintendo even admitted that, graciously and refreshingly I might add.

@Mmmmz

Considering most official charge statsion are $10-$40... it probably adds about that to the cost.

@Faenix

Hah! You think the retail price of those charging adaptors is what they actually cost?

Besides, that's a meaningless comparison. As was already pointed out, even if it didn't come with a 'charging station' the 3DS would have to have *some* kind of power adaptor. That's where the real cost is. The charging station is just a plastic shell.

Aww!

It has two little eyes, and a cute button nose.. and it's smiling!

The 3DS is simply adorable!

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

My- my god you're right! Now I can't unsee it!

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze
This is big daddy bomberman all over again. Eff you Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Owner: "Well, don't you look happy in your little charger Mr. 3DS! Time to take you out to play."

3DS: "I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen."

@Ezio Auditore da Firenze

http://i52.tinypic.com/1042aub.jpg

@neoand12

Win!

@neoand12

I would buy that Pika3DS so fast that future attempts to restock would cause the world to implode.

@neoand12
You should work for Nintendo.

@neoand12 http://i54.tinypic.com/10z6yiq.png

@Mike Sylvester

Nothing better then seeing the pedobear. but seeing it in

3D!!!!!!!!! Makes the moment more enjoyable!

I wish Nintendo would just release the thing, but Hell who am I kidding, pictures of the cradle makes me excited.

Damn, that's to bad about the shorter battery life. One thing I love about Nintendo handhelds is the excellent battery life.

@TheMichaelJackson
I know, I love how with my ds I can just close it in the middle of a gym battle, come back to it days later and just continue from where I was.

@Rhamsey
Well if you disable the extra wireless features you could probably still do that.

@KaBob799
Yeah, battery life is probably the same... battery USE is another story altogether.

I wish more devices provided a dock. (IE: iPod)

Speaking of battery life does anyone know how long the battery life actually last?

@Hayatoblaze91x
I've heard the goal is to have the battery last about as long as the DSi. Which isn't too bad considering how much more power the graphics and widescreen will take.

@KaBob799
I hope they achieve that. I agree on that point!

I have a feeling that this also means the general use battery life of the device won't be as stellar as the current DS. I'd rather a bulky system with excellent battery life than a light system without it.

Well it'd be no surprise to me if the battery life was shorter since it's much more powerful than the DS....But dear god I hope it's not as short (or shorter) as the PSP's.

@Hayatoblaze91x

Well the iPhone 4 is supposed to be technically more powerful than the 3DS in many areas, not to mention the bulky iOS, and it averages around 3-4 hours game time from what I understand. I'm betting the 3DS will at least get 6-8.

I can live with 7 hours from a full charge with 3D on. It means if you game all day you'd probably only have to charge it twice (once in the morning and a break in between).

As long as it can last 4 hours, I'm fine.

I'm just hoping that the cradle can be used to play the 3DS with it on or if it doesn't need it to recharge it but just a normal cord like the all the older handhelds have.

Main reason is, when I'm home, I usually play my handhelds near a outlet and I always just leave the plug in so I don't have to worry about recharging it later.

It would suck if you're at a awesome part, and you have to put it in sleep mode so the system doesn't turn itself off and lose your place and you can't play it till it's done charging :(

So I'm mostly hoping that it doesn't cover the top buttons from being pressed.

@SpiderPrime Don't worry. You can unplug the cable from the back of the 3DS and use it like a regular charger.

@LittleMofreaky the 3DS cradle, sorry

@LittleMofreaky

*whew*

@LittleMofreaky If that's the case, then that's excellent news. I pack my DS Lite in a small carrying case along with the charger every time I travel out of town. I think the 3DS charging cradle is great for home use, but would be rather awkward for traveling.

I've been half-watching 3DS news (I likely won't get one until the price drops and Nintendo releases the inevitable second generation model), but hadn't heard this news before. Would you (or anyone else, really) mind posting a link to an article confirming the 3DS comes with a standard power charger (that can then plug into the cradle)?

The Nintendo 3DS looks so sleek. I want to rub it on my face.

"Those of you who have spent a day out in the world looking for Dragon Quest IX tags know how taxing the DS's Tag Mode can be on its battery life."

Yep, because when the chances of finding another person with DQ9, a DS with them, and in Tag mode, is several times less than the chance of lightning striking you thrice in the same spot, then having Thor come down to congratulate you on sucking so bad, only to smack you with, you guessed it, lightning (and Mjollnir).

But hey, all that lightning might recharge the DS for you!

I would appreciate it if Nintendo gave consideration to the fact that "Street Pass" features are not going to be as accessible to people outside of Japan.

I am having a hard time imagining my 3DS Street Pass collecting lots of tags for "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2". And it will probably be required to unlock the "cool" demons. (fictional example)

@Jack Spicer

I meant to write "Devil Survivor 2". I am aware that Devil Summoner 2 is an existing PS2 game.

@Jack Spicer
The glory of the 3DS' Street Pass is that you don't need the game to be in a pass menu. Not only that, but you don't even need the game's cartridge to be inside the 3DS.

Even if it's rare to find anyone playing the same game you are, as long as you pass by another 3DS - there's still a 200% better chance to get a connection with someone else than with the regular DS pass.

3DS charge cradle motivated by StreetPass

Reader Comments (36)

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:04PM RobS the 3rd said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:43PM Mmmmz said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:08PM Faenix said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 2:30AM Kevadu said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:05PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:06PM RobS the 3rd said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:12PM Rhamsey said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:13PM The Joy of Painting w Bob Ross said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:21PM neoand12 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:36PM Ezio Auditore da Firenze said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:44PM Mach2 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 10:48PM Rhamsey said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 12:12AM Mike Sylvester said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 1:47AM neoand12 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:07PM neoand12 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:10PM TheMichaelJackson said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:14PM Rhamsey said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:09PM KaBob799 said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 12:43AM ZaxCG2 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:14PM Hayatoblaze91x said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:12PM KaBob799 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:59PM Hayatoblaze91x said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:21PM KupoCheer said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:30PM Hayatoblaze91x said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:50PM sonicspike41 said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:45PM Xpike said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 9:59PM SpiderPrime said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 10:27PM LittleMofreaky said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 10:28PM LittleMofreaky said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:19PM SpiderPrime said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 7:42AM Peretz said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 10:26PM LittleMofreaky said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 10:50PM DevilSei said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:31PM Jack Spicer said

Posted: Oct 7th 2010 11:33PM Jack Spicer said

Posted: Oct 8th 2010 2:41PM blahblah55 said

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