So, it finally happened. Some 3DS news has occurred that's suddenly made me incredibly cynical about the system. Nintendo's Japanese 3DS site has revealed that the upcoming handheld sports a pathetic three to five hours of battery life.
This is how much life it has when playing 3DS games. The battery will last for five to eight hours when playing older DS games. The specs also state that the system takes 3.5 hours to charge, so depending on how quickly you can drain your battery, the 3DS can take longer to charge than it does to die. Nice.
Nintendo fans have always been able to hold superior battery life over the heads of PSP lovers, but it would appear that the graphical demands of 3D come with a great cost.
So ... that's bloody disappointing.
Nintendo's 3DS specs [Nintendo -- thanks, Vallanthaz]
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
7:58 AM on 01.08.2011 | 
Plus, I owned an N-Gage. 3-5 hours sounds almost good to me.
WHAT.
Still, this sucks.
Just charge it every other night, and you should be safe.
For longer sessions, just charge while you play.
I've seen laptops with worse, though. I remember reading the specs for a newer one and it said it could hold 2 hours at the most in terms of battery life.
Given the game line-up though, the system is still looking strong. Fingers crossed turning the 3D off adds a little to the battery life, as that's how I intend to use it mostly.
It's not like the battery life will ruin the awesomness of the games I'm playing. :D
Also, I'm sure if you turn the 3D slider off, you can probably save a good chunk of battery level.
Seriously though, when I go on week long trips, I used to bring both my DS and my PSP. Then I realized if I was to get playtime out of my PSP, I would also need to bring the charger. After a little while, I would only bring the DS, simply because I didn't want to have to deal with a dead battery.
when 3d is off 3ds games have a battery of 6-10 hours similar to the dsi
This has to be a conservative estimate or something...
Hey moron, even if that were true and you weren't simply guessing like a schmuck, having your main gimmick kill your battery isn't good.
Still, it's pretty bad compared to the DS. Hopefully the 3DS Lite improves over this.
They also said that the battery is comparible to the dsi battery.
Mark my works 3-5=3ds all the way on, with highest brightness
6-10 hours=3d off, with highest brightness
And your right its just a gimmick which most real gamers wont give 2 shits about. Its all about the software (which is being designed 3d optional anyway.)
I'm trying to think of all of the situations where a short battery life would be a detriment, and flying on an airplane is probably the biggest one.
Still doesn't mean 3 hours is great though. It would be for a laptop but...
so with the psp2 being said to have graphical power of early ps3 games does this mean it will have a battery life of 30 minutes to one hour? just saying
As long as the system can be played while plugged in (there HAS to be an option for this otherwise i'll be severely disappointed if you can only charge with the base station.) than I think i'll be fine.
I take my DS out on trips sure, but 90% of the time I'm playing it at home. Its more or less a "private" gaming system rather than simply "portable." To play a full on console requires using a television or monitor, something that is inhierently more "public" (as in other people can walk into view, or watch you play, or might want to use the TV for other purposes. Plus who can forget the classic "screen watching" of split screen gaming?) With a handheld console everything is specifically directed at you, it can be played without disturbing anyone else around you (especially if you have headphones, otherwise just turn the volume low.) Its pretty handy if you have roommates who might work at different hours than you and you don't want to wake them up.
4 Hours sounds OK to me with what the 3ds is capable of.
My iPod on the other hand hardly lasts an hour anymore. I don't abuse it I just use it all the time. For everything but gaming anyway. The few times I do fire up one of Mr. Sterling's free app of the day recomendations the damn thing is powerless inside of 30 minutes.