"Streetpass is useless in the U.S."

"Streetpass only works in Japan."

Have you heard someone utter either of the phrases listed above? Chances are you have. It's become a pretty frequent complaint in the days following the 3DS launch. However, complaints like these were already being hurled way before the 3DS even launched. Why is that? Why do we as gamers feel the need to complain about things we haven't even tried out yet? It's not just Streetpass either. I feel like people have mostly crucified the 3DS in the days prior and following its release. It almost feels like the opposite of the Wii launch. People seem to nitpick every little thing about it just for the sake of complaining. However, the 3DS actually does what it promised to do (3D without glasses) as opposed to the Wii leading us on in the months before its launch. I've been wanting to break my 2 year long hiatus to write on this for quite some time now, but simply hadn't gotten pissed off enough to work up the motivation...UNTIL NOW.

So, let's talk about Streetpass. I am not even sure where to start. This might be a little disorganized.

First off, how the Hell do you people struggle with Streetpass!? Especially those of you in bigger cities! I live in FUCKING JOPLIN MISSOURI and I got Streetpassed by 4 strangers at work yesterday within 5 hours.



Is that the biggest number in the world? No. But I'll get to that in a moment. The important thing here is that I got Streetpass tags. Not only that, but I get tagged by my brother at least twice a day and by 5 or so friends that own a 3DS at least twice a week. What are these people on the internet complaining about?

I know this isn't Japan and that I'm not filling up my Mii Plaza every 5 minutes, but I am totally satisfied with the way things are going right now. I think that we need to remember that in the U.S. Streetpass is going to work differently. We are going to find less strangers and end up tagging more people that we know personally. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so. In fact, I think it's a good thing! As soon I saw my little green light turn on today, I was instantly looking around me to try and find other 3DS owner in the room so that I could shoot him a quick "You know what's up." head nod. how is that even possible on a crowed Japanese subway? It would be so much more impersonal a less satisfying in my opinion. I also love rooting for my friends and my brother as they fight ghosts in Find Mii. But I couldn't really do that if it were 10 or 15 stranger's Miis fighting to save me.

I feel like most of this is in response to Dragon Quest 9's Tag Mode, which truly was only feasible for Japan. You were required to stumble upon someone who not only owned DQ9, but was waiting in Tag Mode for someone to find them. However, Nintendo has fixed so many of the problems that DQ9 faced with its Tag Mode. You no longer have to be playing a game for someone to tag you with information from that game, you can be tagged anytime anywhere, no matter if you're playing Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars on a bench at Target, or your 3DS is just in sleep mode at work. Nintendo has made Streetpass INFINITELY more convenient than DQ9's Tag Mode and as a result, it's actually working!...

...For some people. Myself included. So how am I getting tags? Well, i actually leave my house for one. I feel like the people that are leveling these complaints must not get out much, because I am certainly not a social person and I am getting tagged left and right by total strangers. I pretty much take my 3DS with me everywhere I go too and it is ALWAYS on. The place that I get the most tags seems to be at Target for some reason. Don't ask me why. If you really are genuinely attempting to use Streetpass and it's just not working out, keep in mind that the 3DS has only been available for 2 weeks. Think about how much easier it will be to get Streetpassed when the number of people who own a 3DS reaches the number of people who currently own a regular DS. Right now the only people that own a 3DS seem to be hardcore gamers. What happens when kids get into this stuff? It's gonna be crazy.



I guess, in conclusion, stop whining about Streetpass and actually put some effort into it. As gamers, we're all looking to connect with other gamers in order to validate our love for gaming and this site is proof of that. If you truly desire to Streetpass another 3DS owner, I guarantee that there are other 3DS owners out there that want it just as bad as you do. Also, stop crying about what the 3DS doesn't have or doesn't do perfectly and accept it for what it is.

I love you guys and I'm sorry for the huge rant and the giant wall of text, haha.