When the initial three-to-five-hour battery life figure for the 3DS went public, many of us were left wondering what conditions could affect that amount of time. In the new Iwata Asks, 3DS designer Ryuji Umezu and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata give us some much-needed context.
Basically, it's what you'd expect; the 3D and backlighting require a lot of energy. Nintendo has implemented a power save mode which "precisely controls the brightness of the backlight according to the brightness of the screen being displayed," says Umezu. "When the screen as a whole is dark, the backlight itself gets darker, which saves power."
"When I measured [battery life] by playing several Nintendo games, with the backlight set to the brightest level and the power save mode turned off, battery duration was about three hours. But if you use the power save mode under the same conditions, it gets about 10-20% longer. And if you set the backlight to the darkest setting, the battery lasts five hours, but the power save mode makes less of a difference then."
Umezu also explains that the wireless StreetPass functionality doesn't make a huge difference, "but games that communicate a lot through local play and online play -- with the backlight set to high -- have an over 10% effect on the battery."
Nintendo Explains 3DS Battery Life [Edge]
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Contest:
2:40 PM on 01.27.2011 | 
Sony have said the PSP2 has 4-5. Same as PSP1 basically.
Well I'm not complaining about PSP2. Or are you trying to say 3DS should have better battery? Im not sure...
Err anyways I think PSP2 supposed battery life is fine all I can say is its fugly and it needs 3rd party support because Sony 1st party does not appeal to me at all. I'm not completely shitting on it nor am I as hyped as others.
The 3DS is taking tons of criticism for this terrible battery life, I have no idea what you guys are flapping about. Also, if the NGP has comparable battery life, then that is bad too, not because people are prejudiced against Sony but because then both devices would have crap battery life. Sony earned their reputation with the PSP just as Nintendo's changing theirs with the 3DS.
I was thinking the same thing!
Oh, 3-5hrs hours is horrible for the PSP2 the 3DS can last at least 3-5hrs!
No where did Sony say that the PSP2's 3-5hrs was with everything full tilt or powersaved...did they?
@Excell-2011
I lol'd.
Although I do like the long life of my DSlight
No, I love how PSP2 is getting shit on because quite frankly they both have terrible batter lifespans. But frankly who gives a shit. The only time this will actually be a problem for anyone is for anyone who does annual/semi-annual/frequent 5 Hour plus flights and doesn't have the money to (somehow despite the freakish cost of airflights) to purchase an external charger.
You'll just need to form a habit of recharging your 3DS every day before you go to school/work.