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Nintendo Explains 3DS's Short Battery Life

3ds

by Matt Helgeson on January 27, 2011 at 05:08 PM

14,154 Views

While most of the news regarding Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld has been positive, many gamers balked when they saw that Nintendo estimated the unit's battery life at between three and five hours.

In a recent installment of the company's "Iwata Asks" web feature, Nintendo head Satoru Iwata speaks with designer of the system, Ryuji Umezu, about a number of issues, including the battery life. In the Q&A, Umezu says the reason for the short battery life is the 3DS's LCD backlight and the technical demands of displaying 3D graphics.

“What eats more electricity than anything in a handheld gaming device is the LCD backlight,” says Umezu. 3DS has two backlights, one for each screen, the upper one being used for 3D. “The 3D one has to deliver separate images to the left and right eyes,” he continues. “Which means that in 3D the amount of light delivered to each eye is halved. In order to make it look just as bright as usual, you have to increase the brightness of the backlight, which increases the power used by even more.”

He also says that using the unit's power save feature could extend battery life by 10 to 20 percent, and that playing with 3D graphics turned off (using the 3D slider functionality) could save you up to 25 percent on power draw.

Either way, it's a bit disappointing that the 3DS won't match the excellent battery life of the DS.

Source: Edge

Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, 3D, 3ds, handhelds, battery life, ryugi umezu, lcd backlight, explained

Comments

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by chris bishop Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:22 PM

ouch
by Mray901 Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:24 PM

I guess that makes sense. I usually play with my DS/PSP hooked up anyway, so the low battery life doesn't really bother me. This makes me wonder though: Will NGP's battery life be longer or shorter since it's more powerful, but doesn't use 3D?
by Slowe Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:25 PM

***, didn't even hear about that...makes sense but still sucks all the same =(
by Tanooki Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:29 PM

I know I'm in the minority here, but I just don't care. I don't game on the go. I buy handhelds for their library and not their portability, so if the juice gets low I'll just plug it in.
by revanvsshorts Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:29 PM

That's gonna be a mjor drawback for the 3DS.
by Dave Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:31 PM

Thus is the sacrifice you make for innovation. :/
by Bernie Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:33 PM

I think I kind of might wait for the inevitable version 2.0 with sewing machine attachment. Well no I've preordered, but that sort of sucks.
by Earthbound_X Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:36 PM

Not a huge deal to me, since I usually play my DS and PSP at home.
by Harvester of Sorrow Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:40 PM

That's a DUH answer.

I don't think they can explain it in a way that will be satisfying. Of course, I'm not one who is in love enough with this pseudo-3D fad to forgo functionality.

Fortunately it matters less to me now that I'm older, but still the fact that this system wouldn't have been able to outlast the trip to college is... sad.
by Jason R. Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:43 PM

Well NGP, there you go.
by jdkscore Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:45 PM

A monkey could have figured that out. But that's why I'm waiting a while before I get this. Not only will they probably improve the battery life, but I guarantee that Nintendo will release like a different version of the 3DS, just like they with the original DS and DSi. Plus the price will most likely drop if you wait
by 333ninjas Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:48 PM

Every product on the market is made to be cost efficient, and so it's no surprise that tech is always limited in its capabilities, durability,lifespan, and so on. A short battery life is not that big of a deal, at least the thing works...as far as we know
by Vurtax Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:48 PM

tl;dr version: IT EATS ELECTRICITY!
by chipsHH Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:50 PM

still doesn't explain something we didnt know. we knew that turning off 3D would extend battery life.
by thatwonkid91 Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:51 PM

the whold point of the 3ds is 3d....why would i turn it off -.-
by Man Icarus Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:54 PM

duh
by utopianmachine Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:55 PM

Because there won't be a 3DSi Lite XL, no. ;)
by farlus Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:56 PM

Perhaps they should have made the unit a little bigger and used a bigger battery? Or maybe give an option for an external battery? I don't know, whatever the reason, 3-5 hours for a handheld is just unacceptable, especially one that costs $250.
by Boyzby Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 05:59 PM

Y'know, I figured as much.