Console Wars: 3DS, Now with Fun!
June 8, 2011
So this week marks another E3, and along with all the vast outpouring of video game news I get to make comics commenting on the vast outpouring of video game news, which means it’s time for another edition of Console Wars!
Today I comment of the 3DS, seeing that as of last night the 3DS has all the bells and whistles it should have had since launch. It not has it’s internet browser up and running, and it is by far faster than the Dsi’s browser by far. Also the Virtual Console is up and running. And here comes my rant for the day.
When you buy stuff over the internet for the Wii, DS, or Xbox, don’t really know how the PSN works, but I can only assume it is the same. Everything you buy is in a special currency, that you have to buy with real money. The major downfall of this system is that the games tend to cost $1, $4, $12, or $15, but the currency can only be purchased in $5, $10, $15, and $20 amounts. The downside is obvious. You’ll always have to buy more virtual currency than you need to download a particular game. I’ve had a 360 and Wii for years, and I’ve bought many games online for them, and my virtual monies hhave never been zero. I’ve always been in a virtual money limbo after a purchase. Not enough to buy something else. The 3DS uses a slightly different system. All the items are listed with cash values, not points. So I figured each game is a whole separate purchase, no secondary virtual money buying step necessary. Oh how wrong I was.
In order to buy something on the 3DS Virtual Console you still need to purchase virtual money in $5, $10, $15 or $20 dollar amounts. The real reason why everything is listed in cash values is so they can tax you accordingly, Which I say is BULLSHIT! In the old system I was fine with having 100, or 200 points left over after a purchase, it was a whole number. Eventually I could get to a zero state, it was possible. Now I get taxed 6.5% on every purchase, so instead of having 100 leftover points I have $3.64 cents. There is no way in hell I’ll ever get that value back to zero, Nintendo will always have a little bit of my cash that I can’t do anything with, and that is fucking bullshit.
They need to change the system back to the way it was, or do away with the middle step of purchasing virtual money. You want to sell this classic game boy game for $4.99. Awesome, I’ll buy it, but don’t make me buy $10.00 of virtual money first, cause I want my damn change!