Nintendo 3DS

An Aqua Blue Nintendo 3DS.

This article or section is a short summary on Nintendo 3DS.
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The Nintendo 3DS is a handheld console developed by Nintendo, released on February 26^th, 2011 in Japan, March 27^th, 2011 in North America, March 25^th, 2011 in Europe, and March 31^st, 2011 in Australia. It is the primary successor to the Nintendo DSi, and was first revealed at E3 2010. While the design of both systems are similar, the 3DS now features a control-stick style button known as the Circle Pad.

The main gimmick behind the 3DS, like the name suggests, is its ability to display images in stereoscopic 3D without the use of 3D glasses. The 3D feature allows developers to add more depth and style to the games. For example, in Super Mario 3D Land, certain 1-Up Mushrooms are actually just cardboard cutouts. The only easy way to tell the difference between the fakes and the real mushrooms is to turn on the 3D feature. While most games do not incorporate the 3D feature as a gameplay mechanic, it is regardless available for use.

Like the DSi, Nintendo eventually released the 3DS XL, on July 28^th, 2012 in Japan, August 19^th, 2012 in North America, July 28^th, 2012 in Europe, and August 23^rd, 2012 in Australia. The same aspects of the system return, except now the 3DS has been scaled up about 90%, to allow those with bigger hands a more comfortable experience. Nintendo also released a 2DS, a version of the 3DS that is unable to use the 3D feature but still plays its games. The system is no longer foldable, and less portable. This was created likely so that younger players could play the games without having the 3D effect harm their eyes.

The 3DS is backwards compatible, meaning games for the DS and DSi are still playable on the 3DS; the Circle Pad will work with them as well. However, toggling 3D does not do anything because the games are not designed to handle it, and the 3D light will turn off to indicate this. The successor to the 3DS, the New Nintendo 3DS, was released in 2014 in Japan and Australia, and in early 2015 for Europe and America. The New 3DS, unlike its predecessors, already had an XL version upon launch. Interestingly, the XL version is the only version that is being released in America.

Pikmin content

Hey! Pikmin

Gameplay in Hey! Pikmin.

Main article: Hey! Pikmin.

In the Nintendo Direct on September 1^st, 2016, a new Pikmin game was revealed, tentatively titled Pikmin for Nintendo 3DS. Unlike past Pikmin games, it is a 2.5D sidescroller. The April 12^th, 2017 trailer revealed the game's final name to be Hey! Pikmin.

AR Cards

AR Games

The Pikmin AR Card.

Bundled with the Nintendo 3DS is a pack of AR Cards. These cards can be used in the built-in app AR Games, and in various software that supports AR Cards, like Tomadachi Life. The main use of the cards in AR Games is to take pictures of them in the mini-game Star Photos, where the characters in the cards come to life, in static poses. The player is able to take photos with them and the Question Mark Cube.

One of the cards has a leaf Red Pikmin, a flower Yellow Pikmin, and a bud Blue Pikmin. When scanned into AR Games, the Pikmin are stylized like the ones from Pikmin, and, like the other characters, feature 5 different poses. Interestingly, the third pose shows three Pikmin carrying a 1 pellet, something that is not possible in the games, but possible in various forms of prerelease content and rumors.

The Red Pikmin is laying down, while the others are standing up.
The Red and Yellow Pikmin are running, and the Blue Pikmin has tripped.
The 3 Pikmin are carrying a blue 1 pellet.
The yellow and Red Pikmin are planted, and the Blue Pikmin stares at the sprouts.
All 3 Pikmin join hands.

Japanese eShop cards

The Japanese eShop cards with Pikmin AR Cards bundled in.

In Japan, three Pikmin-themed AR cards came bundled with eShop cards.^[1] The Yellow Pikmin card comes bundled with a 1000 Yen card, the Red Pikmin card comes with a 2000 Yen card, and the Blue Pikmin comes with a 3000 Yen card. Each card shows a Pikmin of the same color on it. With them, pictures can be taken. Unlike the bundled AR Cards, these can be freely moved around, and the Pikmin will interact with them accordingly. For example, if the card is held upside down, the Pikmin will hang onto the card before falling down. By tapping the cards, more Pikmin can be spawned. Tapping with the maximum amount of Pikmin on the card will turn it into a different whistle. This whistle will organize the Pikmin into lines. The ? card bundled with the 3DS will show a Red Bulborb when used with this card set. The Bulborb will chase after the Pikmin if they are close enough. These cards have not been released outside of Japan.

Red Pikmin card.
Yellow Pikmin card.
Blue Pikmin card.
The back of a Pikmin AR card.

Themes

Currently, there are three Pikmin-related 3DS themes available on the 3DS Theme Shop. One is called "Pikmin Working Together", and features a picture with the various Pikmin types on top. On the bottom, there is an animated image of various Pikmin working, being followed by a Red Bulborb. The second is called "Pikmin and a Hungry Bulborb". This theme features many cartoon styled Pikmin on the top screen walking. On the bottom screen is a cartoon-styled Bulborb which will shift its eyes when the cursor on the bottom screen is moved.

The third theme released near the releases of Hey! Pikmin, and is about that same game. It's called "Hey! Pikmin: Adventure Together". The top screen shows the scene from the European boxart, while the bottom screen has a large strip of terrain in a sideways view, with Captain Olimar, Pikmin, and some enemies scattered around. Music from the game plays when this theme is active. It was released in Japan on June 28^th, 2017, and in the US in July 13^th, 2017.

Like most themes, all of these are available for $1.99 / €1.99 / £1.79 each.

The "Pikmin Working Together" theme.
The "Pikmin and a Hungry Bulborb" theme.
The "Hey! Pikmin: Adventure Together" theme.

Streetpass Mii Plaza Puzzles

Streetpass Mii Plaza is a pre-installed game where players use Miis that they have encountered to complete games. One game, "Puzzle Swap", requires players to take pieces that they don't have from other players, in order to finish puzzles of various Nintendo characters or games. There are currently 4 Pikmin-themed puzzles on "Puzzle Swap". The first is a picture of a Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin looking up at the sky. The other 3 are still-frames from the Pikmin Short Movies.

Puzzle name	Pieces	Release	Regions released
Pikmin	15	Pre-Installed	International
PIKMIN Short Movies 3D: The Night Juicer	15	2014 Spotpass November update	Japan, America, and Europe
PIKMIN Short Movies 3D: Treasure in a Bottle	15	2014 Spotpass November update	Japan, America, and Europe
PIKMIN Short Movies 3D: Occupational Hazards	15	2014 Spotpass November update	Japan, America, and Europe

Nintendo Badge Arcade

The image tweeted by Nintendo with the release of the Pikmin badges.

Nintendo Badge Arcade (Collectible Badge Center in Japan) is an app for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a crane game in which players must use the crane to grab or knock the badges into the bottom of the screen, awarding the player with said badges to decorate their 3DS Home Menu.

In order to play, players must purchase plays on the Nintendo e-Shop. In the US, 5 plays cost $1.00, and the player is able to purchase bundles of 10, 15, and 20 plays for $2.00, $3.00, and $4.00 respectively. Another method of getting plays is by playing the Practice Catcher. Once the player accumulate 10 practice badges, they get a free play. Some practice badges have blue or red targets on the back of them, giving players 1 or 3 free plays respectively. Occasionally, Nintendo will do Free Play giveaways, giving one free play on certain days.

On May 1^st, 2015, Nintendo released a batch of Pikmin badges for the game.^[2] The badges include Captain Olimar, Pikmin, and pellets, amongst others.^[3]

Pikmin Safari

Main article: Pikmin Safari.

Pikmin Safari is a short series where the areas of PNF-404 in Pikmin 3 are explored by Alph and narrated by a man identified as Winston Chumling. It uses many documentary techniques, like switching between close ups of the animals and zoomed out shots of Alph walking. They were released on the Nintendo Video app on the 3DS. There are currently only 3 documentaries, for Garden of Hope, Distant Tundra, and Tropical Wilds. Since the Nintendo Video app was removed, Pikmin Safari was discontinued.

Software

Hey! Pikmin is a Pikmin game available exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS. The Pikmin Short Movies were available for purchase on both the 3DS and Wii U eShop – the 3DS version has images in 3D, while the Wii U version's video is in high quality. The software was removed from the eShop on October 8th, 2020 and was uploaded to Nintendo's YouTube Channel a day later. Although not belonging to the Pikmin canon, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is also game with Pikmin elements on the 3DS.

Other

When transferring downloadable content from DSi to 3DS, or 3DS to 3DS XL, various types of Pikmin are seen "carrying" the data over.

Pikmin 3 was originally made for the Game Boy Advance, and later Nintendo 3DS, but Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't happy with either of these consoles limitations for the game he envisioned. Eventually, he settled on using the Wii U.^[4]

A Red Pikmin hat can be obtained for the Streetpass Mii Plaza in the Find Mii mini-game. It can be worn by the player's Mii.