Imagining the 3DS

3DS producer Hideki Konno talked a little bit about Tag Mode as a system service this past E3, which is something that really interests me intensely. What we know is that Tag Mode—previously featured in specific games—sets a system to broadcast game-specific information, exchanging that information with other systems the user passes by, even when the system is asleep. The problem was that you had to have that game inserted, had to manually activate it, and had to effectively stop using your DS for anything else. 3DS is supposed to make this work much more smoothly as it will carry and exchange data for any and all games that support it simultaneously.

Nintendo has, since the E3 reveal, registered a trademark called "CrossPass," which nearly everyone reasonably expects is the new moniker for 3DS' enhanced version of Tag Mode. Here's how I think it might work.

For starters, much like Wii's WiiConnect24 exchanges data and even lights your drive light for new messages, I imagine CrossPass would be able to work even while you're playing games. 3DS owners would ideally also not typically turn their systems off at all, instead putting them into a low-power CrossPass mode, drastically enhancing the chances that people would be able to experience random "passerby communication." When CrossPass data is exchanged, a user could possibly view it on a screen like the one pictured here.


Now, first: I expect the Mii to transcend the Wii and become a Nintendo trademark, so it'll be present here. Here we see a parade of CrossPassed Miis—like with the ring, we could navigate the stream with the d-pad or touch screen. The Mii in the center faces the user and lets him know what software he has CrossPass data for, which the user can then gain access to by starting that particular software. (What data we'll share ourselves in CrossPass would be determined inside each game; we don't need to provide UI for it here.)

The cool part about having this interface, though, is that it can be used as not just an interface to data we're actively seeking out, but also as a window into what sorts of games passers-by are playing, even if we don't have them ourselves. We could see through this UI that even though we're not playing it, that there's a lot of Dragon Quest XI in the air, for example. It might compel us to check it out. You could even watch CrossPass find people live in this subscreen, making for a neat little virtual people-watching experience.

There are a couple concerns about CrossPass that should, of course, be addressed here. The first is that of battery life. I think Nintendo is already on this, actually, with the charging/docking station that they showed us at E3. By establishing a usage pattern by which 3DS users put their systems into the dock every night, they can make sure the system's battery is topped off at all times, as well as provide a home base for Internet communication (see the next section for more on that). CrossPass itself, when in mobile mode, could restrict itself to just looking for other 3DS systems, which should present some opportunities for lowering power consumption.

The second is, of course, population density. With the DS, this makes Tag Mode very difficult to exploit in the U.S. and everywhere that's not Japan. I think CrossPass, just by virtue of the way it works, will help solve this—particularly if Nintendo does indeed make the 3DS' default "off" mode CrossPass-enabled and not completely powered-down, and if developers make sure that there's plenty to do with CrossPass even if you don't have many CrossPass-enabled games, like the virtual people-watching I mentioned up above.


There was one more aspect about the 3DS' connectivity that was mentioned, a little less prominently than CrossPass itself—3DS will also have some sort of way for Nintendo to "push" content to 3DS systems. I think it's valuable to look a little bit at Wii's networking options for some inspiration here.

As I said regarding CrossPass, I expect the 3DS dock to have a little more meaning than just a charging station. When in the dock, 3DS could kick in a higher-power Internet mode where it associates with its owner's home Wi-Fi network and checks for new content. I picture the new content arriving here as an Inbox, not at all dissimilar from email, except with a little more meaning.


Of course, just like with WiiConnect24, you'd be able to send free-form text messages to your 3DS' universal friend list. But then you'd also be able to use it to send invitations to play games online, using the Mario Kart Wii model (though hopefully made slightly more reliable). With the addition of the ability to automatically accept these invitations from friends without the user ever seeing them, this right here could easily become the basis for a much smoother online experience on Nintendo's platforms.

But it need not end there. Nintendo has been experimenting a bit with user-generated content lately; with the Inbox, 3DS owners could distribute their content immediately and directly to their friends. For those who truly live out in the boonies, CrossPass-enabled games could also have the option to use the Inbox to exchange data with friends over the Internet. Certain games could use the Inbox to let friends opt to challenge each other, sending notifications of high scores back and forth as each side struggles for supremacy.

And of course, just like they currently do with WiiConnect24, Nintendo themselves would use the Inbox to send new content to 3DS owners. There might not even be a physical message, if the game in question calls for surprise, but having one to alert someone to something new in a game they're playing might stimulate them to check it out. (As a parent, I'm actually already sort of afraid of hearing my kids demand to get into a new game because Nintendo made their "new content" light blink overnight.)

Nintendo could and should also use the Inbox to give the inevitable 3DSWare a boost, notifying users of newly-avaiable content as well as, when appropriate, preloading a demo or two. Of course, this brings up the question of whether the Inbox will start to annoy, and that's why it needs to have good controls for letting the 3DS owner filter updates effectively.

This is probably way crazy, but I'd also like to see the possibility of having the Inbox integrated with external Internet services. You might not want to read all your email there, but selective partnerships with various things that may not even directly tie into games could be pretty cool to see on your 3DS—particularly if it comes equipped with a much faster version of Opera, giving these notifications jumping-off points into the Web.

There's a lot here to consider, and in the end, who knows what Nintendo will and will not do. I actually expect them to do both a little less than what I want and yet a little more in an area I didn't even know I wanted. Whatever it is we eventually get, there's a lot of potential in 3DS, and I'm looking forward to software that really takes good advantage of it. In just a few short weeks, we should know a lot more. Just like all of you, I'm anxiously waiting to see what Nintendo's been grinding away at.