The first of what I would call the “next-generation” consoles has officially hit the U.S. market this Sunday. Of course I’m talking about Nintendo’s newest foray into the third dimension, the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS is the first Nintendo console that takes anything other than games seriously. It’s also the first system in a long time that attempts to break down the online multi-player boundaries that plagued the DS and the Wii: by eradicating the need of a different friend code for each game. Nintendo has obviously chosen to forget their past values and move onto the new generation of video game consoles, but do these upgrades suffice?

Sure, you could argue that 3D entertainment is where everyone is going right now, and I wouldn’t disagree but does that warrant a $250 ticket into a new hardware era? Looking at the actual graphical power inside the 3DS is quite shocking. The smart phone in your pocket is nearly as powerful, and if it isn’t, it probably will be before the 3DS enters it’s second anniversary. You’re right, you can’t play Mario on your iPhone 5 or your Motorola Atrix, but you can play Tiny Wings, Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, and Dead Space. You can even make phone calls, text your friends, and browse the Internet over 3G (or even 4G). The problem and point I’m trying to bring out here is that consoles have a very different upgrade cycle compared to phones. Sony was smart enough to unveil their PlayStation Suite and Xperia Play additions to the market. Whether or not it fails doesn’t matter, Sony sees that mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular and vital to the future of gaming.

There are those that will say they are “pure” gamers and will never touch a small bird in a giant slingshot, but for the companies, the money doesn’t lie. Developing a game for the 3DS costs more than it would for iOS, or Android. The typical $0.99 - $1.99 price tag is attractive no matter how new (or old) the concept is-- people will buy it.

Suddenly the 3DS doesn’t sound so good anymore. Not when you can get games that constantly innovate on a platform that is doing the same.

What about innovation on the home console front?

I think everyone will agree that full support of 1080p resolution is a must for any of the home consoles. An Xbox Live-like service would be a wealthy addition to Nintendo’s next iteration, and an overhaul of the PlayStation Network would be welcome. Sony is stepping in the right direction with cloud-based saving. It would be nice for them to focus on making PSN a better experience overall.

Processing speed is a given, but not something that I am necessarily in need of. I am by no means a heavy PC gamer, so I have never witnessed any of the most recent games at their maxed out settings. After recently watching Giant Bomb discuss this topic, they made a great point, reinforced by Crytek’s newest computer conqueror Crysis 2.

Crysis 2 looks beautiful on a fully-loaded PC running at some crazy resolution that I can only dream of, but it looks nearly as good on an Xbox 360. “Nearly” is a relative term, but apart from some slow-loading textures and a severe drop in framerate, it’s essentially the same game. It’s because of games like these that graphical power is not a must for me. I don’t know about you, but I would gladly play another year of games that look like Uncharted 2.

The dude(r)s at Giant Bomb also talked about this idea of Nintendo playing their own game in this console “war” (I really hate that term). It’s the notion that Nintendo makes consoles with small technical upgrades, usually with a well-advertised gimmick and the same titles for every new generation of gamers to have the games they can say “they grew up with”. Playing Ridge Racer in 3D doesn’t change the fact that it’s 2011 and you’re still playing Ridge Racer on a newly released console. Mario and Link are on their way, ready to take advantage of the newest gimmick that Nintendo has to offer.

Motion-gaming is a whole other topic that I’m not sold on yet. Microsoft would disagree while they wave their “4 million Kinect units sold” in my face. I’m sure those people are happy playing Dance Central, and only Dance Central during their monthly dinner party.

If it makes any difference I’m not buying the 3DS, at least not until it gets a re-design. I have thought about purchasing a smart phone though. For me, the Xperia Play will be an interesting event to watch unfold, but I have no interest in participating in Sony’s new idea. Now this , has me all excited. If someone smart enough takes that idea and runs with it, we could see mobile gaming come into it’s own.

The “next-generation” of consoles are coming whether we like it or not. The current generation has lasted a long time, more than every previous set. It’s going to be hard to keep them around for so long again with so many choices for improvement. That is unless you’re content with flailing around with your friends on a bus, in front of a camera, shoving one dollar bills into a console, wearing glasses on a plastic skateboard.