One of the biggest drawbacks to the Nintendo 3DS, a console that by its very nature is reliant on 3D visuals, is its inability to deliver consistent 3D across a wide variety of viewing angles. Tilt the handheld just a smidge and not only do you lose the 3D, but the picture becomes blurry.

Though the obvious solution for this situation would be steady hands, there are games that require more movement of the handheld than others, for example Kid Icarus: Uprising. Incorporating the touch controls of the 3DS, Kid Icarus’ gameplay will some console shaking at the very least, and at the very most some heavy movement.

To help combat what could be a game breaker — that is if you were expecting to play Kid Icarus in 3D — Nintendo has announced a new 3DS stand peripheral that will be shipping with the game. This peripheral, which was unveiled by Designer Masahiro Sakurai on Twitter, will help keep the 3DS handheld steady, as long as its resting on a solid surface.

Much like the 3DS circle pad, this 3DS stand seems like an afterthought stopgap for the complaints that will be directed towards Nintendo after Kid Icarus launches in March. Instead of acknowledging the inherent flaws of their console, Nintendo will simply point towards the stand as the recommended solution and leave it at that.

Personally, I have encountered minimal 3D loss while play certain games, but others have been down right nauseating. This stand, while not ideal, could at least ensure gamers get the most 3D out of Kid Icarus. There are of course 3DS titles like Pilotwings, which feature movement as a key gameplay mechanic, and for those types of games this stand is pretty useless.

There’s also no word on whether or not Kid Icarus: Uprising and the stand will be a global bundle or if it is solely a Japanese release. At the very least gamers will have another place to store their 3DS besides the charging station.

What do you think of this 3DS stand? Is this the best solution for eliminating the problematic 3D/motion combination?

Kid Icarus: Uprising releases March 23, 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS.

Source: Masahiro Sakurai