Nintendo 3DS Multitasking, Menus, Friends Detailed In Pictures

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I find it a bit strange that while Sony’s newly announced NGP has so many noteworthy features and all of them got ample press time, a fairly major feature that will make its debut on a Nintendo console has been pretty much overlooked, despite the only big hardware features the 3DS had to showcase were 3D, arguably a big one, notably improved visuals and an analog nub.

The Nintendo 3DS will be the first Nintendo handheld to include multitasking, allowing the player to pause their game and perform other activities while the game is in a paused state. Those four icons up there will let you do just that, including jotting down notes in Game Memo or checking out friend activity or the availability of new downloads. This may signal Nintendo’s shift towards handheld console experiences that include more than gaming.