Just a  little  gathering of 3DS mini-news and trivia:

So far, so good for Nintendo Video: as promised, the company delivered three new 3D videos via Spotpass. Bearshark is, by far, the most fun and twisted of the bunch–and it’s interesting to see a tradional hand-drawn Loony Tunes tribute in 3D. The second new arrival, OK Go’s music video All is not Lost, is beautifully done and a natural for the 3D format. I miss the dogs from their previous piece, though. The third entry is the Smurfs movie trailer. Shrug. (more…)

I think we can all agree that StreetPass is one of the most alluring features of the Nintendo 3DS. Unfortunately for me, I live in a small town with a population of about 2,000, and it’s an hour to the closest Wal-mart, and five to the closest mall. My count of StreetPass encounters to date comes to a total of…zero.

But I am glad to hear that many of our readers have been more fortunate than I. I’m interested to know how often it happens to you. If you’ve gotten hits on games like nintendogs+cats or Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, let us know! I’m especially curious about that aspect.

North American owners of Nintendogs + cats got a Spotpass notice on their devices yesterday, telling them that the 26th President of the United States had dropped by for a visit, bringing along his bull terrier, Pete. The notification included a bit of historical background about the dog’s infamous reputation (he was accused of ripping the pants off a french ambassador.)

Now, this is fun. If you own N+c, Theodore Roosevelt and his dog are now residents of your Nintendogs town! You can meet up with the pair for a game of Frisbee in the park or simply wait to encounter them on a walk. Roosevelt brings a gift for your puppy! I won’t spoil the surprise, but let’s just say he didn’t spend a lot. (more…)

If you’re looking for a cartridge that includes Samus Cat, classical music, 3D dog poop, birds flying at your face, Elvis hairdos, RC helicopters and an entire house themed around Super Mario Brothers…boy, have I got a game for you!

Or, non-game, I should say. Though it contains excellent competition events, Nintendogs + cats—like its predecessor—is not really a game at all. It’s a strange, surreal, heart-tugging experience—a condensed, crazy mix of everything that’s cute and funny about owning a pet. And it’s 100% Nintendo, with all the detail, wackiness and ingenuity that implies. (more…)

We’ve entered a new era, and glasses-free 3D is now a very real option for modern gameplay. Nintendo’s 3DS launch lineup presents a wide range of approaches in utilizing the new feature, with varying results. Based on extensive time with much of the lineup, here are my entirely subjective pretend-awards for best uses of the third dimension: (more…)