How much does the 3DS version matter competitively?

[Nielicus]

EDIT: LOL COMPLETELY MISREAD THE TITLE

Duh the 3DS version will still be ****ing relevant! Think about the people that don't want to buy or don't have enough money to buy a Wii u for smash! Smash 3DS will be the version most own because of cheapness and portability lol. If anything, 3DS will be more relevant than wii u. As far as the competitive scene goes, both will have their fair share of tournaments

 

[WolfieXVII ❂]

Yayyyy flamebait!

 

[Soshii]

I don't understand why everyone is insinuating that a 3DS meta can't coexist with the Wii U meta. Alot of people with a 3DS aren't going to buy a Wii U.

 

[Bjørn Christian Noor]

3DS is for kids and casuals.

/thread

 

[smashbroskilla]

3DS is for kids and casuals.

/thread

Post your Wii U friend code. When the Wii U version launches I'll show you how much of a kid and casual I am.

 

[WheelerFGC]

That's kind of a loaded question.
As a competitive game, I'm not sure whether or not it will still be as relevant (with a multitude of controller options, the Wii U version will be easier to control)
But as a GAME both of them will still be around for quite a while.

 

[Bjørn Christian Noor]

Post your Wii U friend code. When the Wii U version launches I'll show you how much of a kid and casual I am.

Aggressive Great White detected, you caught my bait.

 

[smashbroskilla]

Aggressive Great White detected, you caught my bait.

Bait? There are tons of people who say the same thing you said.

 

[Roxas215]

The 3ds version was always going to be a glorfied demo until the Wii U version comes out at least to the competieve players. This isn't bashing the 3ds version or anything. It's just facts.

To the casuals or people who have no interest in competitive smash at all then of course the 3ds version will be relevant after wii u release.

 

[ScubaF_ingSteve]

I would actually argue for swiss rounds of 3ds play once the new 3ds come out at large nationals and then a top cut consisting of Wii U play. In addition, you would have feature rounds with wii u play every swiss round.

This is better for nationals because you don't need to fill a whole room with HD monitors, just tables for swiss rounds, you will only need a few monitors this way for top cut play, streaming, and friendlies once people drop. It makes tournaments run a LOT smoother and closer to time restraints. If we are going to get the numbers we think we can get because of the rise in popularity of competitive play, a way to streamline huge tournaments is going to be important.

 

[Bjørn Christian Noor]

Bait? There are tons of people who say the same thing you said.

Works like a charm.

 

[Redd500]

The 3ds version was always going to be a glorfied demo until the Wii U version comes out at least to the competieve players. This isn't bashing the 3ds version or anything. It's just facts.

To the casuals or people who have no interest in competitive smash at all then of course the 3ds version will be relevant after wii u release.

I really want to stop people from saying stuff like this as it really isn't going to end well. The whole mentality of "The REAL competitive players will play the Wii U version while the 3DS version is for the casuals" will only lead to separation of the community and ruination of the 3DS scene. Is the Wii U version more competitive? Oh, totally, but that doesn't mean that the 3DS version can't be competitive in its own right and have its own tournaments.

 

[Narth]

You've heard it from competitive players themselves - it'll be good for them to play it on the bus for example when travelling to tournaments. It'l be relevant.

 

[Zanwald]

I was about to waste my breath with six paragraphs on protecting the 3DS variant of the game.. Dodged a bullet.

 

[Colin Steele]

The 3DS version could see its relevance be kept alive simply by the virtue of it being a mobile device. I spend roughly 12 hours on campus during school-days, but only about 6 of those are spent in class, and another 3 studying, leaving a solid couple of hours for free time. This is when I plan to Smash on the 3DS. Also when I travel, I doubt I'll take my Wii-U with me, so again, 3DS smash time.

Competitively relevant? Well why not? It's the same game (essentially) as the Wii-U version, which means that this can afford you a lot of practice time between bracket matches at tournaments. Or car-ride practice.

Of course I think a lot of people consider the 3DS version to be a sort of 'baby' version of Smash, which is fair, but that doesn't mean it will just die.

 

[---]

If you'd rather stick to playing the Wii U version once it comes out that's perfectly fine, but do not come into threads such as this and make troll/flame bait posts.

 

[Arn Allen]

I'm sure that both the 3DS and Wii U Smash games will both coexist side by side plus there will be some people who prefer one version over the other but that's fine as long as the community as a whole prospers.

 

[Ehn Jolly]

It really feels like 3ds tournies would be nice and easy to set up. Like the location could be done anywhere, a park would be nice in the summer instead of inside a cramped building huddled around a screen.

I just don't see the need for a split, like some people will like the 3ds version and others will play the Wii U version. There won't be a split unless people force one, and it'll be more preference.

 

[響「Hibiki」]

Depending on how data transfer works, 3DS may be relevant simply because of custom special moves.
And even if the Wii U version has easy access to that, it might still have a decent enough following to run events, especially if Swiss turns out to be a good format for it.

 

[Emblem Lord]

Portable training room. Got bodied last round? Grab your 3DS and run it back in training mode too get a feel for your last opponents set-ups.

Stuff like that makes smash 3ds invaluable.

 

[Colin Steele]

It really feels like 3ds tournies would be nice and easy to set up. Like the location could be done anywhere, a park would be nice in the summer instead of inside a cramped building huddled around a screen.

I just don't see the need for a split, like some people will like the 3ds version and others will play the Wii U version. There won't be a split unless people force one, and it'll be more preference.

The problem I see with this is the New 3DS' C-stick. Some people will have it, and naturally, some people won't. So there's yet another disparity between sets of Sm4sh players.

I still think it will see most of its relevance in mobile play. I do wonder how limited the set of players will become once they can play the HD version though.

 

[Gea]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3A01jFTk2o

I'm surprised this hasn't been brought up. To me, this all but answers the question of serious tournament play as a question of equality. All other aspects shoved aside, boom, there it is.

 

[KaZe_DaRKWIND]

I don't see why people think the Wii U version will suck everyone away from the 3DS. I'm not the only one who only has a 3DS. I'd say it's a lot more common than you think considering there have been less than 7 million Wii U units sold compared to over 44 million 3DS Units. I can almost guarantee the 3DS scene will be just as large if not larger than the Wii U scene after it comes out.

 

[PND]

I'm just excited to be able to play Smash 3DS on roadtrips to tourneys. Unless the 3DS lag issues get sorted out, I don't see it being competitive in any major way.

 

[Cold Fusion]

3DS brackets will most like run FAR quicker than Wii U brackets. For that reason alone I feel it will be competitively viablel

 

[Luigi player]

Well, we saw that you can play on the 3DS version competitively, but imo I don't think it's good enough (it could be if there was no Wii U version).
Wii U controllers > much more accurate/easier to handle than the 3DS. The buttons are pretty small, even with the 3DS XL (and my hands aren't even big). The stick isn't good enough and after all these destroyed slidepads people got scared as well.
You have a bigger screen with the Wii U version too.
There is also a little lag even between local play - and I'm talking about 1vs1s. Don't let me get started on >2 players (it's good enough to be able to work, but sometimes it's really bad and you don't want that to happen in tournament matches).

The 3DS is good for portable Smashin' (which can be really handy), and it's nice to overcome the wait for the Wii U version with it.

Competitive play is definitely possible on the 3DS, but it's way outclassed on the Wii U in my opinion, so we'll see how it goes. There are some people who won't buy a Wii U and keep playing the 3DS version, so there will probably be a 3DS scene even when the Wii U releases. Not sure how competitive it'll be, though (I'd guess people who take Smash serious enough will definitely switch, or at least play both).

 

[CitizenSNIPS]

Quick question: Are the mechanics of the versions going to be exactly the same? I know Wii U is supposed to have some different features, but are the gameplay mechanics identical?

 

[TheTuninator]

The new 3DS might as well not have a Cstick at all as far as competitive play goes. You can't allow players to use the new 3DS Cstick when many attendees at the tourney will be playing on older 3DSes that don't have that option.

 

[Second Power]

Am I the only person whose more comfortable with the 3DS than any other controller they've tried? I have no idea, but it just feels easier to play. I don't need as much power as with N64/GC, and mess up far less inputs than I do typically. When I do miss up inputs, it's usually due to forgetting where my right thumb is and hitting a wrong button (which won't be a concern once I can change the layout on the full version). Just throwing it out there because I've heard multiple people saying the 3DS is bad for controlling, when I've had the exact opposite experience. Maybe it's a KI:U situation.

 

[smashbro29]

For the record this is not "do you want it to be" or "is it your preference to play on handheld" I'm looking for people's honest opinions on what they think will actually happen.

 

[Gea]

Then to answer that question, TOs are who you should be asking. TOs will likely tell you that they are side event once WiiU comes out. People will organize online/wifi tournaments via 3DS I'm sure. Or people will mess around at tournaments on their 3DS between matches. For what we consider tournament play, I do not see any reason why the 3DS would remain relevant when it has inferior controlscheme and connection issues.

 

[Conda]

The 2 questions we should be asking are these:

1) Would viewers rather watch a 3DS tournament or a Wii U tournament, if they had to choose?

2) Would pro players rather drive to a 3DS tournament or a Wii U tournament, if they had to choose?

Now of course they will not have to choose, but as the years pass, the 'ideal' preference will overshadow the less ideal preference. People will likely eventually get the 3ds version if they couldn't afford a Wii U back in the day, and the professional 3ds-only scene will diminish naturally.

Thus, the answers to the two above questions will show where, as a community, we'll likely end up focusing our efforts in the future. It depends where those who work professionally in this community put their time, money, and devotion.

The 3ds version is awesome, but in the future it may not be the platform people dedicate time and money to operating tournaments for, if they have the option of running a Wii U tournament instead.

For those who do not have the option and are limited to 3ds, then that is the answer to "is the 3ds version competitively relevant?"
It will be relevant for the professional players who do not get the Wii U version. How large that playerbase is is not certain yet, but my guess is small. Professionals tend to equip themselves with the prime tools of their trade.

If they do not have the tools yet, they most likely will down the road, which means the 3ds-only scene will naturally become smaller.