3DS Update Introduces StreetPass Relay Points

The latest 3DS system update has been released, introducing the previously announced StreetPass Relay Points system.

After installing update 6.2.0-12U, which can be done by navigating into the settings menu, 3DS systems will be able to exchange StreetPass data with other handhelds at Nintendo Zone locations. By visiting one of these locations, which are located in places like Best Buy, Starbucks, and McDonalds, your StreetPass data will be stored and then passed on to the next person with any of the same games. You can find the closest Nintendo Zone to you on Nintendo's website.

Previously, two StreetPass-enabled 3DSes had to be physically close to one another, with both in Sleep mode, in order for a StreetPass connection to be made. StreetPass Relay Points remove this need for two 3DS owners to be somewhere at the same time.

Some of Nintendo's biggest games make significant use of StreetPass to unlock various things in-game, including Animal Crossing: New Leaf (adds homes to the Happy Home Showcase), Fire Emblem: Awakening (exchanges players' teams so they may battle each other and so new characters can be recruited), and New Super Mario Bros. 2 (allows players to challenge other players' records in Coin Rush mode). StreetPass also allows players to make use of the built-in StreetPass Mii Plaza games, as well as the premium StreetPass titles launched last month in the U.S.

StreetPass Relay Points were first announced at E3 as a way of expanding the use of StreetPass. Whereas connecting with others through StreetPass is easier to do in Japan, which is one of the more densely populated countries in the world, it can be difficult to make StreetPass connections in the West, particularly if you don't routinely visit a school, mall, or other location where 3DS owners are likely to congregate.

Nintendo has a more vested interest in encouraging StreetPass use than ever before, thanks to the release of the aforementioned new StreetPass Mii Plaza games. The four games, priced at $4.99 each or bundled together for $14.99, have already earned $4 million in just a month's time. Should StreetPass use continue to expand, interest in those games and any future releases would likewise increase. With Wii U's continuing struggles, Nintendo could use any bright spot it can find.

Have you found it difficult to StreetPass with other people on a regular basis? Will this impact whether or not you bring your 3DS with you when leaving the house? Let us know in the comments below, and check IGN tomorrow for all the news from the next Nintendo Direct.

Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who spends his spare time agonizing over the final seasons of The X-Files. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com