Recent news from Japan: apparently some Pro-Gamers over there aren’t too impressed with the 3D effect created by the Nintendo 3DS, but were very pleased with the new handheld device.

This news coming from an event hosted by Tecmo, publishers of the “Dead Or Alive” series of fighting games, at their Tokyo headquarters; the Dead Or Alive: Dimensions tournament proudly showcased their newest game being developed by Team Ninja, for the newest handheld yet to be released by Nintendo. Sources say that while the gamers in the tournament did like the new handheld, most of them immediately reached for the 3D selector switch, and promptly turned the 3D effect off. Simply put, in order to display a game in stereoscopic 3D, the 3DS limits the frame-rate to a mere 30 frames per second, and the majority of gamers playing preferred their smooth fighting action in 60 frames per second, and that fps is only achieved when the effect is switched off. Some also wondered whether the new handhelds control scheme, the awkwardly positioned D-Pad, would be the target of criticism from the gamers. But no issue was raised, as most gamers focused on the graphics and game-play, which were impressive by many of the gamers standards. Others tested the Wi-Fi capabilities of the system, and some started having improvised wireless versus matches with other gamers in the room, showcasing the handhelds easy and impressive wireless play.

At this point in time, the only competition that Tecmo has to face is from rival developer/publisher Capcom, who’s Street Fighter IV 3D is also being developed for the 3DS. Capcom has officially gained support from Nintendo in terms of marketing their fighter, something Tecmo doesn’t have with their game. Coincidentally, Namco Bandai, developer/publisher for the Tekken series of fighting games, hosted Gods Garden 3, a major tournament event for Tekken fans being held at the same day as the Dead Or Alive Tournament. Namco is rumored to have a new Tekken game in the works for the new portable device, the NGP which is created by Sony; a game that might rival the games developed by Capcom and Tecmo for the Nintendo handheld.

It’s still too early to tell, but I can see one thing from all of these developments: Pro-Gamers who love fighting games are going to have a lot of choices in the future.

More info [via Edge Magazine]