Up-Close Look at the Limited Edition Nintendo 3DS XL Louvre Museum Audio Guide

In the massive hallways of the Louvre Museum, a small device hangs from necks of visitors like a lost relic. This is a limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL that has been redesigned exclusively to guide visitors through centuries of art and history using spoken words as well as illuminating graphics. Nintendo made only 5,000 of these handhelds, and donated them to the museum in 2020.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the world’s greatest video game designer, came up with the idea while wandering through his own neighborhood museum. He was always dissatisfied with the old audio guides that required you to punch in numbers for each painting; it never seemed like enough. Why not just give people something lighter that can evoke memories when they’re standing in front of a certain piece? He’d been presenting the idea while the original DS was still in circulation, testing it in malls and schools to see if it would catch on. The Louvre listened, but only after trials proved the concept could handle a palace’s scale.

On this version, there is no stylus sticking out from one side since the slot is tightly shut. The cartridge bay is also blocked, which is a purposeful design aspect to keep you focused and avoid distractions. And at the base, a wonderful wide strap loops around your neck, allowing the entire item to swing freely while walking. Combine it with the supplied headphones (which, by the way, proudly display Nintendo’s branding) and you’ve got a system designed for hours on your feet.

The startup takes a couple of minutes of internal processing as it searches for the museum’s hidden Wi-Fi signals. Those were Wi-Fi beacons, scattered across the ceiling like invisible guards, feeding the device your location. Blue light flashes, then yellow, and suddenly the two screens come to life: a top view of the Louvre’s sprawling floors, a bottom one waiting for your touch. The speakers are designed to be silent, so put in your headphones. Voices emerge, calm and measured, first in French, then in English, or in a dozen other languages. Select a path: the 90-minute masterpiece trail that leads from Italian paintings to golden treasures, or the family route that skirts the margins of the more emotional scenes.

Nintendo has taken efforts to keep these devices connected to the Louvre. At startup, a message in French flashes on the screen: “Cette console a été conçue pour la visite du Louvre et n’est compatible avec aucun logiciel du marché” (This console was designed for the Louvre visit and is not compatible with any market software). For the more adventurous, you can remove the SD card by popping the back cover, which features tiny screws that are easily removed. On a computer, uninstalling a rogue file restarts the countdown. The timer basically enables the device to start up and operate the Louvre Guide app for a brief initial period (few minutes) even while not connected to the museum’s internal network (for example, if taken to the Louvre shops). Following the grace period, it does a connectivity check. If it fails (there is no museum Wi-Fi or beacons identified), the app/app access is restricted or disabled, effectively locking the device until it is reset or reconnected.