Louvre goes visual with Nintendo 3Ds guide

“The classic, usual audio guide works better. I would have to search for the information that’s on this, instead of just pressing the number” next to a work of art, said Naoyuki Tomizawa, a 41-year-old IT manager from Tokyo.

Then a Louvre staffer showed how the console can do that, too.

“Oh, I didn’t notice that,” Tomizawa replied. “I haven’t played around with it enough. The navigation part’s good, when you get lost and don’t know where you are.”

Meera Bickley, a 45-year-old yoga teacher from Byron Bay, Australia, said she arrived too late in the day _ shortly before closing _ and could have used more time to figure out the console.

“Once I figured out how to use it, it was definitely helpful. The imagery was great, the maps … but actually finding my way in and being able to use it, was quite complex,” she said. “I was born in the wrong decade!”

Indeed, her 14-year-old daughter, Matilda Dods, said it was easy.

“I figured it out immediately. It gives you instructions on the screen. It says: press ‘A’ to get this and press ‘B’ to get this … it’s easy to figure out,” said Dods. “Mom is challenged.”

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