3dSen PC is a NES emulator with a unique and very cool twist. It has been in development for about 5 years and was released today on Steam Early Access.

The emulator currently supports Steam input, the ability to create save states, and a "dynamic skybox," and according to the Early Access FAQ, first-person play is also possible, though this is still being worked out. The list of supported games is also "growing."

According to the Steam page, the geodstudio.net trailer "doesn't do it justice," but another video by speedrunner Kosmic does indeed do it justice. While the "normal" 3D perspective can be seen in motion, it also shows off the camera rotations during gameplay and the odd visuals that result. It shows that Mario looks better from the side than from directly in front of him.

3dSen is not free, so if the author sells the software on a prominent store, there may be a quick and harsh response from Nintendo. Although the emulator itself is legal, Nintendo could still threaten or pressure Valve to not allow 3dSen to be sold. [Ironically, the version of Super Mario Bros. that Nintendo sold on the Wii Virtual Console could have been downloaded from the Internet.) Nevertheless, the company is still clearly opposed to emulation, as evidenced by a statement posted on its corporate website for years:

"The introduction of emulators created to play illegally copied Nintendo software is the video game developer's biggest threat to their intellectual property rights to date. As with any business or industry, when its products are made available for free, the source of revenue that supports that industry is threatened. Such emulators could do great damage to the global entertainment software industry, which generates more than $15 billion annually and creates tens of thousands of jobs."

"The distribution of emulators developed to play illegally copied Nintendo software hurts Nintendo's goodwill and the millions of dollars Nintendo and its licensees have invested in research, development and marketing. It will cause significant harm to Nintendo and its licensees. Whether or not anyone benefits from the distribution of the emulators is irrelevant. Emulators promote the playing of illegal ROMs, not legitimate games."

At least for now, the Early Access version of 3dSen released on Steam costs $9/£6.50/€7, a price that may increase when the emulator is fully released. RetroArch, the front end of the emulator, is also scheduled for release on Steam this year, but this is the first emulator on Steam.