Megadrive1988
Veteran
I'm starting this new thread for several reasons. New information (rumor) has just been reported about the 3DS, also we need a 3DS topic. The current DS2 topic is old and could be confusing to some people, not realising that it's 3DS now.
okay with that said:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/nvidia-unconnected-with-3ds-blog-entry
So who could be powering the 3DS? My bet is PowerVR, manufactured in Japan.
okay with that said:
http://ds.ign.com/articles/109/1094930p1.htmlHow powerful is the 3DS?
Nintendo has not revealed any specs for the 3DS system, but expect it to well surpass the Nintendo DS in visual and processor capabilities. To provide stereoscopic 3D effects the system must have the ability to render each game field twice, one for each of the player's eyes, a technique that will require significant horsepower to produce.
Several developers that have experienced 3DS in its current form have reported, off the record, that it has processing capabilities that far exceed the Nintendo Wii and bring the device with abilities that are close to HD consoles such as PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
According to several developer sources, the 3DS device is not using the NVIDIA Tegra mobile chipset, a rumor that's been floating around since 2009.
NVIDIA unconnected with 3DS
June 5th, 2010
Mobile industry insiders, speaking with Digital Foundry, have said that the much-rumoured tie-up between Nintendo and NVIDIA for the console-maker's auto-stereoscopic 3D handheld is not happening.
According to our two independent, unconnected sources, the Nintendo 3DS - almost certain to be revealed at E3 - features a design totally divorced from the NVIDIA Tegra SoC (system on chip) initially thought to have been powering the DS successor. It's now thought that Nintendo has instead chosen a Japanese partner for the 3D acceleration hardware within the 3DS.
Sources also confirmed that the 3DS' development codename is "Nintendo CTR", meaning that this motherboard picture we ran a couple of weeks back, sourced from the FCC website, is indeed something akin to a development or test station for the new handheld.
This strongly suggests that 3DS does feature a widescreen "glasses free" stereoscopic 3D display, along with a more conventional 4:3 2D display beneath it. Interestingly, it appears that the images of the board published on the FCC website were uploaded in error: they were supposed to have been made public 10 months after the submission in April this year, presumably after the 3DS itself ships.
Meanwhile, IGN corroborates the story that NVIDIA is out of the picture, quoting "off-the-record" developer sources as saying that the 3DS is up there in the power stakes with PS3 and Xbox 360. It's a statement that needs to be taken with barrel-loads of salt bearing in mind the enormous power draw such a chipset would require. If nothing else, Nintendo has a strong track record in excellent battery life with every one of its previous handhelds.
Indeed, even the four-core PowerVP chip said to be at the heart of the PSP2 offers a performance level some way between the original Xbox and the 360. A more modest GPU is therefore a much more realistic proposition, especially bearing in mind that even the iPhone 3GS with its PowerVR SGX535 architecture doesn't exactly command outstanding battery life in 3D gaming.
All of which is interesting tittle-tattle in the here and now, but let's hope that the Nintendo E3 conference on June 15, kicking off at 5pm UK time, will offer more concrete answers.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/nvidia-unconnected-with-3ds-blog-entry
So who could be powering the 3DS? My bet is PowerVR, manufactured in Japan.