Fact: Nintendo to release HD console + controllers with built-in screen late 2012

[Refreshment]

haha i think nintendo has read this post found when searching for dreamcast controller that had a screen attach thingy if my memory dont fail.

http://www.giantbomb.com/microsoft-...ontroller-my-thoughts-regarding-it/35-227503/

Take you controller with you that includes your save and gamer tag info.
With microgame support to play on the bus. Some good idea that gy has.

That´s basically a VMU, nothing new or creative was described in that post. Plus since MS is promoting those Windows 7 phones, it makes more sense for them to just synch the 360 with them and let you download a "micro" app or whatever. As a funny side note the Wii Remote features a tiny bit of internal memory.

What's the longevity of a touch screen that undergoes the same usage scenario as a controller button?
Do many mobile games on touch screens have button mashing, and how quickly can a tap register versus a button press in rapid succession?
I'm afraid to have a controller too expensive to risk the other player tossing/dropping the controller in anger...

By no means an expert of the technology so i can't help you there sorry. But yes there are touch games that have the need for quick button inputs or mashing, take for example Ouendan on the DS. For an haptic feedback screen like the senseg proposition, they don't provide input lag data, specially concerning the case of repeated button tapping the same key.

But like i said, that type of haptic feedback for a touch panel seems too fair a way as cost effective for the supposed release window of the new Nintendo divice.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

A multi-touch capacitive touchscreen in the controller makes sense to me, as long as it's not replacing analog controls and actual buttons.

For example:
- using it as a mouse touchpad or a virtual keyboard would greatly increase the console's ability to browse the web or simply use a search function (hugely more practical than using analog sticks to navigate or pointing a controller at the screen).
- on-screen game information with customized virtual buttons would give new oportunities for popular group games such as Buzz and Mario Party.
- Again, mouse touchpad mode would open the console to more user-friendly RTSs and MMOs.


Sure, the controllers would be expensive, but I remember how everything with an accelerometer was very expensive prior to the Wii's launch. Now everything comes with an accelerometer as they sell for a few cents in great quantities.
I bet NIntendo could now make a wireless controller with a (3" HVGA?) touchscreen, accelerometer, gyroscope, bluetooth, analog controls (via nunchuck, for example), etc, and still sell it for 50€ at a sizeable profit, like they did with the original wiimote.
Regarding the battery drain, the screen wouldn't have to be always on (i.e. mouse touchpad mode turns it off), and if it's OLED, they can save battery by simplifying the screen output with black backgrounds.




As for the processing hardware... All Nintendo needed was a Juniper-class GPU and it would do loops around X360 and PS3. Even more if using spare ALUs for physics and A.I. stuff.
But I wouldn't get my hopes too high about that. Nintendo's been creating a history of launching consoles with uncompetitive CPU\Graphics performance for 8 years now.
I wouldn't be surprised if the new console turns out closer to NGP in therms of raw hardware power.

But they do need to get access to AAA cross-platform games this time, though (it's the reason why the Wii has been declining so much in the past 2 years), so there may be a chance for powerfull hardware because of that.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

One think you don't need to worry about with Nintendo is build quality.

That doesn't really answer the question. If haptic touch interfaces aren't technologically advanced enough to be durable, there's nowt Nintendo can do about that!

 

[wco81]

Looking forward to hear more information on this, but mostly hoping that this would cause MS and Sony hasten a bit their plans for the next gen. I've been ready for a refresh a long time already.

Ditto.

It's well past time for someone to raise the bar on graphics.

If Nintendo only tries to achieve parity or produce slightly better graphics, it won't compete with the PS3/360 or their next gen efforts.


It's ridiculous for consoles to remain still when tablets are outputting 1080p graphics via HDMI, and only going to get better SOCs every year.

 

[Farid]

HD is a very relative term, it does not mean it has to be 1280x720 or above.

If the screen has a relatively high PPI (pixel-per-inches), calling it HD would make sense from a technical and marketing standpoint.

Anyway, what I really want to learn more about is what solution Nintendo will choose for their CPU and GPU. The TDP for Llano is quite reasonable even in all its configuration forms (between 25 and 100W), and if they're shooting for a 2012 release a Wichita/Krishna/Trinity APU is a possibility.

 

[Megadrive1988]

I hope Nintendo goes with a powerful multi-core PowerPC CPU and at least a Radeon 4800-level GPU. I want a 100x leap in graphics over Wii. Imagine Mario Galaxy 3 at 1080 60fps with near CGI-like visuals & lighting. sign me up. This E3 will be incredible to say the least.

 

[axehandle]

Ditto.

It's well past time for someone to raise the bar on graphics.

If Nintendo only tries to achieve parity or produce slightly better graphics, it won't compete with the PS3/360 or their next gen efforts.


It's ridiculous for consoles to remain still when tablets are outputting 1080p graphics via HDMI, and only going to get better SOCs every year.

I concur. A 4 inch screen at 960x640 is "higher def", in relative terms, than a 50 inch screen at 1280x720. High Definition is a measure of pixel density.

 

[AlphaWolf]

so you should look forward to a 1" 200ppi display.

 

[eastmen]

A 1080p zelda is enough for me to get it.

Man the nintendo fanboy in me that died 6 years ago changed into a zombie to rise again.

the zelda's have been sucking , majora's mask was the last good one , twilight princess was bad and skyword sword doesn't look any better if not infact look worse.

 

[Deleted member 13524]

I hope Nintendo goes with a powerful multi-core PowerPC CPU and at least a Radeon 4800-level GPU. I want a 100x leap in graphics over Wii. Imagine Mario Galaxy 3 at 1080 60fps with near CGI-like visuals & lighting. sign me up. This E3 will be incredible to say the least.

Given Dolphin's success with the PowerPC JIT recompiler on x86 CPUs, I believe a PowerPC isn't really mandatory to get "flawless" emulation for Wii and Gamecube. Given the proper development resources, I believe a 4-core Llano (as suggested by some in this thread and even AMD themselves) would be up to the task. The emulator even uses OpenCL!


I don't know if a high-end Llano would be powerfull enough to make that "Wow!" factor amongst. I bet a Trinity would make more sense if they want something that easily overshadows X360 and PS3.

so you should look forward to a 1" 200ppi display.

God, please.. no..
2.8" as bare minimum for any actual functionality.

 

[-tkf-]

Why would Nintendo even care for BC? Arent they interested in selling all the Wii games once more with updated graphics and controll?

I would like to update my current Gamecube with something modern, i hope the rumours are true and they add BR to the mix.

 

[RudeCurve]

As far as the screen on the controller is concerned, I could see it being used to replace in-game pop-up menus. I hate opening up menus in a game and it covers the screen while I'm selecting items. Would work really well for selection different weapons/items really fast on a single touch screen then having to scroll through stuff with hard mapped buttons.

The Blu-ray will be a great bonus too, hopefully it will work for movies as well and not just for games like the Wii's *cough* DVD drive.

 

[DieH@rd]

I'd hope a 6850 can beat current consoles. Problem being it also consumes as much power as current consoles.

6850 absolutely destroys PS3's GPU [that is between gf7600 and 7800]. But its not power friendly, at least not at its current 2010 manufacturing process.

 

[DieH@rd]

Update: Sources now confirm to IGN the new Nintendo controller allows players to stream entire games to the device from the console, saying it's like a miniature television. The screen size on the controller is also confirmed to be six inches in size.
http://wii.ign.com/articles/116/1162045p1.html


OMG. Local variant of ONLIVE! It the TV is ocupied by other housemembers, games can be streamed to the gamepad and played from there. So cool, but i wonder what kind of battery life will gamepad have in those circumstances. 6" screen, maybe few buttons, and constant wifi connection.

 

[Trejser]

Old?

According to the latest report, 'Wii 2' is being internally referred to as 'Project Café', and sports architecture similar to that of the Xbox 360, "but a bit more powerful".

It says the console will include a custom IBM PowerPC CPU with three cores, a GPU from the ATI R700 family with a shader unit at version 4.1, and at least 512Mb of RAM.

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...report-tech-specs-controller-details-claimed/

 

[dragonelite]

512mb sound kinda low if you ask me. Expected atleast 1~2 gig or something for those that gpu series.

 

[wco81]

Controllers with screens will cost what, at least $50?

Pure gimmick.

 

[Squilliam]

Why would they go with an AMD R7xx family of GPU? Surely from the perspective of licensing it would be as good for them to buy an r8xx for minimum DX11 compliance otherwise they'll yet again fall into the trap of having a system which doesn't support key features of the other two consoles GPUs. This especially true if we're comparing DX12 level hardware to DX10 which whilst it would still be DX compliant it would still be old by comparison to the feature set of the other two consoles.

 

[phenix]

Why don't they release a console that any smartphone on the market can be a controller?

 

[phenix]

Why don't they release a console that any smartphone on the market can be a controller?

I will quote myself on this idea, they should indeed launch the system with no controllers and write iOS and android apps that will turn smartphones into multi thouch/motion based bluetooth controllers.