Nintendo 3DS Announced

[obonicus]

And the whole thing feels very Nintendoish. Why did nobody think of that before? The Sharp phone is about as relevant prior art as the Microsoft Sidewinder thing was for the Wii. It will be hard to get right, and their games will be head and shoulders above the rest.

One hopes. I brought up the Virtual Boy earlier as a joke, but at that time Nintendo couldn't really come up with a convincing use-case for 3d (much less 'virtual reality').

I still haven't been convinced that it isn't just a gimmick. Not that this won't sell, but then the 'DS' name might guarantee that.

 

[patsu]

It could be the kid's movies. All the kiddie movies are in 3D since a few months ago. Those will drive the awareness and desire for 3D among children.

Throw in some more Nintendo magic, and they may catch the fever.

 

[DeadlyNinja]

Sorry if this post is a little silly, but I saw this image at neogaf, and it's too good to pass up.

 

[eastmen]

It could be the kid's movies. All the kiddie movies are in 3D since a few months ago. Those will drive the awareness and desire for 3D among children.

Throw in some more Nintendo magic, and they may catch the fever.

Its not just kiddy movies. Since avatar everything is in 3d. The pulled clash of the titans for a month to add 3d.

In fact the new hollywood scare is if they have enough screens to support all this 3d stuff. Thearters are racing to upgrade a many screens as possible.

 

[Squilliam]

Could people please stop posting those shakey pics? They kinda hurt my eyes when I see them.

 

[patsu]

Its not just kiddy movies. Since avatar everything is in 3d. The pulled clash of the titans for a month to add 3d.

In fact the new hollywood scare is if they have enough screens to support all this 3d stuff. Thearters are racing to upgrade a many screens as possible.

Yes, but 8-9 years old may not be able to watch Avatar (PG-13) yet. I do agree 3D is flooding the theaters.

Could people please stop posting those shakey pics? They kinda hurt my eyes when I see them.

I agree ! Those cause me to feel nauseous. If this is the level of 3D Nintendo is supporting, then they should keep it.

EDIT:
3DS to be playable in June:
http://kotaku.com/5500611/nintendo-3ds-will-be-playable-in-june

Nintendo spokesman Ken Toyoda said yesterday that "We wanted to give the gaming industry a head's up about what to expect from Nintendo at E3", in response to questions why the company made such a surprise announcement.

"We'll invite people to play with the new device then".

E3 2010 will be held in Los Angeles between June 15 and June 17, which is less than three months away.

 

[assen]

I still haven't been convinced that it isn't just a gimmick. Not that this won't sell, but then the 'DS' name might guarantee that.

I still haven't been convinced that the Wiimote isn't just a gimmick, but don't quote me on that ;-)

 

[nightshade]

Well the T Rex image Comes pretty close in fooling, but obviously this can't be done with games as its just too impractical to have a shaking view to imitate 3D.

 

[nintenho]

It seems like this tech might be really cool for like 3D games being played on a 2D plane (like NSMB or maybe even a new Metroid ).

Of course they could cheap out on the tech and throw a bunch of gimmicky demos on it and crush my dreams.

I don't know if anybody pointed out the elephant in the room but it seems like any game that is designed for the 3DS won't really be easy to port. I wonder how all those third-party Wii publishers that made a genuine effort feel about this....

 

[pcchen]

I just checked some articles about parallax barrier display, and I found that at least one cellphone has a matrix style barrier like I described which support 90 degree rotation.

So I think it's quite possible that 3DS will use a parallax barrier display (after all, Asahi already reported that, and Asahi is a good source).

 

[obonicus]

I still haven't been convinced that the Wiimote isn't just a gimmick, but don't quote me on that ;-)

Well, yeah, that's sorta my point. We've seen very little in terms of game concepts that validate motion controls. Pointers are proven by PC gaming, but for motion controls even on Nintendo stuff they're just used as a substitute for a button-press. (Yes yes Wii Sports(Resort), Flower etc.)

 

[ShadowRunner]

Well, yeah, that's sorta my point. We've seen very little in terms of game concepts that validate motion controls. Pointers are proven by PC gaming, but for motion controls even on Nintendo stuff they're just used as a substitute for a button-press. (Yes yes Wii Sports(Resort), Flower etc.)

Motion controls are validated because they can be used as a substitute for a button press. Just like dual analogue sticks have been validated because they can be used a a substitute for a mouse and keyboard. They do the same things but in a different way that some may be more comfortable with. If the experience isnt positive for one person it doesnt mean it isnt for anyone else.

 

[obonicus]

Motion controls are validated because they can be used as a substitute for a button press.

That what defines a gimmick. You don't have any reason to do it other than 'because you can'. Certain games use the motion controller as a yoke, that's something that could be approximated by a thumbstick, but perhaps not as intuitively (or in Warhawk's case, gives you an added dimension to control). You might be able to map Wii Sports (Resort) onto a regular controller, but at the same time you'd lose a good portion of the gameplay in the process.

Meanwhile, adding a nunchuck waggle to some QTE in RE4 isn't really better than pressing 'A'. Neither is shaking the Wiimote to do a spin in NSMBW better than doing it through some button combination. In fact, it might be worse (there's plenty of complaints about motion controller responsiveness, or the difficulty in performing certain motions). These things don't really validate motion controls.

Just like dual analogue sticks have been validated because they can be used a a substitute for a mouse and keyboard.

That's incorrect. They can't do the exact same things. There's some overlap in functionality in shooters, but generally at the expense of speed and precision. RTS have never quite worked on console because of a lack of a proper control scheme. Likewise, for certain applications analog input is superior to mouse and keyboard.

We're going off-topic, though. My suggestion is that we'll have a hard time designing games that make 3d more than a gimmick. I might be wrong, but I suspect the best we'll see is designers giving us some illusion of depth, rather than just having us look at a flat projection. Which is an improvement, no doubt, but hardly a revolutionary one.

 

[ShadowRunner]

If it is an improvement it is not a gimmick. I dont want games to have any added gameplay mechanics, all i want is the added immersion that 3D brings. Its the same as HD, gaming in HD improves the experience for me even if it doesnt change the core game. I would argue that the leap form what we have now to S3D is a much bigger improvement in the way we experience games than what we have had from SD to HD, yet im sure most of us on here are happy to be gaming in HD.

Playing something like Condemned 3 in S3D is going to offer a new experience, its more than just a selling point with no real benefit.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I think what everyone is trying to convey with those shakey pictures is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

Where the use of head (eye?) tracking could be used to give a convincing illusion of 3D without the use of an actual 3D screen.

But Nintendo has confirmed they are using a 3D panel from Sharp, right?

Regards,
SB

 

[Kasersky]

I think what everyone is trying to convey with those shakey pictures is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

Where the use of head (eye?) tracking could be used to give a convincing illusion of 3D without the use of an actual 3D screen.

But Nintendo has confirmed they are using a 3D panel from Sharp, right?

Regards,
SB

ya im pretty much 99.9% convinced its going to be parallax barrier method, the thing this is that this method if 3d has a small viewing sweet spot and the cost to produce these screens probably grows exponentially to size so this tech is pretty much perfect since both of these weaknesses are negated since a handheld console forces gamers to play with the screen directly in front of their face and the portability of the screen is almost a strength rather than a weakness.

and you know whats even more hilarious is the fact that DSi added the camera almost as a whim, with probably no foresight about this parallax barrier tech, but of course attribute to nintendo's ridiculously dumb luck, parallax barrier coupled with head tracking could create some of the most ridiculously intense 3d effect for a consumer product. they could even upgrade the camera to a wide angle lens for greater range of tracking.

 

[upnorthsox]

ya im pretty much 99.9% convinced its going to be parallax barrier method, the thing this is that this method if 3d has a small viewing sweet spot and the cost to produce these screens probably grows exponentially to size so this tech is pretty much perfect since both of these weaknesses are negated since a handheld console forces gamers to play with the screen directly in front of their face and the portability of the screen is almost a strength rather than a weakness.

and you know whats even more hilarious is the fact that DSi added the camera almost as a whim, with probably no foresight about this parallax barrier tech, but of course attribute to nintendo's ridiculously dumb luck, parallax barrier coupled with head tracking could create some of the most ridiculously intense 3d effect for a consumer product. they could even upgrade the camera to a wide angle lens for greater range of tracking.

Of course the camera is pointing the wrong way.

 

[Kasersky]

Of course the camera is pointing the wrong way.

nah dsi has two cameras.

thats how they did this...

 

[patsu]

Yeah, my friend was working on a Parallax Barrier LCD screen prototype a few years ago. They ported Quake to play on it. Best benefit ? Able to cook grenade and lobe it at precise moment and location.

These days I still find it hard to aim a grenade in a complex landscape.

I guess Pokemons will have grenade and food fight soon.

I think what everyone is trying to convey with those shakey pictures is this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

Where the use of head (eye?) tracking could be used to give a convincing illusion of 3D without the use of an actual 3D screen.

As long as it requires physical movement of head/body, it's not 3D vision.
The effect should be apparent with only one glance. Parallax barrier, active shutter, etc. all play tricks on the eyes directly.

If someone uses movement to simulate 3D vision, it means that they can't see 3D (like birds !). While a gamer could adjust his head or body continuously to visualize the volume, he risk getting grenaded by those with 3D vision within seconds; or stabbed from behind by those who don't have 3D vision, but just keep closing in on the enemies.

 

[darkblu]

I just checked some articles about parallax barrier display, and I found that at least one cellphone has a matrix style barrier like I described which support 90 degree rotation.

So I think it's quite possible that 3DS will use a parallax barrier display (after all, Asahi already reported that, and Asahi is a good source).

Good find. But wouldn't it be basically a matter of guadrupled display resolution and sufficiently-high pixel density?