Nintendo Announces Dual-Screen Portable

Well the problems you stated are not of a concern since this is a portable device, you can pretty much move the screen around till you get the sweetspot.

But seeing double and having cock-eyed are more serious problems. :D
 
IGN.com said:
February 06, 2004 - According to a report in Japan's Nikkei Industrial News, publisher and developer Sega is onboard to create software for Nintendo DS, a dual-screened portable set for release later this year by Nintendo. Sega's president Hisao Oguchi also confirmed that the company is ready to make software for Sony's forthcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP) system.

Hisao told Nikkei that Sega has been in possession of Nintendo DS development hardware since last year. Nintendo of America only recently sent out development kits to US development studios.

Nintendo DS, a unique new portable which is being called the "third pillar" to GameCube and Game Boy Advance by firm president Satoru Iwata, features two screens positioned vertically on top of each other and is able to play cartridge-based software. The device boasts two ARM processors and backlit screens. Nintendo promises that the system will be revealed in full at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, at which time it will be on display in playable form.

Nintendo recently stated that its DS portable is not a successor to Game Boy Advance line and that it will not compete with the PSP. It also said that it is currently in development with the follow-up to its highly successful handheld.
Click to expand...
 
V3 said:
Well the problems you stated are not of a concern since this is a portable device, you can pretty much move the screen around till you get the sweetspot.

But seeing double and having cock-eyed are more serious problems. :D
Click to expand...

Hehe; that's a result of different distances between both eyes. Also a problem. They'd have need some calibration software :LOL:
 
Link

Last month, Nintendo announced plans to launch later this year a new, portable video game system, codenamed "Nintendo DS," that would feature two liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, one above the other.

Analysts expect the Nintendo DS to be priced well under $200.

.....How much do you guys think it would cost?
 
When we were last talking about that, I was saying $150 so it will be cheap enough in comparison to the PSP, but still have a bit of "premiere gear" labelling to it, as well as not forcing down the price of the GBA which it would HAVE to if it launched at $99. Offhand I don't see any reason to change my opinion of that yet. The games will drive the platform's acceptance, not the price--and they'll have an idea as to the pick-up rates at launch. They can always lower their prices, but you can never RAISE them and keep the public happy.
 
Over the past several weeks IGN has talked with Nintendo and various third-parties in an effort to uncover more about the device. Following, some unannounced features of the portable according to multiple anonymous sources in the know.
Though the information below is considered solid, IGN has been unable to validate all of it by three or more sources and therefore we ask that readers still consider it as unconfirmed.

Here's what we've heard:

Backward Compatible:

Nintendo has remained very hush-hush about whether or not the DS portable, which will be positioned as the "third pillar" next to GameCube and Game Boy Advance, will actually be able to play current GBA software. However, insiders out of Japan have told IGN that the device in fact will be backward compatible with Nintendo's handheld and fully able to play GBA software.

Touch Screen:

The Nintendo DS features not one, but two screens. According to insiders, at least one of the LCDs will in fact be a "touch screen," or capable of receiving and transmitting input from fingers and pens by the touch. It is not known if the device will also ship with a stylus for tablet-like functionality.

No More Wires:

The DS will feature high-speed wireless support. Though it's currently unclear what standard Nintendo will adopt for the DS, we're certain that it will utilize technology similiar to what it has just released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan.

The Issue of Price:

Nothing confirmed, but at least one source alleges that the Nintendo DS would retail for approximately $129 in Japan, just slightly more expensive than what the GBA retails for in that market. No word on American or European prices.

Contradictory Reports:

It gets a little iffy here. We've heard both that the DS will feature N64-like graphics and that it will deliver mostly 2D sprite-based graphics. Both come from historically reliable sources.

Cartridges Quicker, Cheaper:

The DS cartridges feature memory technology by Matrix Semiconductor. This will allow Nintendo to produce cartridges far more quickly and cheaply than what the company is able to do with the Game Boy Advance. Currently third parties must manufacture GBA carts at costs from six to 10 dollars a unit depending on size and save RAM.

No Kits in the US Yet:

When Nintendo announced the DS in January most North American developers were as surprised to hear about it as everyone else. This week several developers told IGN that Nintendo said "kits are on the way."

Japanese developers have been working with DS hardware since last year.
Click to expand...

Link
 
130$ , most likely backwards compat . Don't see a problem with this handheld at all . GIves them a platform to release n64 tittles on and more time to make the gb 2 .
 
I have one though doing rounds in my mind. Does this DS mean that N is planning to phase out GBA platform? Or they plan to have 3 platforms in market?...GC2/GBA/DS? Does that look viable? How can they support 2 handhelds at one point of time?
 
Nintendo DS was described as a "third pillar". So yeah they plan to have all three products in the market and support all of them. DS will be focused on a different kind of gaming to that of GBA though and will most likely be more of a niche product.
 
Deepak said:
I have one though doing rounds in my mind. Does this DS mean that N is planning to phase out GBA platform? Or they plan to have 3 platforms in market?...GC2/GBA/DS? Does that look viable? How can they support 2 handhelds at one point of time?
Click to expand...

At the moment, there won't be any problem because
A) there's still a lot of software in development for the GBA
B) the Nintendo DS is backwards compatible
C) the GBA's succesor is not exspect to be released before 2006

so there's still a lot of time before things get complicated. If by end 2005 the DS proves to very successful, Nintendo could still make the GBAnext backwards compatible.
Nintendo now has plenty of time before they must reach a decision on what to do next. So let's wait and see...
 
I still think they're going to confuse the purpose and "third pillar"-ness if they have GBA compatibility from the beginning. It may make it more popular, but it'll likely also lower the game innovation they want and keep things more "GBA-like." Since the ability is there, though, they could always introduce a GBA adaptor the instant they want to phase the GBA out (like when GBA2 shows up) and shift the DS into the GBA's price point--it will already have established itself on its own rights by then, or shown Virtual Boy 2 comparisons by that time.
 
Which of the two screens would you guys say is the more powerful one, the upper or the lower one?

If the thing has a touch-screen (which would be awesome I think), I would say the powerful one is the upper screen, while the lower has touchscreen capability, so it can be used for maps and menus, inventory selection etc without blocking the view of the main screen.

I REALLY hope it has touchscreen capability, that would be SO cool! Together with a stylus that sits right in the casing of the console of course...
 
Guden Oden said:
Which of the two screens would you guys say is the more powerful one, the upper or the lower one?

If the thing has a touch-screen (which would be awesome I think), I would say the powerful one is the upper screen, while the lower has touchscreen capability, so it can be used for maps and menus, inventory selection etc without blocking the view of the main screen.

I REALLY hope it has touchscreen capability, that would be SO cool! Together with a stylus that sits right in the casing of the console of course...
Click to expand...

I think chances are very good that the lower screen will have the touchscreen capabilities as you have to be able to reach it with your thumbs.
It would be quite cool if you could use it as touchpad -> more strategy on handhelds :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
Tech Differences between Switch and 7th Gen (PS3/360) Games
2
Replies
21
Views
10K
GuardHei
G
BRiT
  • Locked
  • Poll
Nintendo Switch Price Speculation (Last Week Poll)
3 4 5
Replies
92
Views
14K
BRiT
BRiT
F
Sony's Next Generation Portable unveiling - PSP2 in disguise
42 43 44
Replies
871
Views
233K
liolio
L
A
Holy Wall of Text: My impressions post Playstation 4 (PS4) unveil
2 3 4
Replies
70
Views
21K
(((interference)))
I
G
Samsung SyncMaster S27A850D Mini-review
Replies
2
Views
8K
Grall
G
Back
Top