Nintendo Announces Dual-Screen Portable

[cybamerc]

hupfinsgack:

> Let's hope you're correct on that as you were with Matrix Semiconductors.

First of all, the PowerVR rumor comes from Puissance-Advance. Secondly, the initial announcement made it pretty damn obvious that NDS would be using 3DM.

 

[cthellis42]

Which of the two screens would you guys say is the more powerful one, the upper or the lower one?

Likely the lower one. Closer to the controls, and closer to the eyes if held at any natural angle. (And would be less susceptible to motion as it's being held.)

 

[cybamerc]

Why do you assume that one screen has less resources available than the other? It could just as well be up to developer to manage them.

 

[StefanS]

Why do you assume that one screen has less resources available than the other? It could just as well be up to developer to manage them.

Well by lesser ressources we mean one has touchscreen capabilities while the other has not...

 

[cybamerc]

Touch screen is hardly confirmed.

 

[StefanS]

Touch screen is hardly confirmed.

Well if 3 out of 3 sources confirm it, I'd say chances a pretty good that there will be one. Don't forget that Nintendo mentioned that there's still a secret to be uncovered about the unit.

 

[Teasy]

Secondly, the initial announcement made it pretty damn obvious that NDS would be using 3DM.

Which part of the initial announcement mentioned 3D hardware? Also what's 3DM?

 

[Guden Oden]

Why do you assume that one screen has less resources available than the other? It could just as well be up to developer to manage them.

Well, because one screen DOES have less resources available to it, in the form of a slower, less powerful CPU. This is already confirmed by Nintendo in their original unveiling of the unit.

 

[cybamerc]

Teasy:

> Which part of the initial announcement mentioned 3D hardware? Also
> what's 3DM?

3DM is Matrix 3D Memory.



Guden Oden:

> This is already confirmed by Nintendo in their original unveiling of the unit.

No.

 

[Guden Oden]

No.

Yes it IS!

Each screen has its own CPU - confirmed by Nintendo. One CPU is smaller than the other - confirmed by Nintendo. AKA, one screen is less powerful than the other.

 

[cybamerc]

Guden Oden:

> Yes it IS!

No.

> Each screen has its own CPU

Nintendo has said that the system will have two CPUs, not how they will be put to use.

> confirmed by Nintendo.

No. You're imagining things.

 

[Teasy]

3DM is Matrix 3D Memory

Ah right, where did it say that DS was using 3DM in Nintendo's announcement?

 

[cybamerc]

Teasy:

> Ah right, where did it say that DS was using 3DM in Nintendo's
> announcement?

It wasn't explicitly stated in the announcement but the following interviews, more specificially the one in Famitsu a week later, revealed details about the media that made it quite clear that Nintendo would be using 3DM for NDS media. It's simply a matter of putting 2 and 2 together.

 

[Guden Oden]

No. You're imagining things.

LOL, at worst, I'm guilty of "putting 2 and 2 together".

It's confirmed. Period.

Read what they said one more time and do the maths man.

 

[gurgi]

This is already confirmed by Nintendo in their original unveiling of the unit.

ahem:

Nintendo DS features two separate 3-inch TFT LCD display panels, separate processors, and semiconductor memory of up to 1 Gigabit. It's scheduled to launch worldwide before the end of 2004.

It says seperate processors but that doesn't necessarily mean seperate for each screen, but rather that the proccessors are seperate from each other (the same way it talks about the screens). It could also mean there are seperate processors, 2 for each screen? The way I read it is there are 2 cpu's, period.

Either way.. I don't see how it's "confirmed. Period.", unless you have something else you'd like to share with the rest of us?

 

[cybamerc]

Guden Oden:

> It's confirmed. Period.

I suggest you look up "confirm" in a dictionary.

 

[Squeak]

I think the success of NDS hinges on its 3d capabilities.
If it haven’t got at the very least the 3d power of Saturn, I can't see any worthwhile uses for two screens, on the other hand if it does have 3d, there is all sorts of uses, the most important being (IMO of course) that you wouldn’t need to fiddle with a 3d camera, while playing.

 

[StefanS]

I think the success of NDS hinges on its 3d capabilities.
If it haven’t got at the very least the 3d power of Saturn, I can't see any worthwhile uses for two screens, on the other hand if it does have 3d, there is all sorts of uses, the most important being (IMO of course) that you wouldn’t need to fiddle with a 3d camera, while playing.

I have to disagree here, the touchscreen could also add a lot to 2d games...

 

[Squeak]

Like how?

It would be a pretty expensive and fragile feature (imagine people pressing down hard on the screen in heat of a battle), and if you have sweaty little sausages for fingers, that screen is going to look very greasy, very fast.

 

[cthellis42]

Good point. I don't see stylus-use being particularly desired for a machine like that.