Nintendo 3DS -- Information You Need to Know!

By James Hawkins in Gaming News
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 4:00 pm
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NINTENDOVISION!!!!!
The Nintendo 3DS premiered at this year's E3, stunning the video game world. While the other guys are fiddling with their 3D glasses, Nintendo is out creating a hand held system with glasses-less 3D technology. To a remarkable effect, I might add.

It will definitely be a hit on the small screen, but will it ever make the jump to televisions? How exactly do they do that? Will there be motion sensor technology?

In an interview with Wired.com, veteran producer Hideki Konno unveiled some of the technology behind the Nintendo 3DS, answering many pressing questions about the capabilities of the pocket console.

As a video game developer working for Nintendo since 1988, the dude knows his stuff. He started with Super Mario Bros. 2, helping develop seminal classics during the greatest generation of Nintendo games. The 3DS is the latest in his innovative achievements for the company.

Click the link for a recap of the interview.

The Nintendo 3DS has mystified developers and fans all over. Sure, 3D technology has been around for a long time, but it's always been with crappy paper glasses -- or more recently, Star Trek-esque face-wrappers.

I didn't get the hype until I played it at E3. Seeing the images seemingly lift off the screen is disarming and breathtaking. So the question is, how do they do it?

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Konno says that 3D technology has been on Nintendo's to-do list since the NES came out, and that they've been tinkering with it ever since. Now that costs are cheap and the industry is grabbing hold of the fad, Nintendo has been able to fully commit to it.

The technology is similar to a lenticular sticker. You see it on advertisements and trading cards -- angle the card one way, you see one image; the other way gives a different one. The games' imagery is made up of two pictures: one built for your left eye, and one for your right. It seems like a pretty simple 'a-ha!', but simple execution, in this case, renders a complicated effect.

There is a bit of a problem with this, though. Konno says that it only works if you are staring at a screen from one angle. This works fine on the little screen of the 3DS, but it is unlikely that it will transfer to a television screen in the same way. Sitting around a TV will damper the lenticular effect -- it'll only work for the person sitting in the middle of the couch, right in front of it. The rest of the room will be missing out. But brilliant minds are on Nintendo's development team, so I would bet it'll happen sometime in the near future.

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The system will also feature motion sensor capabilities -- an accelerometer and gyroscope are included in the hardware. This will take into account movement of the handheld, as well as motion capture. So far, though it is unclear whether the system will be able to support full 3D technology, being that the player must, once again, maintain a rigid view of the screen.

Another big feature detailed in the interview is an upgraded Tag Mode, which will allow players to share information on whatever games they desire, regardless of what game is being played. There will also be a Tag Mode Viewer, which will show you how many players you've connected with for each game. This is to ensure a high level of replayablility and social networking for the 3DS.

That enough info to tide you over? Better be. Look for the Nintendo 3DS in early 2011.

[Full interview at wired.com]


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