Home
June 16, 2010
Nintendo has revealed 3DS, the successor to its DS handheld, at its E3 conference. The unit hosts two screens within a clamshell case, thus facilitating backwards compatibility with all existing DS software. The topmost screen, however, is 3.53 inches and offers 3D visual functionality without the need for glasses. The lower screen remains touch compatible, and is slightly smaller, at 3.02 inches and with a lower resolution. Two cameras are allocated along the outer edge of the casing, to enable 3D photos to be taken. WiFi is included, and support for 3D movies is confirmed, with support already lined up from Warner, Dreamworks and Disney. An analogue stick has been added to the existing DS control layout, and the unit has an 'always on' functionality that could enable, for example, 3DS users to passively receive or exchange game content with other users in the near vicinity. A 3D depth slider is also present, allowing the extent of the 3D effect to be adjusted, or deactivate it fully for 3D game mode only. 3D video, however, only has an option to have the effect turned off or on.
Several 3DS titles have been revealed, including first-party products Kid Icarus: Uprising, a new iteration of Nintendogs and a 3D retread of N64 game Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Third-party support is already in motion, via titles from Capcom, Konami and over 15 other publishers. No pricing has been announced.
Conspicuous by its absence was the Vitality Sensor peripheral for Wii, assumed to be the spearhead of Nintendo's next round of lifestyle-management software for the machine, perhaps now due to debut at the Tokyo Game Show in September, if at all. Many key first-party franchises were present, however, with new instalments of Zelda, Kirby and Donkey Kong showcased, plus sports game compendium Mario Sports Mix. Ubisoft will also release Just Dance 2 exclusively for Wii, and Activision-Blizzard will publish a spiritual sequel to N64 shooter Goldeneye.
Even though the 3DS had been effectively announced by Nintendo in March this year, its arrival underscores one prescient strength of the handheld - this device is likely to be a key driver for mass market adoption of 3D in gaming, and will be realised without the need for glasses or any of the fragmentation hurdles that bedraggle 3D gaming on the current generation of TV consoles.
While both the PSP and DSi, to a much lesser extent, underlined the convergence of handheld and mobile devices on platforms with social functionality and non-gaming features, placing them more directly into a head on collision with advancing smartphone devices, the 3DS has strengthened Nintendo's handheld future in one technological move. There is once again a reason for desiring a dedicated handheld games console in addition to the impressive functionality and content catalogues of the newest smartphones. So Nintendo has put itself into the strongest position possible under the existing competitive conditions at the end of the DS cycle.
What's more, the 3D aspect presents an opportunity for invigoration of classic game franchises, an element that will appeal to all major publishers and their sizeable catalogues of existing IP, opening another channel through which to explore return of investment. No release dates have been set for 3DS, but Nintendo has confirmed that 3DS will debut before the end of the current financial year. This will likely mean a debut in Japan at the end of 2010, with arrival in Europe and US within the following quarter.
Tags:
