Nintendo DS Full Specs Allegedly Leaked

sarcastodon writes "Various sources such as GI.Biz are suggesting that detailed specifications of the upcoming Nintendo DS have been leaked. Surprising capabilities contained in the allegedly leaked Japanese-language document for the dual-screen handheld include 3D hardware acceleration, 802.11 wireless support, and the inclusion of a touch screen." However, GI.Biz notes: "Of course, a single leaked screenshot of a Japanese document doesn't constitute hard proof of any description, and this document should be taken with a pinch of salt - but if it is a forgery, it's a rather good one."

Comments

That is a bitching line up.

[Ayanami Rei]

Why don't I just throw out my palm? ... network, touchscreen, hi-res screen, it's got it all! They'd better make a PIM/PDA cart for it with web/email capabilities, or bundle it in the ROM. It'd be a shame not to.

Re:That is a bitching line up.

[Ayaress]

I dunno. It kinda worries me. Sounds like they're shoving too much into it, which is what killed the appeal of the N-Gage for me. I'd just like a nice, small, cheap portable gaming system that I don't have to worry about dropping.

There's just so many non-gaming features included, it sounds fishy to me. Nintendo's historically been about making gaming hardware, not all-in-one, everything-but-sheep-shears media stations.

On the other hand....

[Ayaress]

(yeah, yeah, I know, replying to myself) All those non-gaming features could actually do things for games, unlike the stuff they put in the N-Gage for filler. I've never really thought much of multiplayer on gameboy systems, but now that I think of it, it wouldn't be half as bad as it is now if it were wireless. Of course, this goes against another thing about Nintendo's history: They usually make you buy the add-ons, and if it has wireless, they can't sell you the $15 link cable.

too much press without product

[BlanketLord]

It seems that there is quite a bit of negative views surrounding the DS from readers. In my opinion, the N-Gage's failure can be attributed to all the negative reviews it recieved. It was flamed in Penny Arcade, and other review sites rated it poorly. If it recieved opposite reviews, would it have been a success? Now we are getting a lot of press about the DS, but no product and some are already making judgements, mostly based on the fact that none of us have any idea on what exactly this device will do.
I still have high faith in Nintendo; the Gameboy's proven success gives them a stronger foot that this potentially revolutionary product will succeed. I really am looking forward to seeing what this product really does though, as it has peaked my curiosity.

Re:too much press without product

[Rallion]

Uh...no. You misread those numbers. GameCube recently caught up to XBox in the US, and XBox has been pretty much a complete failure in Japan, selling under a million units IIRC.

But what's the thing going to look like?

[meanfriend]

The most intriguing thing to me is how the two screens will be arranged and utilized.

According to the second article, it has two screens of 256x192 pixels each (which is slightly higher resolution than the GBA screen)

So will it two equal sized screens? Will they go with a clamshell device like the GBA with a smaller screen in the base (between the controls) and a larger screen in the flip-top part?

And I'm also wondering what compromises they'll have to make on the physical dimensions and battery life in implementing dual screens in a portable.

I've never owned a handheld gaming system before (blackjack on my cell phone doesnt count), but if the dual screens leads to be a real gameplay innovation and not just a novelty that many games fail to take full advantage of, then I could be convinced to buy one of these...

Re:But what's the thing going to look like?

[Ayaress]

I personally hope they go with the different sized screens like you mentioned. It'll probably be underused by games, but I can think of one major use for the second screen: Menus in RPGs. The text boxes in most console-style RPGs get in the way, and scrolling through the box for a spell usually blocks the action on-screen (which really sucks for those RPGs where the enemy keeps attacking while you're in the menu. FF:CC uses the GBA screen for each character's menu in multiplayer, which aside from being a potentially prohibitive barrier to multiplayer, is a very good thing, since with some practice, you can move through the menus while still keeping track of the action on screen.

Translation Corrections

[mowph]

Here are a few things that I noticed have been left off or missed by the translation on the article.

Processor:

• There are unreadably small words between "Cache:" and "8Kb", as well as "TCM:" and "32Kb" which have been ignored by the translation. They probably refer to two separate types of cache under each category.

Memory:

• Main memory: 8MB on debugging version (developer model?)

LCD:

• Colour: R:G:B = 6:6:6 (referring perhaps to 6 bits of information for each color channel per pixel?)

Sound:

• Up to 8 channels may be assigned for PSG. (I don't know what that is. Anyone?)

Input Device:

• "Cross", a translation of "juu-ji kii", refers to what is commonly known as a direction-pad (similar to the four-way controller on most Nintendo gamepads)

Electric Power Control:

• Wake-up can also be timed.
• The "uknown" engine is the geometry engine.

Re:Translation Corrections

[moronga]

There are unreadably small words between "Cache:" and "8Kb", as well as "TCM:" and "32Kb" which have been ignored by the translation. They probably refer to two separate types of cache under each category.

The word there is "meirei," which means "command" or "order." Does that make sense in that context? I'm not a hardware person. :P

Touchscreen's are a poor deciscion

[Sangloth]

I used to work with touchscreen videogames at my old job. While touchscreens do have some advantages for an arcade machine...

1. Simple to understand
2. Difficult to vandalize.

those advantages don't mean anything for portable machines, and they have some fairly severe disadvantages...

1. While using a touchscreen, your fingers will obscure what you are seeing on the screen, especially for the small portable screen.
2. Touchscreen's are weaker then a macintosh mouse. You can only click, it's difficult to drag an object, or anything other then just click on the screen. Your hands could accomplish more on the controller. That way you could hit multiple buttons, instead of just clicking.

Besides, imagine playing an action game, and moving your hand from the buttons to the screen, and back to the buttons. It wouldn't work in an action game, and you can do menu selection faster using the buttons. I'm all for innovation, but this is going to be a gimmick.

Sangloth
I appreciate any comment with a logical basis...it doesn't even have to agree with me.

Layout predictions

[nukem1999]

I believe that Nintendo has previously confirmed that the two screens will be next to each other, and can be used as one. This pretty much means that it's going to be layed out GB/GBC/GBASP style, with the controls below the screens, and not GBA classic style, with the screen between the controls, which would give it a really funky form factor that nobody would want to hold. Assuming this has been confirmed, there is almost no way that one of the screens will be touch sensitive, since you'd have to move one hand to reach a screen. However, with the two screens side by side, to make a rectangular clamshell form factor, there would be space in between the standard button sets, perfect for a standard touchpad.

Now let's think about this. Nintendo only really started doing 3d with the N64, when they introduced an analog stick to the controller. It's quite difficult to play a true 3d game with only a digital pad. However, you can't throw a stick on a handheld unit, it'll break off leaving many-a-user pissed. So the touchpad is probably going to be a replacement for the analog stick.

Basically I got all this from the premise that both screens are going to be next to each other, so in any case I'm almost definitely wrong, but speculation is fun!

Re:IEEE802.11??

[Grant29]

I bet it's just in ad-hoc mode (peer-to-peer) and not infrastructure mode.

Best layout = danger hiptop

[RedCard]

No, I believe Nintendo said that they're going to be vertically stacked... ...if that is the case, I'd like to see a layout like the Danger hiptop where the touchscreen is on top, for palm-pilot like use, or for games that only require one screen.

The second screen could be hidden under the first, with the top screen swivelling up and 180 degrees for two-screened games. This also means that the second screen could be used as an option, not all games would have to incorporate it, and it would be hidden and protected when not in use.

I don't see a touchpad as a replacement for an analog stick, though. Touchpads/screens STINK when used as controllers. I think it's more likely that an analog controller will take the form of a standard crosskey that responds to how hard you press. It's also possible to make a (recessed) analog control ball, instead of a stick. The old sega saturn analog controllers had these, and they were almost impossible to break.

Re:delusions of grandeur

[FeetOfStinky]

What are you supposed to do with the thing... Strap it to your face?

Well, of course. That kind of goes without saying.

if they make is backwords compatable

[cyrax777]

with the GB series then Ninento will slaughter Sony just like how they slaughtered every other handheld thats come out. Same with Sony and ps3 if ps3 is compatible with the early PS series they will continue to dominate the market. Both Companys have shown supirer tech doesnt = owning the market Compare Phantasy star 1 for master system to Final Fantasy 1 for NES. The Master system was a supieor system tech wise but nintendo slaughtered genesis. also I think if Sony hadnt made ps2 backwords compatable with ps1 therefore giving them a huge advantage in number of games avalible to there system Nintendo might have had a chance of retaking over the console market oncd agien.

Or ... it could have been a terrible product

[*weasel]

Or... the NGage was just a bad product. It got flamed because it deserved to get flamed. It failed, because it deserved to fail.

As a gaming system:
. you have to remove the battery to change the game. wtf?

. it cost more than 2x what a GBA SP did, even if you include the price of a seperate 3G phone.

. it had very little developer support. (likely due lame SDK, bad design, pricing)

As a phone:

. it looked absurd. (taco-phone is a deserved critique)
. it's friggin huge.
. the button layout and centrally located screen made it awkward to hold and manipulate effectively one handed (common use for a phone).
. battery life is unacceptably short, unless you never, or rarely, use it for gaming - which obviates its dual functionality and makes the added cost unjustifiable.

The press around the DS revolves around legitimate concerns.

. lack of perceived purpose for a second screen
. effect of 2 backlit screens on battery life
. resultant unit pricing from added screen, necessitated battery
. lack of certainty on backwards compat.

Any handheld that Nintendo announces, but won't confirm backwards compatibility for, is going to be met with heavy skepticism imo. If the DS truly isn't meant to be a successor to the GBA SP -- then what market could they possibly be aiming at? Why have 2 incompatible handheld products? Particularly when facing Sony's PSP, which will be its first legitimate challenge in the mobile arena in years.

The sketchy details, the possibility of no backwards compat and the lack of consumer demand for its key feature (the second screen) are valid concerns.

The notable failure of the pseudo-portable Virtual Boy is still rightly fresh in the minds of consumers and investors when they see a 'potentially revolutionary' functionality that no-one has really been asking for. Nintendo's strength and first party developers/licenses cannot make a success out of a bad product.