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3D Projection Rumoured to be The Revolution

mars soup eel writes "Cube.IGN is reporting that Brooke Burgess (of Broken Saints) has let the proverbial cat out of the bag concerning Nintendo's new Revolution console. The big secret (assuming the rumors are true)? 3D projection." From the article: "At the core of the theory sits how Revolution will display games: through a form of real-time 3D projection. That's right folks, along the lines of a classic 50s monster movie. Nintendo itself has stated that what it plans to use on Revolution isn't all that unique, only that it has never been applied to videogames. Taking that into account, plus recent patents filed by Nintendo, and it doesn't sound all that far fetched, argues Burgess." As always, take this with a grain of salt.

16 of 120 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I have no idea what this means by black+mariah · · Score: 2, Interesting

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereoscopy

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  2. Bogus Speculation by iridium_ionizer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Nintendo itself has stated that what it plans to use on Revolution isn't all that unique, only that it has never been applied to videogames. Taking that into account, plus recent patents filed by Nintendo, and it doesn't sound all that far fetched, argues Burgess.

    The "argues" implies speculation. Furthermore, I say it is bogus because even if Nintendo doesn't want to remember Virtual Boy, certainly they remember 3-D World Runner for the NES.
    http://www.gamespot.com/nes/action/3dbattlesofworl drunnerthe/index.html?q=runner

    I think it came with glasses. And although the 3-D mode wasn't top notch, it was 3-D. You could also turn the 3-D mode off. Have fun by running around a planet in four directions (NSEW) fighting impressive sprite dragons (although they didn't look like real dragons they did look quasi 3D).

    1. Re:Bogus Speculation by Jafafa+Hots · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well, my Vectrex, which is still in the basement, had great 3-d done with goggles with a spinning color disc in them.

      I have yet to see this 3-d gaming system, circa 1982, topped.

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  3. Behind and ahead of their time. by Fiz+Ocelot · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Burgess references several inside "sources" who claim they know Revolution controllers will support positional shifts as experienced in Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble.

    I'm sure I'm not the only one who would jerk the controller all over the place when playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES right?... Every time I jumped I'd lift the controller up, finally they're catching on.

    As to the stereoscopic idea, I think doing it before theatres may hurt them, being slightly ahead of their time. If people get hooked on it by big budget summer blockbusters that's great for them.

  4. Already proven false by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Burgess's article has since been debunked. The patent he bases his speculation on is for an in-game camera system. There is absolutely no mention of 3D projection technology.

    The other support for his speculation was that Nintendo demo'd a new peripheral for the Gamecube behind closed doors at E3 2004, but this ended up being the microphone that shipped with Mario Party 6.

    This is the most halfassed "next generation console" rumor ever perpetrated. Burgess was too lazy to do thirty seconds worth of reading and now he's being rewarded with lots of hits from curious fanboys.

    *sigh*

  5. Didn't they try this before? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Gpod help me if I could only find the links but...

    I think around E3 2000, or 2002, or somewhere in between then and now (vague enough for you? sorry), Nintendo had a large snow-globe-looking 3D projection system they were going to unveil at E3 that year. It was an add-on for the N64 if I recall correction, and I remember seeing pictures of it (probably mock ups?), but when E3 finally came around the device was a no-show.

    It sounds like this is just a repitition of where they were headed then, but I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it yet. It honestly looked like a flop to me, but was so "out-there" that I thought it would get more attention or at least be remembered with this latest post.

  6. Re:Not a bad idea... by Nalgas+D.+Lemur · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even though this rumor is probably not true, I worry about this same thing with anything that does end up using 3D glasses. Not only do I wear glasses, but I have weird corneas, and almost no type of 3D display works properly for me at all.

    I could tolerate the Virtual Boy, but I haven't used it in a few years, and my vision has gotten a little worse since then. The last time I was in an IMAX theater, I completely couldn't make sense of the 3D previews while wearing the glasses. Not only did it not look 3D, it was very hard to even figure out what was going on. Luckily, the movie I was there to see wasn't 3D, so I was able to watch that fine.

    I'm a bit worried about where 3D displays will head in the future, because they could end up leaving out part of their audience if people with vision problems can't see them properly. I realize there's not really much to be done about making music listenable for deaf people or videos seeable for blind people (at least until those problems can be physically corrected in some way with implants or something), but there are probably plenty more people (compared to the number of completely blind and/or dead people) who can see and hear well enough to use the current output devices just fine but for whom some of the fancy new ideas won't work. Hopefully we won't all get left out in the future.

  7. Re:Not likely by simcop2387 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There's actually an OGL wrapper that does exactly this, i've played with it a bit but i didn't have even any red-blue glasses with me so it was kinda moot, its got linux support also. worth checking out

    its called VRiser
    http://futurelab.aec.at/vrizer/

  8. Re:Not a bad idea... by Elranzer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have a feeling if Nintendo ever does go 3rd-party (and I do hope to a just and loving God that they don't), they'd more likely either be exclusive to Sony or equally develop for both. But I highly doubt they'd be exclusive to Microsoft.

    While it would seem to make sense since both Nintendo (of America) and Microsoft are next-door neighbors in Redmond, remember that Nintendo is primarily a Japanese company and more likely to side with the Japanese competitor (Sony) should this happen.

  9. Re:What does this have to do with revolution? by Elranzer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Anyone realize that the terms "Revolution" and "360" (degrees) are related? I wonder if Microsoft and Nintendo know something that we dont...

  10. Bullshit by ThePolkapunk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is a load of crap. Nintendo has repeatedly said that this will operate conventionally on the television, and that the "revolution" for the system is the method of control. This guy has no idea what he's talking about. Just tossing out more fud that slashdot is gleefully snatching up.

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  11. ..okay, so no goggles.. by jx100 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Way back before the release of the DS, I ran across a story saying that Nintendo licensed some sort of 3d LCD display technology from Sharp. I guessed it was going to go with the DS, but it seems it might've actually been headed for this system.

  12. No glasses display? by dnixon112 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seems like bullshit but perhaps if they incorporated this 3d display technology (as reported here) or at least have those screens on the market in a bundle with the console at launch there could be an outside chance Nintendo is this crazy. If those screens work well it could be an amazing experience, but many forces would be working against Nintendo even if they did adopt this 3D display technology. The commercialization of virtual interaction and 3d display? It certainly would fit the name of Revolution.

  13. Re:Not a bad idea... by mwvdlee · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since a 3D-glasses rendering would basically be two independant 3D renderings, mixed in a post-processing phase, I'd image the console having a switch which would allow a plain 3D rendering like we have nowadays.
    Not just for people with disabilities like yours but also for party games when there's just not enough glasses for everyone to watch the fun.
    Since party games are a Nintendo-owned niche, they'd be stupid not to include the option.

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  14. The only way this could be true is if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The only way this could be true is if they included some kind of screen with the thing, so everyone was stuck using that instead of their television.

    If they were going to do 3D on the TV, their options would be very limited:

    1. They could use red and blue 3d glasses. But that would look terrible.

    2. They could try to find some way to make one set of vertical or horizontal lines appear in one eye, and the other appear in the other eye. But that would cut the resolution in half in one direction, and make the scene look low res... I think. Maybe the same trick that makes a scene look higher res at the cost of interlacing and using half the framerate on each scanline would still work if you could only see one set of scanlines in each eye at a time? Might not work with newer progressive scan televisions though?

    3. They could use shutter glasses and display every other frame, but if every other frame is a full frame, then that would be 15 frames per second of video. If every other frame were interlaced frames, then that might work. Come to think of it, that might work with progressive TV cause you'd get 30 full frames per second. 30fps though, in each eye... Seems like it would flicker... Maybe there's a way this could be mitgated.

    The other two options are that they provide their own TV for you. A small LCD screen with some kind of 3D technology in it, or two tin LCD screens in a pair of glasses which would probably be headache inducing.

  15. One good reason by tprime · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can think of one really good reason why a major VISUAL change will not be what the "Revolution" is all about.

    How do you port titles from the xbox2 and ps3, which regarless of what MS and Sony say are fundamentally similar, to a system that will require a totally different setup. This especially is true for a console that has recently been trying to mend fences with developers. Nintendo would need Sony-like power over its developers to even think about trying something this drastic.

    On the other hand, 1st party titles would be impressive.

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