Nintendo Announces 3D Successor of Nintendo DS

An anonymous reader writes "Nintendo has posted a press release (PDF) titled 'Launch of New Portable Game Machine,' promoting a new, upcoming handheld game console temporarily named the 'Nintendo 3DS,' which will feature 3D graphics without the need for any sort of special glasses. It will be backward-compatible with DS and DSi games." An article at Kotaku speculates on how the 3D tech will work. The launch window is vague — sometime between April 2010 and March 2011. More details will be revealed at E3 in June.

Comments

Homebrew has drawbacks

[tepples]

Nintendo and Apple have been fighting homebrew on their respective platforms in at least two ways:

• The platform requires all code to be digitally signed. If homebrewers find an exploit, the platform owner can push out a firmware patch. Then it can deny users of old firmware access to online gaming and Wii Shop/DSi Shop/App Store. In Nintendo's case, it can also put the new firmware on new disc or cartridge games and show the updater instead of the game's title screen.
• Nintendo can encourage authorized developers to do background checks so that they don't hire anybody who has been recently active in homebrew. Apple has already been revoking the credentials of developers that rank high in the jailbreak scene.

Fad

[pegasustonans]

I hope this 3D fad is over soon. It's just another excuse to distract people with eye-candy instead of creating something more compelling.

When will it end?

[soupforare]

I was hoping 3D would kind of peter out in a couple years but it's getting ridiculous.
As a man-child who hates change, the Nintendo handhelds have been the last bastion of sprite-based gaming for me. As a cyclops who doesn't see in 3D anyway, I have no interest in the gimmick. Don't you do this to me Nintendo! :(

Closed platform

[tepples]

Don't make another gimmicky console overflowing with copious amounts of shovelware.

Nintendo doesn't release shovelware, except possibly the WarioWare franchise which is a well-executed satire of shovelware. As for third-party shovelware, the developer criteria are already significantly more restrictive than those for iPhone. If Nintendo does anything to rein in third parties' shovelware, it will draw criticism that its platform is too closed and that there is no way for a third party to make money from the platform.

And no, first-party shouldn't be the sole source of quality games.

You can't have it both ways.

Re:3D is overrated

[proxima]

That's more than likely a function of your age, not the intrinsic fun of the game. Many people seem to have an age where video game enjoyment is at a peak. Afterwards we're nostalgic for the fun we had at the time. There seems to be similar effects with some genres of movie (especially sci-fi) and music.

Re:Head tracking

[DarKnyht]

Here is an article that has an embedded YouTube video of the 3D game from Japan http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/03/with-the-nintendo-dsi-xl.ars. Looks interesting.

However, I do not think it is enough for me to buy yet another DS product.

Re:Head tracking

[Tacvek]

I think Kotaku's speculation may well be wrong. There is a technology to do 3d without special glasses. Unfortunately it sucks. The technology is based on lenticular lenses.

But that is the only known way (of which I am aware) to do stereographic 3d without glasses on something that is remotely like a standard display.