Nintendo confirms next-gen 3DS

Jack 35 Comments 7551 views Infendo

nintendo3dsWell Hello, 3D. Says Nintendo, anyway, with the official confirmation of the Nintendo 3DS.

The potentially ambitious (and risky) next-gen portable is DS-like in that it will have two (larger) screens and backwards compatibility, but the similarities end there. Perhaps the biggest new feature is 3D functionality that does not require special glasses. No word on how that’s accomplished, but intrepid Internet Googlers think it might have something to do with the head-tracking camera work shown in this obscure game, shown here.

The screens will also be high-def (720p?) and may be closer together as part of a layout that encourages developers to use the two screens as one more easily than the bezel-hampered DSi. A built-in accelerometer is also in the cards.

The big, more official reveal will happen at E3.

[Image: Kotaku]

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35 Comments

  1. Well… I’m going to have to buy this one, because it sounds like it could be pretty nice. Even though I’m sure that it could get gimmicky at times.

  2. sounds pretty cool.

  3. If it works like that video, then please make another (third) Yoshi’s Island! That video was screaming Yoshi’s Island to me the entire time.

  4. cant wait!!! cant wait!!! i think i’ll put of on buying a DSi… for like… ever!!!

  5. Is it the 1st April so soon?

  6. wow, wow, wow, I almost fell XD

  7. I’m with Clonester on this one. If the 3D is simply a native capability of the system where it renders in layers that can parallax based on tilt sensor input just like that Hidden Picture game (http://www.gametrailers.com/user-movie/nintendo-ds-3d-hidden-picture/341097?playlist=featured), then I think I’m sold, lock, stock and barrel on this. I’d still like to see some actual specs, though. I don’t want just a “DSi B” or whatever. Give me a full-fledged hardware upgrade, please. I’ve been putting off buy a new DS for some time now (mine crapped out on me about a year ago) because Nintendo keeps putting out so many variants.

  8. Im excited about this. Nintendo is stepping in to the HD realm and the 3D stuff sounds interesting.

  9. The no glasses thing is what has me interested. Not that I’m prejudice against four eyes, but I am in 3D’s case.

  10. (insert generic comment about it really all being about gameplay here)

  11. Wow, this is actually a big surprise! I’m pumped, can’t wait to hear more about this (and gosh, I wonder what the thing actually looks like)!

  12. Here’s a leaked photo of the prototype:

    http://www.modojo.com/media/features/128/virtboy.jpg

    Looks advanced…

  13. I really hope this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, by the way. It is getting awfully close to that day…

  14. Interest peaked!

  15. HD graphics, AND 3D(WITHOUT ANNOYING GLASSES!)! How anyone complain about Nintendo not having powerful systems now?

  16. I am so looking forward to E3…can’t wait!

  17. Not the first time Nintendo has courted the 3D realm in gaming, of course… The first time actually ended up badly.

  18. 1. 3D is a gimmick that isn’t going to assist my 2D mario’s, Castlevania’s, 2D fighters, or tetris. These are the games I use on portable systems.

    2. 3D on the bus will make me sicker than usual, regular 3D.

    3. This is not Wii HD. Are you honestly gonna give a portable device more power than your current home console hardware? That’s a kick in the nads.

    Nintendo, I am disappoint.

    Very disappoint.

  19. And before anyone complains about getting a DSi and Nintendo announcing the N3DS… it won’t be released here until at least September 2011 which is a year and a half away. I got my DSi at launch, have bought 20 DSiware games for it and I just got Layton, Spirit Tracks, Rune Factory 2, Dragon Quest IV, Rhapsody and Final Fantasy IV all thanks to the magic of discounts and price drops and will enjoy them NOW on my DSi which I own NOW.

    will I get a N3DS? Yeah, I’ll be there at launch…

  20. Virtual Boy 2!

    Who’s ready for more gimmicky hardware demos marketed as games?

  21. @ gojiguy

    “3D on the bus will make me sicker than usual, regular 3D.”

    lol- never thought of that

  22. @eden The DS was released in North America a month before Japan ever got a hold of it. In today’s market I bet they have a world wide launch date.

  23. Anyone know how this technology works? Scar tissue on the retina in one of my eyes creates distortion in my sight. While the other eye compensates, I can no longer see stereoscopic 3D images because my eyes do not see identitcal images. Would the lack of glasses for this technology indicate that it does NOT rely on the stereoscopic sham of tricking your brain by viewing two identical images offset?

    Nintendo says they make games for everyone.

  24. I’ll be waiting outside Game at day 1 for this, really can’t wait for E3 now to see exactly what this thing can do!!

    @rdaneel72 stereoscopic 3d doesn’t use 2 identical images, it uses 2 separate images, recorded by 2 separate cameras.

    If it works like Kotaku predicts, then I REALLY can’t wait!
    http://kotaku.com/5499712/is-this-how-3d-will-work-on-the-nintendo-3ds

  25. apparently they will use Sharp technology so the 3D will be able to come in and out of the screen without us having to move the 3DS around…. much better http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/27/sharps-triple-view-lcd/

  26. oh my god!!!!!!!!!
    i am now the happiest little girl in the world (considering how im a guy)
    nintendo…. you blew me away, lets hope everything stated is true, especially the 720 hd screens.
    psp is now dead.

  27. The game in that Kotaku link posted above looks like a ViewMaster. Do kids even know what that is anymore?

    If it works like a ViewMaster, or stereoscopic 3D, I won’t be able to see it. As I understand it, current 3D uses two different polarized lenses, and two projecters showing identical images, slightly offset. The polarized lenses allow each eye to see only one image, and tricks the brain into merging them together, giving the illusion of depth.

    Since the vision in my right eyes is distorted, the right image does not match up to the left, resulting in a blurry mess and a headache. I am sure nintendo will make the 3D effects an optional experience, and I expect that they have not even begun to reveal the true power of this new device.

  28. I think that the most important thing to note is that Nintendo came up with this idea…think about what that means.

    PS. 🙂

  29. This is why Nintendo makes the most money.

  30. If I still have time to play games, or the device provide phone services, I will get this on the first day. Nintendo is the king of portable gaming.

  31. The XL is so much the GB Micro of the DS generation, it’s not even funny.

    Announce a new portable console when the XL isn’t even available everywhere? Doesn’t make a lot of sense.

  32. Holy. Cannoli.

  33. and here we go ago again. ‘hardcore’ gamers claim it a gimmick. and then it becomes adopted, and yet another industry standard by nintendo. history repeats itself yet again. when are people gonna realize, nintendo are innovators, and they have a different mindset than the others. you may feel like you don’t need their tech, and a few years later you’ll wonder how you lived without it.

  35. hi there your wrong nintendo will have a epic win the first 3d movie player with out glasses yes yesterday i saw the live coverage of the nintendo they say you can and will be able to down load 3d movies and games a 3d movie player sony dont play 3d movies xbox 360 dose not have 3d movie player soo nintendo will have a epic win not a epic fail

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