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[Juice]

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

 

[AceBandage]

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

Yet again. Making the 3DS uber powerful wouldn't help it sell to ANYONE besides GAFers.
The only bottleneck will be creativity bankrupt publishers like EA.

 

[H_Prestige]

If you believe iphone or android are replacing dedicated portable gaming machines in the future (which very well may be true), then Nintendo could cram all the tech they wanted in 3DS and it still wouldn't change that. Nobody will ever replace their phone with a gaming console if choosing one over the other.

 

[ryan-ts]

Dude, seriously. People are upset with a mini Gamecube/Xbox in their pocket? (possibly better IMO) and in 3D?

That sounds amazing

 

[Ezduo]

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

DS is still selling pretty damn well.

 

[Lonely1]

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

Well, your phone isn't $200. Without a multi-year contract, try $700+ And how long does it last while playing Epic Citadel?

 

[BDGAME]

cellphone don't replace cameras, photo machines and other devices. They will not replace the portable game devices.

Dam, it's like the old "PC will kill video games" discussion all over again.

 

[Jokeropia]

The original PSP got something of a free pass to success due to console dev costs proving to be too expensive for niche JRPGs and the DS being too limited to realise all those ideas.

It also got a free pass in mindshare and support due to almost the entire industry expecting it to win. Now it's pretty much the opposite.

 

[blu]

gofreak, I definitely see where you're coming from - on many other occasions I've been in your position, arguing for general programability, and even for GPGPU on handhelds.

Let's face it, though: the 3DS is not some kind of an 'early bird' R&D platform from the future - it has a very current and pressing goal today. The 'potential' of a game console is not measured in how many advanced shading techniques devs invented on - it's measured in how many good games people played on it.

Now, call it a gut feeling, but I believe the 3DS is going to excel there.

 

[defferoo]

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

and you've ignored all the previous posts regarding ram. don't compare your smartphone to a gaming system. this is analogous to the whole don't compare your pc to a console thing. did you notice, most pcs had 4x the ram of consoles when they came out? course 128 would've been nice, but we don't always get what we want

 

[ILikeFeet]

Dude, seriously. People are upset with a mini Gamecube/Xbox in their pocket? (possibly better IMO) and in 3D?

If you are get an iPhone an play the amazingly dull UE3 tech demo... great graphics, limited controls.

not to mention limited everything else. no NPC with AI, nothing. it's amazing but it's still a tech demo.

and people are still comparing the 3DS to the iphone? I think the OP should put brainstew's or someon else's explanation in the OP. but that wouldn't solve anything

 

[Vic]

DS is still selling pretty damn well.

You don't get it. IN THE FUTURE people will prefer to play games on their iPhones instead of their DS. Mobile technology is evolving at a drastic rate. The 3DS isn't packing much power the minute it's out compared to smartphones and it's simply going to be way behind 2 years, no, 1 year from now. Every game developers will make games for the idevices instead of dedicated gaming devices since the graphics are better and the AppStore is shaping up to be the mecca of gaming years from now. The dedicated handheld gaming business will be disrupted by the idevices/AppStore in a couple of years from now.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

You do realize that the DS is still the best selling sytem on the market....right ?

 

[AceBandage]

I just find it funny that people think the iPhone or Droid devices will overtake the 3DS because of power, when most of the best selling games are 2D $.99 games.
Power has no factor here except to techies, who will be buying this regardless.

 

[gkryhewy]

You don't get it. IN THE FUTURE people will prefer to play games on their iPhones instead of their DS. Mobile technology is evolving at a drastic rate. The 3DS isn't packing much power the minute it's out compared to smartphones and it's simply going to be way behind 2 years, no, 1 year from now. Every game developers will make games for the idevices instead of dedicated gaming devices since the graphics are better and the AppStore is shaping up to be the mecca of gaming years from now. The dedicated handheld gaming business will be disrupted by the idevices/AppStore in a couple of years from now.

You don't get it. THE DS has been out for six years, and it's still the top-selling gaming hardware in the US on a monthly basis, despite the fact that we're on the forth generation of iPhone over half that time horizon.

Sent from my iPad.

 

[ILikeFeet]

I think the problem with cell phones is the yearly upgrades they get. with the standard game consoles, there is no significant upgrade every year. the revisions are usually just cosmetic changes.

 

[plagiarize]

You don't get it. IN THE FUTURE people will prefer to play games on their iPhones instead of their DS. Mobile technology is evolving at a drastic rate. The 3DS isn't packing much power the minute it's out compared to smartphones and it's simply going to be way behind 2 years, no, 1 year from now. Every game developers will make games for the idevices instead of dedicated gaming devices since the graphics are better and the AppStore is shaping up to be the mecca of gaming years from now. The dedicated handheld gaming business will be disrupted by the idevices/AppStore in a couple of years from now.

if you love apple so much why don't you marry them?

seriously though 64mb was more than enough for san andreas. more than enough for jak and daxter 2. more than enough for shadow of the colossus. more than enough for twilight princess.

if you think the scale of those games won't be enough anymore in five years or that the visual fidelity of resident evil 4 or mgs3 wont be enough for a portable by then you are ignoring reality.

why aren't android owners spouting this nonsense i wonder?

 

[Vic]

You don't get it. THE DS has been out for six years, and it's still the top-selling gaming hardware in the US on a monthly basis, despite the fact that we're on the forth generation of iPhone over half that time horizon.

Sent from my iPad.

The 360 has been the top selling console since the past two months in the US.

 

[MrBelmontvedere]

DS is still selling pretty damn well.

easy piracy has all but killed off DS as a moneymaker for Nintendo. they get some profit from hardware sales, but much less (compared to what they did make previously) from software royalties. I believe this was a big factor in their posting a loss recently.

hopefully (for Nintendos sake) it will take much longer than DS for the system to be cracked.

 

[KAL2006]

PSP2 talk is pointless, not only for the fact that no one knows if it even exists let alone when it releases but also for the point that Sony's chance to succeed in the handheld space has come and gone.

There is no way of positioning the PSP2 in the market, nothing to make it distinctive. They are caught between a rock and a hardplace now with 3DS on one side and smartphones on the other.

The 3DS' autostereoscopic display is a killer selling point, and because of the problems with using a screen like that as a touchscreen (fingerprints and the finger itself interfering with how the parallax grid works, trying to touch things that are not at screen depth etc.) to have the best of both worlds the PSP2 would have to be a carbon copy of the 3DS' clamshell.

People listing dream specs with everything from a second analogue stick to the kitchen sink in it are missing the point that Sony tried that approach before. It didn't work, and now the market is split in 2 and far harder to get a foothold in. The PSP's time has come and gone, it was a good effort but they got too many things wrong from from the media format, to the battery life, to the type of games. A second analogue stick for example certainly wouldn't help the platform get the games it needed to succeed, if anything it would do the opposite.

Sharp have already shown autostereoscopic screens with touch. I think touch and 3D on the same screen is doable. Smudges on the sreen probably don't affect 3D as much as Nintendo say, also it is hard to see smudges, I am touching my monitor screen right now and I can't see smudges. It is hard to see smudges on a bright screen, the only time I see smudges on my monitor is when it is turned off.

Anyway here is the 3D touch screen from Sharp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8byrOlU58x8

EDIT: also when I was at Uni we worked with lenticular sheets which works similar to parallax barriers, when I had my hand over the lenticular sheet it never really interefered with the 3D effect.

 

[Celsior]

easy piracy has all but killed off DS as a moneymaker for Nintendo. they get some profit from hardware sales, but much less (compared to what they did make previously) from software royalties. I believe this was a big factor in their posting a loss recently.

hopefully (for Nintendos sake) it will take much longer than DS for the system to be cracked.

Them gambling on the exchange rate caused them there lose, piracy is cutting into there profits but not making them lose money.

 

[gkryhewy]

The 360 has been the top selling console since the past two months in the US.

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

 

[plagiarize]

I think the problem with cell phones is the yearly upgrades they get. with the standard game consoles, there is no significant upgrade every year. the revisions are usually just cosmetic changes.

that isnt a problem i dont think. no one is playing epic citadel on their two year old iphone.

just like people buy consoles cause they know they wont have to upgrade for four or five years there are going to be people that dont like the thought of having to spend 200 on contract every two years to keep playing the latest games.

i still cant believe people were expecting the 3ds to be specced like a multipurpose multitasking device that costs 600 dollars or whathave you.

 

[Jocchan]

i still cant believe people were expecting the 3ds to be specced like a multipurpose multitasking device that costs 600 dollars or whathave you.

What's even worse is people comparing the 3DS to future iterations of the iPhone coming in the next couple of years.

 

[UncleSporky]

I don't understand how anyone can claim it doesn't have enough RAM while simultaneously looking at the released screenshots. The precise amount of RAM is meaningless, all that matters is the sort of games it can put out, and I haven't seen any indication that it doesn't have enough RAM to crank out some seriously awesome stuff.

People keep mentioning that the iStuff has half a gig or whatever, but still fail to realize that each app is still limited to almost the same amount of RAM the 3DS has. It's fully enough to do a competent job, which has been plainly obvious for a long time now.

 

[Vic]

So this is how being AstroLad the Great must feels like... I love it.

 

[UncleSporky]

I just find it funny that people think the iPhone or Droid devices will overtake the 3DS because of power, when most of the best selling games are 2D $.99 games.
Power has no factor here except to techies, who will be buying this regardless.

I find it funny that people think the iPhone will overtake the 3DS because of power when the 3DS still has a huge advantage over it: BUTTONS and an ANALOG STICK.

 

[friskykillface]

is there gonna be an official thread for the press conference?

I think we should have one last prediction thread the night/day before so we can make our final predictions and see how close and far we are off on Launch dates/prices/games.

that "gamecube/xbox in your pocket" comment sounds amazing
about 3/4 days :O :O

 

[ksamedi]

You don't get it. IN THE FUTURE people will prefer to play games on their iPhones instead of their DS. Mobile technology is evolving at a drastic rate. The 3DS isn't packing much power the minute it's out compared to smartphones and it's simply going to be way behind 2 years, no, 1 year from now. Every game developers will make games for the idevices instead of dedicated gaming devices since the graphics are better and the AppStore is shaping up to be the mecca of gaming years from now. The dedicated handheld gaming business will be disrupted by the idevices/AppStore in a couple of years from now.

Not sure if you're being sarcastic here.

 

[Jocchan]

I don't understand how anyone can claim it doesn't have enough RAM while simultaneously looking at the released screenshots. The precise amount of RAM is meaningless, all that matters is the sort of games it can put out, and I haven't seen any indication that it doesn't have enough RAM to crank out some seriously awesome stuff

Unfortunately, most people don't go past the "number A is n times number B, so it must be n times better". Comparing entirely different machines with entirely different purposes just by looking at some numbers and seeing which ones are higher is absolutely pointless.

So this is how AstroLad the Great feels like... I love it.

Feels good, man.

 

[Easy_D]

I can't believe people are worried about the specs when we have shots of MGS and RE running in realtime looking fantastic on the 3DS.

 

[iamaustrian]

still comparing to fucking cellphones?

christ, let it be already!

 

[MrBelmontvedere]

Them gambling on the exchange rate caused them there lose, piracy is cutting into there profits but not making them lose money.

so, it's a big factor. the exchange rate is another factor. all of this combined=Nintendo losing money.

 

[AceBandage]

is there gonna be an official thread for the press conference?

I think we should have one last prediction thread the night/day before so we can make our final predictions and see how close and far we are off on Launch dates/prices/games.

that "gamecube/xbox in your pocket" comment sounds amazing
about 3/4 days :O :O

If there's a live blog a thread will be made.
As for GC/XBox in your pocket the games will likely actually look better. Though it depends on the developer.

 

[jman2050]

You don't get it. IN THE FUTURE people will prefer to play games on their iPhones instead of their DS. Mobile technology is evolving at a drastic rate. The 3DS isn't packing much power the minute it's out compared to smartphones and it's simply going to be way behind 2 years, no, 1 year from now. Every game developers will make games for the idevices instead of dedicated gaming devices since the graphics are better and the AppStore is shaping up to be the mecca of gaming years from now. The dedicated handheld gaming business will be disrupted by the idevices/AppStore in a couple of years from now.

This has to be a joke post.

I don't hang out on GAF nearly as much as I did years ago, but I need to reiterate that the RAM will be the eternal bottleneck of this poor thing. Shortsighted of Nintendo. All of that processing power, but no room for decent textures or artwork.

Too typical of them. My (granted, subsidized) $199 phone has 512MB of RAM. something like Epic Citadel will never be remotely possible on this screen's resolution or memory space.

Unless Nintendo is content selling exclusively to GAF + recess yards, they need to buck up and try to compete with the iOS platform more seriously. People are reducing the number of gadgets in their pocket, and introducing a new gadget now that doesn't have much to offer beyond an existing convergence device seems foolhardy. I just don't think the market has the same appetite for another DS-like portable in 2011 the way it did in 2006.

The RAM issue has been expounded on multiple times over. I develop on the iPhone and it is far more limited a gaming platform then all those fancy specs would lead you to believe.

why aren't android owners spouting this nonsense i wonder?

This is a good point actually.

so, it's a big factor. the exchange rate is another factor. all of this combined=Nintendo losing money.

Fine then. Explain yourself.

 

[Portugeezer]

Nintendo will deliver. We had doubts whether they will deliver at E3, can't wait for the 29th

 

[AceBandage]

Nintendo will deliver. We had doubts whether they will deliver at E3, can't wait for the 29th

Watching the 3DS segment of their E3 conference makes me all giggly.

 

[plagiarize]

on memory:

Doom 3 runs on the 64 MB Xbox.

To run it on PC you need at least 384 MB of RAM AND 64MB of video ram.

Chronicles of Riddick runs on the 64 MB Xbox.

To run it on PC you need at least 256 MB of RAM and 64MB of video ram.

GTA: San Andreas runs on the 32 MB PS2.

To run it on PC you need at least 256 MB of RAM and 64MB of video ram.

furthermore, all these games look WORSE than the console counterparts running on a PC with those specs.

 

[ryan-ts]

Watching the 3DS segment of their E3 conference makes me all giggly.

When the 3rd parties are shown and Metal Gear Solid appears and everyone starts losing their shit, that was epic.

 

[orioto]

The fact that the iphone could (or not) catch up to the portables in the future is not related to power. It's related to demographic.

For now, gaming on portable is still shitty, but the day it will be "enough" (if it's not already for casuals), there will be a problem.

The cellphone penetration is kinda unstoppable, as everyone in the future, from kids to old people, will have a smart phone at some point. If they know they can play with it, they won't (or there parents won't) buy something else, cause of money, place in the pocket, handbags.. etc.. Unfortunately, the future is about a everything in one device.

Now, for now, i guess kids and gamers still prefer a nintendo console to an iphone, but i think, compared to the ds boom, they probably have lost the casuals (adult casuals) already, cause those one doesn't need more than iphone gaming and apps. And they're spending much money for there phone service... But i could be wrong

 

[ILikeFeet]

When the 3rd parties are shown and Metal Gear Solid appears and everyone starts losing their shit, that was epic.

my favorite slide is the Squeenix one

on memory:

Doom 3 runs on the 64 MB Xbox.

To run it on PC you need at least 384 MB of RAM AND 64MB of video ram.

Chronicles of Riddick runs on the 64 MB Xbox.

To run it on PC you need at least 256 MB of RAM and 64MB of video ram.

GTA: San Andreas runs on the 32 MB PS2.

To run it on PC you need at least 256 MB of RAM and 64MB of video ram.

furthermore, all these games look WORSE than the console counterparts running on a PC with those specs.

interesting. why is this?

 

[friskykillface]

on memory:
.

GTA: San Andreas runs on the 32 MB PS2.

To run it on PC you need at least 256 MB of RAM and 64MB of video ram.

furthermore, all these games look WORSE than the console counterparts running on a PC with those specs.

GTA vice city 3DS D: D: do it rockstar, loved that game and the best soundtrack

thing that sucks is i'm assuming no playable demos or vids :/ , can't capture the 3-D
although a montage of new games in production would be great

 

[Luigiv]

interesting. why is this?

 

[AceBandage]

The fact that the iphone could (or not) catch up to the portables in the future is not related to power. It's related to demographic.

For now, gaming on portable is still shitty, but the day it will be "enough" (if it's not already for casuals), there will be a problem.

The cellphone penetration is kinda unstoppable, as everyone in the future, from kids to old people, will have a smart phone at some point. If they know they can play with it, they won't (or there parents won't) buy something else, cause of money, place in the pocket, handbags.. etc.. Unfortunately, the future is about a everything in one device.

Now, for now, i guess kids and gamers still prefer a nintendo console to an iphone, but i think, compared to the ds boom, they probably have lost the casuals (adult casuals) already, cause those one doesn't need more than iphone gaming and apps. And they're spending much money for there phone service... But i could be wrong

There will be a day when all in one devices are the norm, but it is not right now. You can not get the same experience on a smart phone as you can the 3DS. Nor can you play really any of he casual multimillion sellers that made the DS popular.
The 3dS will have no problem selling as well, if not substantially better, than its predecessor.

@ilikefeet: Because operating systems and background programs are resource hogs.

 

[Regulus Tera]

When the 3rd parties are shown and Metal Gear Solid appears and everyone starts losing their shit, that was epic.

The best part of the conference was: a) the geekout at Kid Icarus, or b) the geekout at Kirby's Epic Yarn.

edit: c)Donkey Kong Country Returns.

 

[szaromir]

Unfortunately, the future is about a everything in one device.

I don't see anything unfortunate about that. However, for now mobile phones don't offer sufficient control options for games, touch screen and giroscopes are not sufficient. Nintendo seems to be safe for a while, when they can no longer compete on hardware front, they may switch to 3rd party development.

 

[ILikeFeet]

so it's more or less the same situation as the Iphone (OS takes up a lot of the resources)?

GTA vice city 3DS D: D: do it rockstar, loved that game and the best soundtrack

thing that sucks is i'm assuming no playable demos or vids :/ , can't capture the 3-D
although a montage of new games in production would be great

actually, I think there will be videos and demos. this is the blow-out event after all

 

[AceBandage]

I don't see anything unfortunate about that. However, for now mobile phones don't offer sufficient control options for games, touch screen and giroscopes are not sufficient. Nintendo seems to be safe for a while, when they can no longer compete on hardware front, they may switch to 3rd party development.

Will likely never happen. When that day comes you can bet Nintendo will offer their own mobile smart phone platform.

 

[dvolovets]

Nintendo...may switch to 3rd party development.

:lol

How many times have we heard that line before? N64 gen, Gamecube gen, right before Wii... seriously... Nintendo is sitting on an incredible amount of cash. If pushing tech was crucial to success in the gaming world (which it isn't, at least at this point), they would do it.

 

[Taurus]

I don't see anything unfortunate about that. However, for now mobile phones don't offer sufficient control options for games, touch screen and giroscopes are not sufficient. Nintendo seems to be safe for a while, when they can no longer compete on hardware front, they may switch to 3rd party development.

Nintendo seems to be safe? :lol
When they can no longer compete on hardware front? :lol :lol
They may switch to 3rd party development? :lol :lol :lol