This information comes from Satoru Iwata…
“At first we thought it would be desirable to launch the 3DS within the year, so we made our forecasts on that basis. At this point it is clear that if we launch within the year, we will not be able to supply enough units.”
I was honestly shocked when Iwata stated that the 3DS wouldn’t be releasing in any territory this year. I was skeptical of a NA/European launch for 2010, but I was almost certain it would at least be out in Japan around November. It will feel strange not having the 3DS around for the holiday season, but at least more units will be available when the system launches and more developers have time to work on their projects.
This information comes from Wes Philips, Capcom’s manager of PR strategy…
“Our Nintendo 3DS lineup is ridiculously good. Mega Man Legends, Super Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil? No one is bringing it like us.”
I definitely feel like Capcom is one of the strongest supporters of the 3DS. Resident Evil: Revelations and Super Street Fighter IV 3D contributed to a fantastic start, but as we know, the company also announced a second Resident Evil title for the handheld as well as Mega Man Legends 3 earlier today. Personally, I can’t wait to see what the new Legends game looks like.
– 3DS to fix issues with the Wii and DSi shops
– 3DS shop will combine promotional and sales functionality
– Iwata compared this to combining the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo Channel into one
– Improved shop interface for 3DS
– Quickly and smoothly switch between screens
– Store downloads on an SD card
– The 3DS come with a 2GB card, but you can use a larger card as well
– 4 categories of 3DS downloads: Virtual Console, Classic Games with New 3D Look, Nintendo DSiWare, Nintendo 3DS Software
– Virtual Console category starting off with Game Boy and Game Boy Color
– “Classic Games with a new 3D Look” category includes classic titles remade in 3D
– Namco Bandai had a 3D version of Xevious as an experiment for the Classic Games with a new 3D Look category
– DSiWare category: Download DSiWare titles like DSi/DSi LL owners can, transfer games over to the 3DS as well
– Last category most likely 3DSWare, but it has not been given that official name
“We’ve been doing download sales for the Wii and DSi, but there is room for improvement. We cannot say that the Wii Shopping Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop have provided users with a sufficiently easy and accessible interface, and we were not able to run optimal shops which have the ability to both promote and sell products in one place.”
“For any download business to grow, it must be important for consumers to be able to enjoy window shopping even when they do not have any particular product in mind. Quick and easy access to the shop is, therefore, very important.”
“To make the classic titles 3D will not be as easy as providing Virtual Console software, but we are eager to make them available for the download sales.”
01. / 01. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) – 828.580 / 3.386.358 (-68%)
02. / 00. [PSP] Black Leopard: A New Tale of Yakuza (Sega) – 174.213 / NEW
03. / 05. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) – 43.077 / 1.040.102 (+18%)
04. / 00. [PSP] Durarara!! 3-way Standoff (ASCII Media Works) – 21.566 / NEW
05. / 06. [PSP] Monster Hunter Diary: Pokapoka Ailu Village (Capcom) – 18.652 / 447.329 (-35%)
06. / 07. [NDS] One Piece: Gigant Battle (Bandai Namco) – 14.339 / 174.316 (-49%)
07. / 02. [PS3] Front Mission: Evolved (Square Enix) – 10.421 / 61.504 (-80%)
08. / 00. [PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi – Wu-Hen (Yeti) – 10.240 / NEW
09. / 03. [PSP] Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s Tag Force 5 (Konami) – 9.805 / 55.684 (-79%)
10. / 00. [PS3] Winning Post 7 2010 (Koei Tecmo) – 9.714 / NEW
11. / 09. [NDS] Taiko Drum Master DS: Dororon! Battle With the Ghouls!! (Bandai Namco) – 9.653 / 225.166 (+11%)
12. / 10. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo) – 9.414 / 834.955 (+15%)
13. / 16. [WII] Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo) – 7.720 / 2.074.733 (+11%)
14. / 15. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom Unite [PSP the Best Reprint] (Capcom) – 7.585 / 430.362 (+7%)
15. / 11. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! Spark / Bomber (Level 5) – 7.526 / 843.883 (-6%)
16. / 00. [PSP] Winning Post 7 2010 (Koei Tecmo) – 6.355 / NEW
17. / 17. [NDS] Art Academy (Nintendo) – 6.314 / 180.030 (-3%)
18. / 20. [WII] Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo) – 6.191 / 2.937.740 (+16%)
19. / 18. [NDS] Friend Collection (Nintendo) – 5.999 / 3.424.869 (-8%)
20. / 21. [WII] New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo) – 5.891 / 3.996.368
StreetPass
– “Surechigai” in Japan
– Exchange data with other 3DS owners while the system is in sleep mode
– Data automatically exchanged
– LED lights up when a StreetPass communication occurs
– Can look at the Notification Applet to see what sort of communication happened
– “Oshirase List,” or “Notice List” in Japan
Mii Studio
– Might not be the final English name
– More parts for customization
– Can look at existing Mii characters
– Take pictures of your face and make adjustments from the resulting model
– Use automatic creation features by choosing basic options for hairs style, skin, eyes, etc.
– Show Miis on the 3DS
– Convert Miis to QR form
– QR code and Mii picture data can be put on an SD card
– StreetPass Mii Plaza also available (temp name)
– Mii character will be exchanged
– External Miis appear in the plaza
– Mii shown next to an icon showing what game the Mii’s owner last played
– Find out when the StreetPass occurred and how many people that particular person has StreetPassed with
AR Games
– Augmented Reality
– Places 3D objects in your pictures
– Name not finalized
– Pre-installed program: AR Games (temp name)
– Iwata hoping 3DS owners and the people around them will experience an “unusual feeling”
Home Menu
– Go to the home menu when playing games
– Can then access different hardware features while the game is paused
– This includes the Internet browser
– Can quickly return to the game
Activity Log
– “Omoide Kirokucho” in Japan
– Records the number of footsteps you’ve taken while carrying the 3DS with you
– How long you’ve played games recorded as well
– Footsteps can be shown in graph form
Nintendo 3DS Camera
– 3 cameras
– Two on the outside
– One on the inside
– Can take 3D photos thanks to the
– Sound and camera functions in the 3DS
– Can take pictures of faces using the inside and outside camera, merge them
SpotPass
– “Itsunoma no Tsuushin” in Japan
– Put 3DS in sleep mode
– Communicate with Wi-Fi access points
– Will then download items like rankings, ghost data, software, notifications
– Can set which items you want transferred
– Nintendo hoping to set up a number of access points that won’t require any type of setting inputs
– Includes DS Station kiosks, will be converted to Nintendo Zones services
– Can also access Nintendo Zone services from McDonalds and other areas
– Nintendo working with NTT East and NTT West to give 3DS owners access to WiFine points in Japan (over 2,000 access points in train stations, airports, restaurants)
3D Movies
– Collaborations with Fuji Television and Nippon Television
– 3D videos will be distributed through SpotPass
– “We are hoping that it will be one of the solutions to tackle the chicken and the egg problem and become the trigger for the 3D footage business to emerge on Nintendo 3DS.”
