Iwata on the origins of the 3DS…
“3D is nothing new for Nintendo. We’ve been working on the challenges for a number of years. As you know, about 15 years ago, we tried 3D with the Virtual Boy handheld. It didn’t work that well.
About ten years ago, when we were launching the Nintendo GameCube console, 3D technology was already available in the form of parallax barrier. We experimented to see what would happen if a LCD display could do 3D using the processing power of the GameCube. The GameCube had the ability to show images from the left eye and the right eye, shifted so that they could produce a 3D effect. The circuitry had been designed with the possibility of using a parallax barrier LCD. We experimented with Luigi’s Mansion, a launch title for the GameCube, to see if it would work. And the result was appealing. It showed depth in the view of the gaming world. But when we reviewed its marketability, we had to consider the problem of consumers having to purchase displays. Game hardware was already one purchase. And the TVs were not cheap at that time. So we thought it would not be practical.
We’ll be hosting this video just in case it gets taken down. I’m not quite sure why Square Enix didn’t officially release this trailer, especially since it’s been announced, though someone managed to take footage from the trailer at E3.
Mega Man 2
Castlevania
Urban Champion
Kid Icarus
Yoshi’s Island
Smash Ping Pong
Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
Tennis
The Legend of Zelda
Metroid
Mystery of Murasame Castle
The games above were included as part of a sizzle reel of old-school titles at E3, hinting that they would be coming over to the 3DS. I’m not sure why it took so long to find out about this (and why Nintendo hasn’t shared a video of this as well as other 3DS trailers), but that’s besides the point!
In any case, Reggie has confirmed that the games will be brought over to the system. The thing is, they might be more than just simple ports. You may remember that Shigeru Miyamoto stated that with the Ocarina of Time remake, the developers are looking to take advantage of the 3DS’ features and 3D effect. So it’s possible that the classic games listed above may receive similar treatment.
Naturally, one of the first things you might think of when hearing about this is that Nintendo might be planning some sort of 3DS Virtual Console/3DS service. That seems likely based on the Japanese trademarks discovered several weeks ago, but we’ll have on that until Nintendo provides an official announcement.
This information comes from n-Space’s Facebook page…
“One parting announcement… at E3 this year Activision and Nintendo announced Goldeneye as a Wii exclusive. Not quite. We’re happy to confirm that a DS version is in the works at n-Space. More on this next week!”
This doesn’t come as a surprise, as there were rumors that n-Space was working on a DS version prior to E3. Also, a logo for a DS version was found on the game’s official website prior to today’s confirmation. Screenshots/footage haven’t been released yet, but stay tuned!
As was revealed earlier this week, the 3DS can take 3D photos thanks to two outer cameras. However, no one has really brought up the idea of recording 3D footage on the system. So, is it possible? Well, according to a Nnooo programmer, there was a demo at E3 showing off that very feature.
“We also saw this tech demo that used the camera which actually recorded 3D, so that was something that Nintendo didn’t confirm, so hopefully they confirm it. But from what I saw, it actually recorded footage in 3D. So that tech demo was really good…”
I assume Nnooo knows what they’re talking about, but like he said, it has yet to be officially confirmed. The ability to record 3D footage could be a huge selling point for Nintendo, so let’s hope they integrate it into the system.
