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Nintendo expects the 3DS to be huge

The best selling portable game console on the market is the Nintendo DS line. The DS generates quite a bit of money for Nintendo and continues to be one of the most important platforms the company sells.

Nintendo is set to replace the DS with the new 3DS in its current fiscal year. Details on the new console are scant, but we do know at this point the device will need no glasses to provide the 3D effects for gamers. Rumors and speculation on the tech allowing the glasses-free 3D viewing is running rampant. New screen tech from Sharp that allows 3D sans glasses is rumored to possibly be the tech behind the 3DS.

BusinessWeek has interviewed Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime about the 3DS. Fills-Aime said, "We have ideas of what we want to bring to the consumer that we can’t do with the current. The Nintendo 3DS for us is our next handheld platform."

Nintendo is expecting very big things from the 3DS and Fils-Aime says that the 3DS will be the biggest product launch for Nintendo since 2004 when the company moved from the Game Boy to the DS. The Nintendo executive was mum on any hard details for the 3DS and stated again that more information would be offered at E3 this summer.

Nintendo needs the 3DS right now. Its sales are slumping on the back of decreased demand for both the Wii and the DS along with a corresponding dip in demand for software. Nintendo predicts that sales of the DS will drop 3.8% to 30 million units with a decrease in software sales of 24% for the year ending on March 31.

“Fundamentally, this business is about software, not hardware. Software is what drives engagement by the consumer,” Fils-Aime said. “For us technology is not the end, it’s the means to an end, which is around a great consumer experience.”

Basically, Nintendo is looking to 3D to drive more sales of software ad consumers are more engaged by the content. Since Nintendo released the DS portable in 2004, the device has sold more than 125 million units and is the clear leader in the portable console market.

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oui.
By Morphine06 on 4/13/2010 10:28:35 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Launch of Nintendo 3DS is Most Important for the Company Since 2004


I are be reading DT and dumber slowly becoming.




RE: oui.
By Connoisseur on 4/13/2010 10:45:22 AM , Rating: 1
Umm it's a title for an article. titles generally forgo niceties like "the", even in newspapers. Man, the grammar Nazi-ism nowadays is getting far more annoying than the actual grammatical errors.


RE: oui.
By bissimo on 4/13/2010 10:57:22 AM , Rating: 3
If the article title omits "the" for most important, it should also follow that style and omit it for "company." Thus, "Launch of Nintendo 3DS is Most Important for Company Since 2004"

If grammar Nazis are more annoying to you than the errors they point out, quit reading the comment section.


RE: oui.
By abel2 on 4/14/2010 1:50:16 PM , Rating: 3
I believe the point of a comment section is to comment on the articles subject matter and not the grammar therein. If i wanted to read comments about grammar id subscribe to an english language forum


RE: oui.
By Morphine06 on 4/14/2010 5:19:32 PM , Rating: 2
I believe the point of the comment section is to comment on the articles subject matter and not the comments. If I wanted to read comments about comments I'd read your comments.


RE: oui.
By Donovan on 4/15/2010 1:08:09 PM , Rating: 2
So the comment nazi is complaining about the grammar nazi?


RE: oui.
By nglessner on 4/13/2010 11:23:34 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
Launch of Nintendo 3DS is Most Important for the Company Since 2004


How about:

quote:
3DS is Most Important Launch for Nintendo Since 2004


Who needs editors when the audience will edit for you?


RE: oui.
By Fireshade on 4/14/2010 8:41:38 AM , Rating: 2
Hehe, in principle the title even sounds like only the launch is most important, and that the rest (3DS!) doesn't really matter.


RE: oui.
By rudolphna on 4/13/2010 10:59:27 AM , Rating: 2
Give a 6, if just for being hilarious.


RE: oui.
By GodisanAtheist on 4/14/2010 4:50:37 AM , Rating: 1
GOD DAMN IT WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET JASON MICK TO STOP FUC... oh wait...


I'm excited
By ET on 4/14/2010 3:25:45 AM , Rating: 3
I'll wait for the official specs, but I can see quite a bit of potential, and 3D really could make this very cool. Besides, I like the name 3DS. Could this be the first ever handheld console I'll buy?




Well....
By Alexstarfire on 4/13/10, Rating: -1
RE: Well....
By Dribble on 4/13/2010 11:47:25 AM , Rating: 5
lol

Bet you said exactly the same thing when you heard the DS had two screens, or the Wii didn't have a proper controller.

Chances of you being right are pretty slim IMO.


RE: Well....
By Alexstarfire on 4/13/2010 12:01:27 PM , Rating: 2
No, I thought those would work great. That's why I got both of them when they launched. Good attempt at making me look like a fanboy though. I'm sure everyone but you realizes that having a good 3D implementation is quite difficult and/or expensive. Even more so with the 3DS since they say it'll be backwards compatible. That must be one hell of a good screen they are using.


RE: Well....
By The0ne on 4/13/2010 12:46:23 PM , Rating: 3
Look, you got millions and millions of Avatar fans, most of them born in a generation that lacks knowledge or interest in history, that will go out of their way to make this a hit. Just like Apple fans, any slight changes to the DS will have the fans shelling out another $120+ or so for a different color or bigger screen.

So really, when view this way it'll be a success no matter what. Pink color can go screw itself for all I care, I'm sticking to my old trusty blue DS lite :) (no relations or interest in Avatar btw).


RE: Well....
By The0ne on 4/13/2010 12:46:24 PM , Rating: 2
Look, you got millions and millions of Avatar fans, most of them born in a generation that lacks knowledge or interest in history, that will go out of their way to make this a hit. Just like Apple fans, any slight changes to the DS will have the fans shelling out another $120+ or so for a different color or bigger screen.

So really, when view this way it'll be a success no matter what. Pink color can go screw itself for all I care, I'm sticking to my old trusty blue DS lite :) (no relations or interest in Avatar btw).


RE: Well....
By Luticus on 4/13/2010 12:51:37 PM , Rating: 3
I doubt the 3DS will fail. Since when has Nintendo ever been known to be overpriced? They consistently develop the LEAST expensive consoles on the market. On top of that, they tend to release quality products. Sure some say the WII remote is gimmicky, but it does work well in every way Nintendo has implemented it so far as I've seen. In fact, to date, I can only think of one console Nintendo ever produced that truly failed, the Virtual Boy. While track record by no means guarantees a great product it does suggest that chances are they wouldn't implement something that was "crap".


RE: Well....
By Alexstarfire on 4/13/2010 3:12:42 PM , Rating: 1
Ummm, DSi for starters. It's like $170 and pretty much offers nothing new. It's got the camera, but come on who really uses it for more than 10 minutes? And they removed backwards compatibility. Shouldn't be $50 more for some shitty camera and removed functionality. Hell, the XL is only supposed to be $180 and it's got much bigger screens. I don't if that one will work that well either. I'm assuming that the bigger screens mean it'll have a bigger battery as well. I just don't know if it offsets the increase in power consumption. Same for the 3DS as well. I'm sure it'll use up more power.


RE: Well....
By Luticus on 4/14/2010 10:25:31 AM , Rating: 2
DSi, irrelevant. While some features (like backwards compatibility) are sorely missed and hardware-wise it doesn't really offer much, it does improve the software by adding better Internet capabilities. All that aside it still outsold everything the competition produced as far as I know. Even with those things and the fact that you think it's overpriced for what it is, the bottom line is that it's still cheaper then most of it's competition.

I think Nintendo has mastered the art of being cheaper than everyone else and still making insane profit.

For what it's worth I think that the 3DS will be a great step forward because it certainly offers something no other device on the market currently does. It brings to the table the "next level" of gaming (3D), which is ironically something the virtual boy tried and failed to do. This time, however, they have true color (instead of monochrome red), a hand-held device, and a slew of other features ramping up the offering as well.


RE: Well....
By BansheeX on 4/14/2010 2:41:03 AM , Rating: 2
For its day, the first GBA blew major wind. No backlight, substandard resolution, and a horrible sound chip that was half as good as the 10 year old SNES. The first DS model (the one no one remembers) was also pretty bad.

Nintendo's inexplicable frugality is the whole reason there was a window for the PlayStation and PSP to come in and do what they did. People think Nintendo is doing well now, but in reality, they squandered the chance to be the Microsoft of consoles. They still make good games, but they are a bit like Apple now marketing low-end hardware at an extreme markup for gimmicky controls and cute designs.


RE: Well....
By Luticus on 4/14/2010 10:42:23 AM , Rating: 2
The GBA and original DS may have lacked some things, but at market they did not fail. I'm in no way trying to say that Nintendo devices are perfect but they are good enough to not fail in most cases.

The reason Playstation's window opened up had nothing at all to do with frugality and everything to do with an old "failed" agreement between sony and nintendo regarding an SNES add on for CD based games. The device actually went on to become the first Playstation (which could play SNES games). Most people don't know or remember the HUGE hand Nintendo had in making the Playstation possible.

The only similarity i see between Apple and Nintendo is that both don't seem to place their primary focus on performance (something my computer does better than any console). Unlike Apple, however, Nintendo brought motion controls to the table which is something my computer can't currently do. For this reason Nintendo was the only console I had any real reason to buy, although I do also own a 360. I think in a lot of ways Nintendo was by far the most innovative with the WII because instead of following the mold and ramping up hardware slapping it in a box and selling it, they actually gave people a new way to play and experience games. For better or worse there's still a lot to be said for that and only a fool wouldn't give them props for taking that risk and winning.


RE: Well....
By theapparition on 4/13/2010 1:50:45 PM , Rating: 2
I'll wait for judgement (actually, my kids will do the judgement), but I think it's very possible to do 3D effectively without glasses.

There was a technology developed a few years ago that displayed two images, that were split using prismatic elements, or something similar. Stand on the right side of the display, and you saw one image. Move several feet over to the left and you saw a different image.

Problems with this tech were related to the different focal lengths, eg. how far back people were standing. However, with a handheld, you always know the focal length, the length of your arms. A simple calibration could be done to optimize the effect for a limited range and send one image to one eye, another distint image to the other eye.

I doubt Nintendo will overcharge for this, in fact, I bet it will be priced competitively towards thier other products.

Now, games that effectively use the 3D effect are a ???.


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