Topic: Nintendo 3DS Discussion

[TJ Spyke]

Where in the article does it say they dislike the price? They just said they think it is expensive. Besides, I think the price won't affect the sales there anyways.

[Caterkiller]

Well it said so in the title, just relaying information. But in my opinion, if anyone says something is expensive, slightly expensive, or too expensive, chances are they probably don't like the price.

[Spak-Spang]

Hmmm...I think Nintendo is making a mistake with the price.  It sounds like they upped the price to represent value and excitement of the product....and didn't just price it at a profit margin for them.  I understand in business it is very important to price your products accurately to represent the value the consumer thinks they are getting...but this may be a bad decision. 

I can see Nintendo last minute dropping the price slightly to around $275.00  If they get constant bad press about the price.  (That is if Nintendo can still make a profit with that price point...which I am sure they can.)

I think the best price Nintendo could release is $249.99.  Price it like the Wii initially.  People will see the power of the machine, 2 screens and 3D and welcome it for that price. 

[NWR_insanolord]

They haven't announced an American price yet; they announced a Japanese price that is roughly equivalent to 299 US dollars. They don't use straight currency conversion to set their international prices, just ask the Europeans. Like they said on RFN last week, based on a lot of factors, it's most likely that it will be $250 when it comes here.

[Stratos]

Just like game prices. Some games release in Japan for the equivalent of $80 dollars.

I've got a feeling I'm gonna feel some serious sympathy pain for Aussies when their price point is released.

[BlackNMild2k1]

CryEngine on 3DS!!?
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=266739

I think the 3DS is an quite awesome piece of hardware. At E3, I got a demonstration from... it's probably better not to say, but quite a senior person at Nintendo. That demo showed me a very powerful piece of graphics hardware, as well as a very interesting user-experience.

I think they have a very interesting platform on their hands. They have some problems here and there but they are aware and it's nothing that cannot be ironed out.

I think the price point they're targeting is very interesting. Everything looks like a winner on that platform. I actually wouldn't be surprised if there is some high-end gaming happening on that platform because of the raw power of the hardware.

...

Whether we would like to or not depends on the platform itself. My initial contact with it is just that we got to see the platform at E3, going forward it may be very well that we look into putting the Cry Engine on that platform. But again this is initially thought only - nothing has been decided. There is an opportunity with Nintendo 3DS and Crytek.

[King of Twitch]

Aw yea. They got us over a barrel. They know we want it. They know it's going to blow everything else away. They know we'll pay $300 for it.

$40 games aren't that unrealistic at this point, IMEO. The thing is a beast.

[Stratos]

I wonder what problems they are referring to in that interview?

[Shorty McNostril]

So if this thing can indeed run the Cryengine, it can run the unreal engine?

[Peachylala]

So if this thing can indeed run the Cryengine, it can run the unreal engine?

Oh god, I'm such a noob. What the eff' is the Cryengine?
 
And 3DS can't run the Unreal Engine since Epic is too busy being an internet troll to Nintendo's audience. what else are they

[Caliban]

So if this thing can indeed run the Cryengine, it can run the unreal engine?

Oh god, I'm such a noob. What the eff' is the Cryengine?

Crysis (also the game) engine.

[BlackNMild2k1]

So if this thing can indeed run the Cryengine, it can run the unreal engine?

Oh god, I'm such a noob. What the eff' is the Cryengine?

CryEngine is the game engine used to run the game Crysis which has been used as the top gaming benchmark for gaming PCs for quite a while now.

If they think 3DS can possibly run CryEngine after an indepth demonstration from someone at Nintendo, then Mark Rein was most definitely talking out of his ass regarding the 3DS' capabilities and being able to run the Unreal engine. He did admit to not having even touched the hardware while making comments about what it can do.

[Stogi]

I have a couple of questions.

Can the Wii run CryEngine?

If not and the 3DS can, does that mean Nintendo could possibly make a game even more beautiful than Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3...for an handheld?!

[Shaymin]

I'm not even sure if the PS360 can run stock CryEngine. You try to put that on the Wii and I'm pretty sure it would melt the system.

[Spak-Spang]

The question I have is about resolution.

The DS Screens may use a resolution low enough that the hardware inside can run more advanced engines and do games that look as good as 360 and PS3 games because it does not have to render the level of HD graphics of the PS3 and 360.

If that is true, I can see how technically it could run the CryEngine and the developers know it because it will be scaled down.  And why Mark Rein doesn't understand the power because he is looking at the raw numbers which doesn't truly explain the power of the system.

Granted I am not a programmer and I don't know if this is actually how it works, but I think that is right.  Right now the Wii can't do HD because it doesn't have enough RAM and processing to run a game smoothly in HD...doesn't mean that they can't develop an HD game for the Wii...but it wouldn't work.  Right?

[Adrock]

I'm curious if Mark Rein just did a quick spec check. On paper, 3DS gets dominated by the likes of the iPhone 4. However, 3DS is a game device whereas the iPhone 4 is a smartphone first and foremost so that fancy A4 chip is doing a lot more than running games. It's a good sign that 3DS hardware has been praised by everyone not named Mark Rein. That tells me that Nintendo is on the right track, regardless of whether or not Rein can peddle his engines on the handheld.

[MaryJane]

Where is this paper that shows 3DS specs? All we know about is the GPU which is leaps and bounds above the DS's CPUs.

Edit: The Pica2000 GPU of the 3DS is clocked at 200-400Mhz (maybe slightly less if Nintendo downgrades for power) and the ARM9 (the other CPU was a less powerful ARM7) of the DSi is clocked at 133Mhz. Apple's A4 is clocked at 1Ghz, the GPU runs off the same chip, and it's complimented with 512MB RAM. Assuming the 3DS will be built like its predecessors, along with its independent GPU it will also have 2 CPU's and with almost all high-end phone using 1Ghz+ CPU's nowadays I wouldn't be surprised if 1 of the 3DS's clocks in near there as well.

One final point I'll make is that so far we have only seen early software, and it's quite impressive, more impressive than the iPhone's best.

Edit2: I just saw the 'leaked specs' from IGN... Those specs put it in the PSP range of power, which doesn't seem right, and also doesn't bode wll for the possibilty of the Cryengine, or visuals that would make the developer of that engine think it was possible, because then it would have also been possible on the PSP.


Edit3: Sorry for the multiple edits but I just remembered that I originally was going to post that Engadget is reporting that NoA is patenting an app that would apparently sync with your grocery store to inform you of where everything is, even possibly allowing you to map out a shopping route. As the article implies, it could be a good reason to encourage people to bring their 3DS with them more often.

[MegaByte]

Edit3: Sorry for the multiple edits but I just remembered that I originally was going to post that Engadget is reporting that NoA is patenting an app that would apparently sync with your grocery store to inform you of where everything is, even possibly allowing you to map out a shopping route. As the article implies, it could be a good reason to encourage people to bring their 3DS with them more often.

Considering other companies have been trying to push things like that with smart phones for years, it will be interesting to see what kind of penetration Nintendo gets with such apps.

[Spak-Spang]

In Japan Nintendo could do it...but not in the States.

I want to see what Nintendo could do with baseball and syncing the 3DS...that would be awesome. 

I think these specs are silly.  I don't care about them, I really don't.  All I want to know is are the games fun?  The DS pulled of graphics that I enjoyed to play on the go, and I never was disappointed in them...and the Wii also pulls off graphics that I am very pleased with and are never disappointed with.  Now will I enjoy a Nintendo system with better graphics sure...but that is not why I play games.  I watch movies for graphics, I read books for stories, and I play video games for GAMEPLAY.  To me Graphics and Story are a far distant second and third in importance.

[MaryJane]

@Spak:

Just to reiterate, this patent was filed for by Nintendo of America (NoA) so they're are at least going to try it in the states, and with how popular the DS is with women, places like Walmart and K-Mart that will sell the 3DS likely wouldn't take too much convincing to set up (or allow Nintendo to pay for and set up) the in-store network that would allow the app to function.

And, yes graphics are a distant second or third in importance, but a system's horsepower allows different gameplay elements, especially on a system that is going to utilize 3D. Also, as we have seen with the Wii, being underpowered gets you less games. Nintendo already has the GB/GBA fans and the casual market buying the DS, now they want to steal the people who buy a PSP because it has better graphics/more 'hardcore' games. The best way to do that is to make a system that has enough graphical capabilities to attract western developers who make the 'hardcore' games.

On a side note, I would really like to see what the PSP2 is going to be. Graphical power got them next to nowhere last gen, and this gen, even if it's more powerful than the 3DS, if it doesn't have 3D it will seem underpowered, or outdated. Maybe Sony's going to make a PSP tablet, with a 5-7 inch touchscreen and the PSP form factor, that might not be such a bad idea.

[Adrock]

I think these specs are silly.  I don't care about them, I really don't.  All I want to know is are the games fun?  The DS pulled of graphics that I enjoyed to play on the go, and I never was disappointed in them...and the Wii also pulls off graphics that I am very pleased with and are never disappointed with.  Now will I enjoy a Nintendo system with better graphics sure...but that is not why I play games.  I watch movies for graphics, I read books for stories, and I play video games for GAMEPLAY.  To me Graphics and Story are a far distant second and third in importance.

Well, that's super and all, but ultimately moot. "Specs don't matter." Great. We've all heard that rhetoric before, especially from Nintendo themselves. Truth is, specs matter... to the vast majority of people making the games. It's not a question of whether 3rd parties developers can makes good games with lower specs. They can. They just don't want to and Nintendo can't force them. So, if 3rd parties don't want to, they aren't going to and judging by the Wii's woeful support, they haven't and they won't. Nintendo's gameplay first philosophy is admirable (and I tend to agree) but pushy. However, that philosophy is still possible with powerful hardware and it should be suggested, not enforced lest you alienate the people who could be making you even richer than you already are. In the interest of making more money, Nintendo should have been listening closer. In the end, a game can be ALL of the things that we love.

[alegoicoe]

i think the 3ds pricing issue has been a bit overblown, just because in japan its about 300 dollars converted from jen, does not mean is going to be the same here, im looking forward to a price range between 200-249.

[Stratos]

Graphics greatly matter to me because I can't stand the non-anti-aliased blocky 3D graphics of the RPGs on the DS. Especially when it's juxtaposed with crisp clean Anime or CGI cutscenes. It's driven me away from a number of highly regarded titles.

[NWR_insanolord]

I'll take a good game with bad graphics, but I'd rather have the same good game with good graphics. They aren't mutually exclusive.

[Spak-Spang]

I think these specs are silly.  I don't care about them, I really don't.  All I want to know is are the games fun?  The DS pulled of graphics that I enjoyed to play on the go, and I never was disappointed in them...and the Wii also pulls off graphics that I am very pleased with and are never disappointed with.  Now will I enjoy a Nintendo system with better graphics sure...but that is not why I play games.  I watch movies for graphics, I read books for stories, and I play video games for GAMEPLAY.  To me Graphics and Story are a far distant second and third in importance.

Well, that's super and all, but ultimately moot. "Specs don't matter." Great. We've all heard that rhetoric before, especially from Nintendo themselves. Truth is, specs matter... to the vast majority of people making the games. It's not a question of whether 3rd parties developers can makes good games with lower specs. They can. They just don't want to and Nintendo can't force them. So, if 3rd parties don't want to, they aren't going to and judging by the Wii's woeful support, they haven't and they won't. Nintendo's gameplay first philosophy is admirable (and I tend to agree) but pushy. However, that philosophy is still possible with powerful hardware and it should be suggested, not enforced lest you alienate the people who could be making you even richer than you already are. In the interest of making more money, Nintendo should have been listening closer. In the end, a game can be ALL of the things that we love.

Yes true.  Specs matter for developers.  I am not saying I want a 3DS that basically follows the principles of the Wii.  I don't.  But, in the end, if the games are appearing to be of an extremely high quality with signs of a very strong processor and enough RAM to do some great things in terms of graphics.  I also understand that stronger hardware actually allows for more advanced gameplay.  But, in the end, I don't care worrying about them or stressing over what engines can and can't be made for the system, because I know other engines and other fantastic games and development tools will be made.  I just want to play fun and engaging games period.

And about the patient...that is interesting.  I guess it is plausible that most chains use a similar store design for corporate organization of the stores...Nintendo could easily use those blueprints to build a system for say Walmart or Targets to use for grocery lists...it would be interesting for sure.