Topic: Second 3DS CPU Will Be Unlocked for Developers

[King Bowser Koopa]

Nintendo may have a way to unlock more power in their new handheld.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/28388

The second processor core of the 3DS will be  made available for use by developers, according to leaked information from Nintendo.

This processor is said to have previously been reserved solely for the handheld's operating system. It is rumored that an extra 25% of power will be unlocked, giving the developers access to significantly more raw processing power for their games.

Furthermore, Nintendo have found a much more efficient method of running stereoscopic 3D images, which puts much less strain on the CPU.

On a similar note, it is speculated that eShop downloadable titles will be given an increased space allocation up to 512 MB. Nintendo is considering the possibility of patching games via the eShop, potentially allowing for extra downloadable content.

[Ceric]

I have mixed feelings about this.  It be great to give developers more power but, it was smart of Nintendo to give the OS its own set of resources so it wouldn't interfere with games.

Now the more efficient 3D is all Gravy to me.

Though what would this take the Processor count too.  2 General Processors and 2 GPUs...

[Jonnyboy117]

All of this, please.

[Kytim89]

Hopefully this will attract even more third party developers to push more of their games onto the system and take advantage of the raw power given by this set up.

[famicomplicated]

If you compare the status of the 3DS at launch to a year later, I think you could call it the "most improved hardware system through system updates" ever.


However if the increase of power usually assigned to the OS is to be used for (potentially) better looking/faster running games, does that mean you wont be able to access the OS in those games?

No big deal I guess, it'd be just like running a DSiWare game!

[Adrock]

Wouldn't unlocking more processing power Stone Cold Stun the battery even more? Back away not today, disco lady.

Increasing the file size for eshop games needs to happen and shouldn't have needed consideration in the first place. Make it happen!

[Kytim89]

Does the 3DS direclty store eShop games on the SD card?

[Ceric]

Does the 3DS direclty store eShop games on the SD card?

Yes but, DSiWare is stored on the system itself.  I think that is a limitation of them just booting into the DS OS for BC.

[UncleBob]

Does the 3DS direclty store eShop games on the SD card?

Yes but, DSiWare is stored on the system itself.  I think that is a limitation of them just booting into the DS OS for BC.

Dear Nintendo:
Add a routine into the 3DS OS that does this:

IF User Clicks on Software
  IF Software=DSiWare
    IF Software Location=SD Card
      THEN COPY Software to Location=System
        THEN LAUNCH Software

Woah - mind blown.

[Chozo Ghost]

This was probably done to counter the Vita somewhat. Its probably not something Nintendo wanted to do, but because of the threat of the more powerful Vita they had to do what they could to streamline things to squeeze every last molecule of power out of the system.

[MegaByte]

I would guess it was something that was too much trouble to do initially in order to get the system out the door. Or maybe it made battery life even worse (like what happened with the PSP), but the screen battery breakthrough offset it.

[Ceric]

I have no idea why Nintendo defaults the 3DS to full brightness and Power Saver off.  Half Brightness and Power saver on really isn't that much different but its a bit more time.

[Stogi]

I think launching in March was the worst decision Nintendo could have made.

[Chozo Ghost]

I think launching in March was the worst decision Nintendo could have made.

I disagree because the almost full year headstart over the Vita was a smart move and will pay off both in the long run and already has in the short term. The 3DS has this holiday season entirely to itself, but it also has all the gains its made since its launch also. Had it launched in say November then it would only have the holiday sales and not everything prior to that, which it now does.

But getting the 3DS out so early undoubtedly meant some things were rushed, so the early headstart came at a cost, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives, because Nintendo is gradually remedying things like this second CPU thing, and maybe being rushed explains the dual analog addon thing. Maybe they wanted it integrated into the system since day one, but maybe there just wasn't time for it.

[Adrock]

If Nintendo wanted to integrate the second slider from day one, 3DS would have been designed that way from the get go. Hardware goes through months and years of revisions before it's finalized. Not including something like a right control pad isn't something that gets omitted due to time constraints. Nintendo flat out decided against it and fashioned a solution out of duct tape and toothpicks once they realized how fucking dumb it was not to have included it.

[Stogi]

I think launching in March was the worst decision Nintendo could have made.

I disagree because the almost full year headstart over the Vita was a smart move and will pay off both in the long run and already has in the short term. The 3DS has this holiday season entirely to itself, but it also has all the gains its made since its launch also. Had it launched in say November then it would only have the holiday sales and not everything prior to that, which it now does.

But getting the 3DS out so early undoubtedly meant some things were rushed, so the early headstart came at a cost, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives, because Nintendo is gradually remedying things like this second CPU thing, and maybe being rushed explains the dual analog addon thing. Maybe they wanted it integrated into the system since day one, but maybe there just wasn't time for it.

Fact of the matter is, it makes Nintendo looks sloppy. Not only launched a system with a dismal battery, dismal games and then changed its price, but they've already built an attachment, and now bumped the specs for eshop and games and found a better way to produce 3D images.

It was rushed, plain and simple. All of these revisions should have been there from the get go. All the games coming out this holiday should have been there when it launched. If it launched this month instead of March, no one would have anything bad to say about it.

[Mop it up]

Dear Nintendo:
Add a routine into the 3DS OS that does this:

IF User Clicks on Software
  IF Software=DSiWare
    IF Software Location=SD Card
      THEN COPY Software to Location=System
        THEN LAUNCH Software

Woah - mind blown.

Isn't this already what the Wii does with games on the SD card?

[BlackNMild2k1]

3rd Parties: Hmmm... I just don't think 3DS is powerful enough to do what we want it to
[starts eyeballing Vita over on the other desk]

Nintendo: You need more power!? Why didn't you just say so?
[unlocks 3DS's 2nd core]
Nintendo: Now you're playing with POWAH!!!

3rd Parties:

[Discostew]

The whole "unlocking" scenario is something Nintendo could have done on the DS if it were capable of it. The 2nd CPU in that (the ARM7) was used primarily for WiFi, extra button input, and playing audio (note, play audio, not mix audio), and developers had no access to it other than through Nintendo's own API. With the 3DS, it was the same scenario, except they understand that with updates, they can put the unused portion to good use.

On a similar note, it is speculated that eShop downloadable titles will be given an increased space allocation from 16mb to 512mb. Nintendo is considering the possibility of patching games via the eShop, potentially allowing for extra downloadable content.

I must be missing something here. Isn't Let's Golf! 3D almost 256MB in size?

[TJ Spyke]

About 195MB, based on how many blocks the games size is. Still, well above the supposed 16MB limit.

[Kytim89]

When will the 3DS be an actual handheld Gamecube/Wii in terms of graphics because those muddy textures found in even Nintendo games makes me a little worried in this day and age of smooth textures.

[MegaByte]

The wording was misleading. We don't know what the 3DS limit used to be; the 16MB was for DSi, and 512MB is the new 3DS limit.

[Chozo Ghost]

So now that the 2nd core has been unlocked, how long will it take for hackers to install linux on it?

[Vyz3r]

When will the 3DS be an actual handheld Gamecube/Wii in terms of graphics because those muddy textures found in even Nintendo games makes me a little worried in this day and age of smooth textures.

Wrong system. The 3DS is not a DS.

[Kytim89]

When will the 3DS be an actual handheld Gamecube/Wii in terms of graphics because those muddy textures found in even Nintendo games makes me a little worried in this day and age of smooth textures.

Wrong system. The 3DS is not a DS.

Technically the DS was a handheld N64 and the 3DS is a handheld Gamecube/Wii.