Topic: Nintendo's Next Console May Employ 3D

[NWR_pap64]

The company's president is waiting for the adoption rate of 3D televisions to go up.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=23417

 Nintendo President Satoru Iwata addressed his thoughts on 3D console gaming in an interview in today's Nihon Keizai Shimbun.    

When asked if the Wii would be made 3D compatible, he responded that it really isn't possible with Wii hardware. "If you display a 3D image, the image quality becomes extremely bad, so we'd probably do it with the next system. We're thinking that the timing should be once the 3D television adoption rate crosses the 30% mark. We're looking at the adoption trends."    

   

The newspaper asked if the 3DS represented Nintendo riding the wave of the 3D boom that seems to have invaded video gaming as of late. Iwata was quick to point out that Nintendo is not new to 3D, and that they had already been experimenting with immersive 3D gameplay fifteen years ago with their Virtual Boy system.  Admitting that the technology "was not ready" at that time, he stated that his company put 3D gaming on the back burner until approximately two years ago, when they realized that they finally had the technology to create "a satisfying product".    

Iwata said that the goal of implementing 3D is to give players the ability to sense their position in a game more easily. "In a game where the stages extend into the screen, it's surprisingly easier to control [compared to non-3D]. This is functionality for making games more pleasant to play, not just for show," he explained.    

He was also bullish on the future of 3D gaming, calling it "the mainstream of [future] gaming".

[oohhboy]

A bit of captain obvious going on there. The question is when 3D is finally fully commercialised. There is currently no fix standard or method to 3D with everybody scrambling to put a product out which could very well become incompatible through design or misfortune.

My guess is that 3D TVs is going to trend similarly to what HD TVs did this generation. Effectively unmarketable during launch and pretty much a wasted feature until very late in the generation. If 3D can be rolled in at negligible cost, I don't see why not. But I wouldn't bank on it as it can very well be the HD cost hike for next gen. The HD guys have barely survived this gen if you can call it that.

Settle for HD and let 3D be Next-next gen. #DS is going to hold down the fort for you.

[NWR_insanolord]

Nintendo can't make a big deal about doing 3D without glasses on the 3DS and then go backwards by using glasses-based 3D on a console. They'll wait until they can do it without glasses on the console, and that's fine, because 3D TVs won't be anything more than a small niche market until they don't need glasses anymore anyway.

[Louieturkey]

Nintendo can't make a big deal about doing 3D without glasses on the 3DS and then go backwards by using glasses-based 3D on a console. They'll wait until they can do it without glasses on the console, and that's fine, because 3D TVs won't be anything more than a small niche market until they don't need glasses anymore anyway.

But glasses-free TVs are at least 15 years away I think.  Being able to show that 3D effect to multiple people is something even the 3DS cannot do right now.  So according to you, 3D gaming won't take off until 2-3 generations from now.

[NWR_insanolord]

No, 3D gaming is going to take off next year. 3D gaming on consoles, however, isn't going to really take off until a significant number of people own 3D TVs, and those aren't going to be that popular if you need glasses to do it, especially when those glasses cost $150 a pair.

[Louieturkey]

No, 3D gaming is going to take off next year. 3D gaming on consoles, however, isn't going to really take off until a significant number of people own 3D TVs, and those aren't going to be that popular if you need glasses to do it, especially when those glasses cost $150 a pair.

I'm confused because the PS3 is a console and it will have 3D gaming this year, but because it's a console, 3D gaming on the PS3 won't take off next year?

[NWR_insanolord]

By "take off" I mean become mainstream popular. I highly doubt the 3D features of the PS3 will be used by that many people. Consoles will be capable of 3D, but it will be a niche market.

[Ian Sane]

You motherfuckers!  You sell me a glorified Gamecube in a different shell, completely bork third party support as result, all because you didn't feel that HDTVs were supported enough and yet you talk about your next console supporting a TV standard that NOBODY has and is not even a fraction as popular as HDTVs already were at the time the Wii launched?!    Fucking hypocrites.
 
It reminds me of how Nintendo didn't go online with the Gamecube because of the flimsiest excuse about not enough people having broadband or some **** only to go WIRELESS ONLY on the Wii when wireless was not as common at that point as broadband was when the Cube was current.
 
3D will never go anywhere anyway.  The 3DS will be an exception because it doesn't need glasses and doesn't cost thousands of dollars.

[Louieturkey]

By "take off" I mean become mainstream popular. I highly doubt the 3D features of the PS3 will be used by that many people. Consoles will be capable of 3D, but it will be a niche market.

So where is the 3D gaming going to become mainstream popular then?  On the PC you will still need to have a newer nVidia care and have a motherboard and processor that can handle those games plus have the monitor that can do 3D as well.

[Louieturkey]

Hey Ian, did you read about the 30% penetration thing?  My guess is they will just have the 3D option on their next console just like Sony & M$ will have as well. 
Also, this is just talk.  Nothing is finalized on their next console, even when they are going to release it.  So take a chill pill dude.

[NWR_insanolord]

By "take off" I mean become mainstream popular. I highly doubt the 3D features of the PS3 will be used by that many people. Consoles will be capable of 3D, but it will be a niche market.

So where is the 3D gaming going to become mainstream popular then?  On the PC you will still need to have a newer nVidia care and have a motherboard and processor that can handle those games plus have the monitor that can do 3D as well.

I don't know if you've been following E3, but Nintendo announced a new handheld system that does 3D gaming that I expect will be at least moderately successful.

[Arbok]

I don't know if you've been following E3, but Nintendo announced a new handheld system that does 3D gaming that I expect will be at least moderately successful.

On that note, that works fine for me too.

Handhelds: Touch screen and 3D display
Consoles: Motion controls

Each unique and possible of diverse experiences versus the other, exactly what the PSP was not compared to the PS2.

[Louieturkey]

By "take off" I mean become mainstream popular. I highly doubt the 3D features of the PS3 will be used by that many people. Consoles will be capable of 3D, but it will be a niche market.

So where is the 3D gaming going to become mainstream popular then?  On the PC you will still need to have a newer nVidia care and have a motherboard and processor that can handle those games plus have the monitor that can do 3D as well.

I don't know if you've been following E3, but Nintendo announced a new handheld system that does 3D gaming that I expect will be at least moderately successful.

Ah, well, you got me there.  But I was already agreeing with you.  I think we were crossing wires on what this conversation was about, since this wasn't a topic about the 3DS.  I was talking about on the tv on computer monitor. 

[NWR_insanolord]

Yeah, that was the main point; you quoted my argument as being that 3D wouldn't catch on for a while, and I said that to point out that I thought the exception to that was the 3DS, but I may have been too subtle about that. My mistake.

[Pale]

Seriously though.  The next console just needs to have the horsepower to render in HD.  If it was gonna do 3D it'd have to make the jump to be able to essentially render at 2x HD resolution (horizontally).  That would be pretty substantial over the Wii.  I mean, it looks like a lot of 60 FPS PS3 games will have a drastic framerate reduction in 3D.

I'm with Ian, though not quite as angrily. Get your priorities straight on the console front Nintendo. You have other areas that you need to catch up in first.

[Louieturkey]

Yeah, that was the main point; you quoted my argument as being that 3D wouldn't catch on for a while, and I said that to point out that I thought the exception to that was the 3DS, but I may have been too subtle about that. My mistake.

Yeah, I didn't get it.  Others may have though so I may have just been the nitwit here.

[ShyGuy]

Should my next TV be 3D?

[Louieturkey]

Should my next TV be 3D?

That's what all the tv manufacturers want your next tv to be.

[Ian Sane]

So Nintendo says they would wait until 3D TV has a 30% adoption rate.  So when the hell are they planning on releasing a follow up to the Wii?  I say the time should be pretty soon.  HDTVs are here, the PS3 is gaining momentum and they have a motion control option now that seems to actually work.  The PS3 is afforable, supports HDTVs, CRUSHES the Wii in hardware capabilites, has third party support that makes the Wii look like a sick joke, and it now has motion control and that's being used in Killzone 3 - the motion controller FPS people have wanted on the Wii since day one.  It's a threat.  Move has eliminated the Wii's unique feature.

But if they're going to wait until 3D TVs have a 30% adoption rate well what timeframe are we talking about?  Three years?  Five years?  The Wii was out-of-date the day it was released.  If there was ever a console that needed to be replaced after five years on the button, the Wii was it.  I'm not saying the PS3 is going to dethrone them overnight or likely even this gen.  But Sony is just rebuilding bit by bit while Nintendo stagnates with their **** third party support and cookie-cutter sequels.  I think the dire third party situation should be reason enough for Nintendo to consider releasing a follow-up soon.  It's not good marketing for people to see all these awesome games on the competition's shelves and not your own.  Nintendo has their head clearly deep up their ass if they don't see that as a problem.  That's like advertising PS3s.

[Louieturkey]

Yes because the Wii keeps getting outsold every month by the PS3...oh wait, the PS3 has never beaten the Wii in sales which means that the momentum is just in talk and not in actual sales.  The 360 has also beaten the PS3 every month the PS3 has been out except for about 4 months total.  So if anything, it's momentum in the wrong direction based on sales.

Nintendo will release their new system when they feel the Wii no longer can make them the same profits that they have been making for the last 3+ years. Is that next year?  Is it 3 years? 5 years?  Nobody knows but Nintendo.  Plus Iwata never said it was a certain thing that 3D would be a part of their next system.  Just that the Wii is not capable and that they'd probably have to wait until the next system to even think about it.  They may wait for 2 or 3 systems.

[Arbok]

But if they're going to wait until 3D TVs have a 30% adoption rate well what timeframe are we talking about?  Three years?  Five years? 

Iwata never said the next console was tied to 3D TVs... the comment was even directed at the Wii. All he said was that the Wii couldn't do it, due to processing power, but that it was something for the next console.

All this means is:

1. The next console will be powerful enough to do 3D
2. Nintendo will only focus on 3D console gaming if TV adoption rate is above 30%

Period. Please don't twist the data to make it seem like Nintendo is gearing up for 3D TVs, or even that the comment makes it seem like they are waiting for 3D adoption rate before releasing another console... because neither is true based on the statement.

[Stratos]

They already have viable options to make 3D TVs without glasses. I saw a tech demo where they placed a clear screen over a 3D TV and it made it viewable in 3D. They can currently make it viewable from 8 different angles and they expect to get it up to 64 angles in the next year.

[ThePerm]

lol unlimited detail

everyone says its a hoax, but i buy its explanation on how it works. Or if it doesn't work, i have already thought about how it COULD work. I've even thought of ways of doing it that are even more efficient then the way they described it.

[Louieturkey]

They already have viable options to make 3D TVs without glasses. I saw a tech demo where they placed a clear screen over a 3D TV and it made it viewable in 3D. They can currently make it viewable from 8 different angles and they expect to get it up to 64 angles in the next year.

It's similar to what M$ has just bought up.  Everyone is trying to make 3D without glasses.  Nintendo was first to implement it in a consumer product.  My guess is it'll still take 15 years to get it into tvs and then into homes.

[Mop it up]

I think it is just one of many things Nintendo has researched and considered for their next system, but I doubt it will happen. I don't see 3D televisions taking off anytime soon. A lot of people recently bought a big, expensive HD-compatible television and I don't see consumers willing to do that again so soon.