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3DS

Nintendo's Next Console May Employ 3D

by Pedro Hernandez - June 17, 2010, 7:26 am EDT
Total comments: 40 Source: Andriasang

The company's president is waiting for the adoption rate of 3D televisions to go up.

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."

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010:

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".

Talkback

oohhboyHong Hang Ho, Staff AlumnusJune 17, 2010

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.

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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: 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.

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.

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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: 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.

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?

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 SaneJune 17, 2010

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 shit 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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: 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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

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.

Quote from: Louieturkey

Quote from: 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.

ArbokJune 17, 2010

Quote from: insanolord

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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: insanolord

Quote from: Louieturkey

Quote from: 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.

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. 

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.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorJune 17, 2010

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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: 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.

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

ShyGuyJune 17, 2010

Should my next TV be 3D?

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: ShyGuy²

Should my next TV be 3D?

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

Ian SaneJune 17, 2010

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 shit 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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

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.

ArbokJune 17, 2010

Quote from: Ian

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.

StratosJune 17, 2010

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.

ThePermJune 17, 2010

lol unlimited detail :P

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.

LouieturkeyJune 17, 2010

Quote from: 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.

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 upJune 17, 2010

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.

BlackNMild2k1June 17, 2010

The Wii and the GC are ALREADY 3D capable (from the mouth of Iwata himself). So why would it seem like a stretch that the Wii2 would be 3D capable too?

Doesn't mean it will be 3D focused, or that 3D will be the main feature, just means that the system will be capable of outputting 3D graphics should the need or desire arise. No different than the Gamcube and the Wii.

LouieturkeyJune 18, 2010

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

The Wii and the GC are ALREADY 3D capable (from the mouth of Iwata himself). So why would it seem like a stretch that the Wii2 would be 3D capable too?

Doesn't mean it will be 3D focused, or that 3D will be the main feature, just means that the system will be capable of outputting 3D graphics should the need or desire arise. No different than the Gamcube and the Wii.

He also said no to the Wii doing it because the games would look like utter crap, even for an SD game.

BlackNMild2k1June 18, 2010

Quote from: Louieturkey

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

The Wii and the GC are ALREADY 3D capable (from the mouth of Iwata himself). So why would it seem like a stretch that the Wii2 would be 3D capable too?

Doesn't mean it will be 3D focused, or that 3D will be the main feature, just means that the system will be capable of outputting 3D graphics should the need or desire arise. No different than the Gamcube and the Wii.

He also said no to the Wii doing it because the games would look like utter crap, even for an SD game.

Yeah, I saw that and commented in the other thread (that I saw first), but I don't understand the questioning of the next Nintendo console being 3D capable when the last 2 were and that feature was just never utilized or activated and probably not even known about to most until very recently.

Shorty McNostrilJune 18, 2010

They will probably go the same route with the N6.  Have the ability locked away dormant somewhere just in case, but focus on the HD side of things.

LouieturkeyJune 18, 2010

Quote from: Shorty

They will probably go the same route with the N6.  Have the ability locked away dormant somewhere just in case, but focus on the HD side of things.

Yeah, they'll hide it away until 3D tvs reach 30% market penetration. :)

StratosJune 19, 2010

Is N6 the generally accepted 'fan code name' for the next Nintendo system or did you just make that up?

SarailJune 19, 2010

I'd rather call it the N6 instead of Wii 2, for sure.

I don't want that name associated with any next-gen console Nintendo may produce.

StratosJune 19, 2010

But then the system after this next one could be called the 'Thwii'... ;)

Mop it upJune 19, 2010

It's a continuation of what people called what would become Wii during the GameCube era, before we got the codename Revolution. People called it the N5. I wouldn't be surprised if the GameCube was referred to as the N4 at one point.

ThePermJune 19, 2010

i just refer to it by whatever codename Nintendo gives out until Nintendo actually comes up with a real name. Until there is a code name i just refer to it as "the next system" or "Nintendo's next system", I don't see any announcements coming anytime soon. e32010 is over. Unless Nintendo reinstates Spaceworld or surprisingly shows something at TGS, and or some other flash megaton showing I don't expect any announcements till next year.

BlackNMild2k1June 23, 2010

we've gone from "may" be to "will" be in a matter of a week

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6266844.html

Quote:

Iwata also announced Nintendo's plans to make the successor to the Wii 3D compatible, telling Nikkei that "a full-scale entry into this field will take some time because 3D televisions will not catch on right away."

Kytim89June 24, 2010

Quote from: BlackNMild2k1

we've gone from "may" be to "will" be in a matter of a week

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6266844.html

Quote:

Iwata also announced Nintendo's plans to make the successor to the Wii 3D compatible, telling Nikkei that "a full-scale entry into this field will take some time because 3D televisions will not catch on right away."


How will it take the 3D televisions to settle into the market? I am speculating atleast two years anf five at the most. I could be wrong, but Nintendo will most likely wait until the technology gets cheaper and implement it like they always do.

Ian SaneJune 24, 2010

If Nintendo seriously considers 3D an essential part of the Wii successor then we're stuck with Gamecube 1.5 for, I'd guess, at least three more years.

I honestly think that as successful as the Wii has been, hanging on to it for too long will hurt Nintendo.  The Wii has been an over-achiever since day one.  I think replacing it should be a priority.  It has too many very serious flaws to just hope that people don't notice them for a couple more years.

So Nintendo's next system should have a built-in TV/monitor with an improved version of the 3DS screen technology. ;-)

If they're waiting for 3D television adoption to cross 30%, they're going to be waiting a long time.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorJune 24, 2010

Theoretically supporting 3D needs enough horse power to essentially double the framerate of games... so supporting it means more horse power, which is awesome.

However, supporting it also means reserving horse power for that ability... which sucks! :)

BlackNMild2k1June 24, 2010

Considering I still think they are planning 2011 reveal and possibly a 2011 release too, I think it may yet be a buried feature that can be unlocked, much like PS3 and Wii & GC before it.
I think Wii2 will be released with around the usual window of new system release and if 3DSTV's catch on, then Nintendo will be ready to unlock the feature and have more than enough horsepower to do it properly.

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