Why the cynicism? Nintendo finally have their eye in for smart hardware, and the 3DS should be no different
After six years, four releases and 125 million units sold, Nintendo have announced the 3DS, a brand new 3D-enabled iteration of the DS family. It is likely to be an evolution in the same vein as the Gameboy Advance, upping its horsepower and features but not trying to be quite the game-changer that the DS proved to be.
Details on its 3D capabilities are sparse, but with true 3D technology still very expensive, initial rumours point to Nintendo doing a DSiWare and fitting both screens with cameras (and possibly an accelerometer) to track the player's head and eye movement, letting the game adjust the image to seem as though you're peering around a 3D space. It's a cheap alternative to 'real' 3D and not as convincing, but for fooling the eye and creating a strikingly responsive sense of depth, it is more than enough for a handheld console and should keep costs down to a minimum.
Opinions have been mixed, with a fair amount of scepticism occupying the middleground and other gaming sites being completely divided. I remain optimistic though, for these reasons:
1) We don't need another revolution yet
For better or worse, Nintendo have changed the face of gaming this generation. Aside from drawing new crowds to the gaming scene, they've shown that what should have been niche control schemes could be mass-marketed, as well as producing some excellent games that simply wouldn't have been as fun otherwise. With touchscreen and motion control only just beginning to dig in, there simply isn't any need for the 3DS to revolutionise in the same way. Whether it does or doesn't, it's all good.
2) There are plenty of gaming applications, in the right hands
Okay, most devs aren't going to make a lot of 3D besides window dressing, but the DS has played home to some truly excellent games such as Elite Beat Agents and Metroid Prime: Hunters, both of them excellent ambassadors for touchscreen gaming. Super Paper Mario and Echochrome both play with perspective, and both could do so much more with real-time 3D trickery. Items and secrets could be hidden from view, puzzle games could add an extra dimension of difficulty, and true outside-the-box developers like Hideo Kojima, a man who used daylight as a game mechanic, could doubtless find new and interesting ways to work with it. This isn't just about prettying up the graphics; with a little creative flair, 3D could make our games a lot more interesting too.
3) Both DS and PSP changed the importance of handhelds
The PSP has kept pace with the PS3 in the range of games, services and features that it offers, and as I suggested in my feature on Remote Play, a little extra bonding between the PSP and its big brother could make the handheld indispensable. The DS, meanwhile, is arguably superior to the Wii; both changed the gaming landscape, both brought in whole new audiences to gaming and both got bogged down with shovel-loads of crap, but the DS has emerged with a much stronger library of games, with traditional titles like Metroid Prime: Hunters and Mario Kart DS scaling down so well that they rank as two of the best titles in their respective series'.
Whatever way you look at it, handhelds are bigger now than they were at the start of the decade, not least due to the sudden minimising of hardware with smartphones and netbooks, and that means Nintendo have 125 million fans to please, for many of whom graphic alone aren't a key consideration. 3D needs to have potential as a key hardware feature, not just as a gimmicky graphical upgrade.
4) The palm of your hand is the saviour of 3D
Sky are launching their 3D TV channel later this year. There's only one slight drawback, which is that the industry is hopping on the 3D wagon trail about five years too early, and even commercial 3D televisions that don't require a pair of stupid glasses can't display HD visuals and require you to sit in fairly specific places relative to the screen in order to see the effect in the first place. Sheer convenience is a pretty important factor for a lot of people, hence why music CDs and printed newspapers are slowly dying a death in favour of digital distribution. Asking people to slip on a pair of glasses every time they want to watch TV is like requiring that they wear headphones if they want to hear sound or forcing them to push buttons on the TV instead of using a remote control; speakers and remotes were invented for a reason, and until the glasses barrier is taken down, 3D is going to have a hard time selling itself in the home.
Portable devices are a different matter, because the small screen does away with the problem of viewing from an odd angle, or having to worry about multiple people watching at once, or even producing fully HD visuals; mobile phones are being produced that won't require glasses, and although the price will be high by mobile standards, the impact of the iPhone means that high-priced cellphones are now a viable purchase, so long as they offer enough for the money. Even if the 3DS doesn't display 'true' 3D, it could be a striking example of the benefits that 3D brings.
I can't help but wonder that Nintendo are being unfairly criticised; with every new console generation it is a given that graphics will improve, and with 3D the current hot topic Nintendo are being a lot more farsighted in their tech forecast than they tend to be. We have an entire year to see exactly how much potential the 3DS brings, and how Sony will respond with their inevitable PSP successor. It may not be a revolution, but the 3DS could emerge as a strong evolution.
After six years, four releases and 125 million units sold, Nintendo have announced the 3DS, a brand new 3D-enabled iteration of the DS family. It is likely to be an evolution in the same vein as the Gameboy Advance, upping its horsepower and features but not trying to be quite the game-changer that the DS proved to be.
Details on its 3D capabilities are sparse, but with true 3D technology still very expensive, initial rumours point to Nintendo doing a DSiWare and fitting both screens with cameras (and possibly an accelerometer) to track the player's head and eye movement, letting the game adjust the image to seem as though you're peering around a 3D space. It's a cheap alternative to 'real' 3D and not as convincing, but for fooling the eye and creating a strikingly responsive sense of depth, it is more than enough for a handheld console and should keep costs down to a minimum.Opinions have been mixed, with a fair amount of scepticism occupying the middleground and other gaming sites being completely divided. I remain optimistic though, for these reasons:
1) We don't need another revolution yet
For better or worse, Nintendo have changed the face of gaming this generation. Aside from drawing new crowds to the gaming scene, they've shown that what should have been niche control schemes could be mass-marketed, as well as producing some excellent games that simply wouldn't have been as fun otherwise. With touchscreen and motion control only just beginning to dig in, there simply isn't any need for the 3DS to revolutionise in the same way. Whether it does or doesn't, it's all good.
2) There are plenty of gaming applications, in the right hands
Okay, most devs aren't going to make a lot of 3D besides window dressing, but the DS has played home to some truly excellent games such as Elite Beat Agents and Metroid Prime: Hunters, both of them excellent ambassadors for touchscreen gaming. Super Paper Mario and Echochrome both play with perspective, and both could do so much more with real-time 3D trickery. Items and secrets could be hidden from view, puzzle games could add an extra dimension of difficulty, and true outside-the-box developers like Hideo Kojima, a man who used daylight as a game mechanic, could doubtless find new and interesting ways to work with it. This isn't just about prettying up the graphics; with a little creative flair, 3D could make our games a lot more interesting too.
3) Both DS and PSP changed the importance of handhelds
The PSP has kept pace with the PS3 in the range of games, services and features that it offers, and as I suggested in my feature on Remote Play, a little extra bonding between the PSP and its big brother could make the handheld indispensable. The DS, meanwhile, is arguably superior to the Wii; both changed the gaming landscape, both brought in whole new audiences to gaming and both got bogged down with shovel-loads of crap, but the DS has emerged with a much stronger library of games, with traditional titles like Metroid Prime: Hunters and Mario Kart DS scaling down so well that they rank as two of the best titles in their respective series'.
Whatever way you look at it, handhelds are bigger now than they were at the start of the decade, not least due to the sudden minimising of hardware with smartphones and netbooks, and that means Nintendo have 125 million fans to please, for many of whom graphic alone aren't a key consideration. 3D needs to have potential as a key hardware feature, not just as a gimmicky graphical upgrade.
4) The palm of your hand is the saviour of 3D
Sky are launching their 3D TV channel later this year. There's only one slight drawback, which is that the industry is hopping on the 3D wagon trail about five years too early, and even commercial 3D televisions that don't require a pair of stupid glasses can't display HD visuals and require you to sit in fairly specific places relative to the screen in order to see the effect in the first place. Sheer convenience is a pretty important factor for a lot of people, hence why music CDs and printed newspapers are slowly dying a death in favour of digital distribution. Asking people to slip on a pair of glasses every time they want to watch TV is like requiring that they wear headphones if they want to hear sound or forcing them to push buttons on the TV instead of using a remote control; speakers and remotes were invented for a reason, and until the glasses barrier is taken down, 3D is going to have a hard time selling itself in the home.
Portable devices are a different matter, because the small screen does away with the problem of viewing from an odd angle, or having to worry about multiple people watching at once, or even producing fully HD visuals; mobile phones are being produced that won't require glasses, and although the price will be high by mobile standards, the impact of the iPhone means that high-priced cellphones are now a viable purchase, so long as they offer enough for the money. Even if the 3DS doesn't display 'true' 3D, it could be a striking example of the benefits that 3D brings.
I can't help but wonder that Nintendo are being unfairly criticised; with every new console generation it is a given that graphics will improve, and with 3D the current hot topic Nintendo are being a lot more farsighted in their tech forecast than they tend to be. We have an entire year to see exactly how much potential the 3DS brings, and how Sony will respond with their inevitable PSP successor. It may not be a revolution, but the 3DS could emerge as a strong evolution.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I have a hungry ego to feed; please give generously