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Mar. 24th, 2010
Some ideas on the Nintendo 3Ds
Mar. 24th, 2010 10:30 pmOk, so the big 'N' have announced a new 3D Nintendo DS with more details announced at E3.
Here's my predictions after some lead in comments:
First the lead ins
1) Nintendo are very good with doing more with less.
2) Nintendo look at things differently
3) The DS is 6 years old. In six years there has been a fourfold increase in available transistors at the same cost. Alternatively the same silicon costs 1/4 as much
4) Screens are getting better.
5) The DS is a hand-held console. It doesn't plug into a television.
So my prediction is:
First, Nintendo are going to double the horizontal resolution of the primary display from 256x192 to 512x192 pixels. This is still not many more pixels than qvga screens have and they are now really, really cheap. (I'd actually expect OLED screens here BTW. Mature tech with a much better power budget,)
Second, Nintendo will double (Possibly closer to triple) the 3d processor power, as 2 x streams. (I'd predict each stream being 1.5 times the power of the original GPU) Each stream will be able to write to alternative vertical lines. (Not horizontal as most interlacing works)
Third, they'll overlay a Lenticular lens over the the primary screen.
Finally they'll jigger it so that in "DS compatibility mode", the same triangle stream is sent to both 3d processors. (this'd flatten the picture to 2d)
So what do we get? a SUPER cheap 3d effect that only works a up to about a foot (Maybe a foot-and-a half) away from the screen. The cost of the new unit is comparable or cheaper than the original DS cost.
I'd also not be surprised by a gyroscope and/or accelerometer in the package, to allow 3d manipulations. I'm sure the "additional" cost to Nintendo will be more than offset by the shrinking costs of the core silicon.
Here's my predictions after some lead in comments:
First the lead ins
1) Nintendo are very good with doing more with less.
2) Nintendo look at things differently
3) The DS is 6 years old. In six years there has been a fourfold increase in available transistors at the same cost. Alternatively the same silicon costs 1/4 as much
4) Screens are getting better.
5) The DS is a hand-held console. It doesn't plug into a television.
So my prediction is:
First, Nintendo are going to double the horizontal resolution of the primary display from 256x192 to 512x192 pixels. This is still not many more pixels than qvga screens have and they are now really, really cheap. (I'd actually expect OLED screens here BTW. Mature tech with a much better power budget,)
Second, Nintendo will double (Possibly closer to triple) the 3d processor power, as 2 x streams. (I'd predict each stream being 1.5 times the power of the original GPU) Each stream will be able to write to alternative vertical lines. (Not horizontal as most interlacing works)
Third, they'll overlay a Lenticular lens over the the primary screen.
Finally they'll jigger it so that in "DS compatibility mode", the same triangle stream is sent to both 3d processors. (this'd flatten the picture to 2d)
So what do we get? a SUPER cheap 3d effect that only works a up to about a foot (Maybe a foot-and-a half) away from the screen. The cost of the new unit is comparable or cheaper than the original DS cost.
I'd also not be surprised by a gyroscope and/or accelerometer in the package, to allow 3d manipulations. I'm sure the "additional" cost to Nintendo will be more than offset by the shrinking costs of the core silicon.