Video Game Saga *

Having played the Nintendo 3DS last month at E3, I am sold hook line and sinker! I can tell you all now with certainty that Nintendo has the next big hit and it's coming in 3D to the palms of gamers hands. There is new information being revealed all the time especially as we get closer to a late 2010 early 2011 release. So here it is ladies and gents, the official Nintendo 3DS thread, feel free to post your thoughts and any news you find on the 3DS that you would like to share. I will start by posting a snippet from TonyB's NINPO made a couple weeks ago in which Nintendo revealed the official specs of the 3DS. Check it out below:

Hardware specs released on Nintedo's E3 Website:

Size (when closed):  Approximately 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, 0.8 inches tall.

Weight:  Approximately 8 ounces.

Top Screen:  3.53-inch widescreen LCD display, enabling 3D view without the need for special glasses; with 800x240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing).

Touch Screen:  3.02-inch LCD with 320x240 pixel resolution with a touch screen.

Cameras:  One inner camera and two outer cameras with 640x480 (0.3 Mega) pixel resolution.

Nintendo 3DS Game Card:  2 GB Max. at launch.

Wireless Communication:  Can communicate in the 2.4 GHz band. Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems can connect via a local wireless connection to let users communicate or enjoy competitive game play. Systems also can connect to LAN access points to access the Internet and allow people to enjoy games with others. Will support IEEE 802.11 with enhanced security (WPA/WPA2). Nintendo 3DS hardware is designed so that even when not in use, it can automatically exchange data with other Nintendo 3DS systems or receive data via the Internet while in sleep mode.

Game Controls:  Touch screen, embedded microphone, A/B/X/Y face buttons, + Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons, "Slide Pad" that allows 360-degree analog input, one inner camera, two outer cameras, motion sensor and a gyro sensor.

Other Input Controls:  3D Depth Slider to adjust level of 3D effect (can be scaled back or turned off completely depending on the preference of the user), Home button to call system function, Wireless switch to turn off wireless communications (even during game play), Power button. The telescoping stylus is approximately 4 inches when fully extended.

Input/Output:  A port that accepts both Nintendo 3DS game cards and game cards for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems, an SD memory card slot, an AC adapter connector, a charging cradle terminal and a stereo headphone output jack.

Sound:  Stereo speakers positioned to the left and right of the top screen.

Battery:  Lithium ion battery details TBA.

Parental Controls:  Parental controls similar to the Nintendo DSi system will be included.

Here is a list so far of the announced 3DS titles:

-Kid Icarus: Uprising-Nintendo

-Animal Crossing-Nintendo

-Mario Kart-Nintendo

-Nintendogs + Cats-Nintendo

-Pilotwings Resort-Nintendo

-Starfox 64/Lylat Wars Remake-Nintendo

-Paper Mario-Nintendo

-Steel Diver-Nintendo

-The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake-Nintendo

-DJ Hero 3D-Activision

-Resident Evil: Revelations-Capcom

-Super Street Fighter 4 3D-Capcom

-FIFA Soccer-EA

-Madden NFL-EA

-The Sims 3-EA

-Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D - The Naked Sample-Konami

-Pro Evolution Soccer-Konami

-Contra-Konami

-Frogger-Konami

-Professor Layton & The Mask of Miracle-Level 5

-Ridge Racer-Namco Bandai

-Dragon Ball-Namco Bandai

-Gundam-Namco Bandai

-Pac-Man & Galaga-Namco Bandai

-Super Robot Wars-Namco Bandai

-Sonic The Hedgehog-Sega

-Super Monkey Ball-Sega

-Kingdom Hearts-Square Enix

-Final Fantasy-Square Enix

-Dragon Quest-Square Enix

-Chocobo Racing 3D-Square Enix

-Dead or Alive 3D(you can tilt the 3DS to bounce the DOA girls boobies)-Tecmo Koei

-Dynasty Warriors-Tecmo Koei

-Ninja Gaiden-Tecmo Koei

-Samurai Warriors 3D-Tecmo Koei

-de Blob 2-THQ

-Kung Fu Panda: Kaboom of Doom-THQ

-Marvel Super Hero Squad Infinity Gauntlet-THQ

-The Penguins of Madagascar-THQ

-Puss N Boots-THQ

-Saint's Row-THQ

-Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy-Ubisoft

-Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike-Ubisoft

-Driver Renegade-Ubisoft

-Hollywood 61-Ubisoft

-Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon-Ubisoft

-Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory-Ubisoft

-Batman-Warner Bros

-LEGO (unannounced title)-Warner Bros

-Cubic Ninja-AQ Interactive

-Etrian Odyssey-Atlus

-Shin Megami Tense-Atlus

-Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor-Atlus

-Shin Megami Tensei: Persona-Atlus

-Asphalt GT-Gameloft

-Bomberman-Hudson

-Deca Sports-Hudson

-Kororinpa-Hudson

-BloodRayne: The Shroud-Majesco

-A Boy and His Blob-Majesco

-Face Racers: Photo Finish-Majesco

-Lion's Pride: Adventures on the Serengeti-Majesco

-Martha Stewart-Majesco

-WonderWorld Amusement Park-Majesco

-Harvest Moon-Natsume

-Crash City GP-Rocket

-Super Robo-Rocket

-Carnival Games-Take Two

-Lovely Lisa 3D-Tomy

-Naruto Shippuden Action-Tomy

With an awesome list of 3DS games that wide in varity, there is a game for everyone! So please no bashing saying Nintendo 3DS doesn't offer a game for me, BS! Just take a look at the list above and tell me you can't find a game for you

Check out these trailers to some of the killer 3DS titles coming our way:

-Kid Icarus Uprising:

-Resident Evil Revelations:

Check this out, rumor has it that Square Enix is considering porting over Final Fantasy V and VI to the 3DS. Square Enix's Shinji Hashimoto had this to say:

"No decision has been made," Hashimoto said "Rather than creating [Final Fantasy] V or VI for the current DS we want to take a look to see how 3DS does, how it evolves, and then make a decision."

Final Fantasy and 3D is a Match made in heaven, just imagine the battlefield popping out at you in the 3D. It truly does bring tears to my eyes

From Computerand VideoGames.com:

'According to THQ's executive VP of global publishing Ian Curran, who told CVG that that piracy had scuppered his firm's ability to produce more games for DS Lite in the past.  "What excites me even more [than 3DS games] is that there's technology built in that device [the Nintendo 3DS] to really combat piracy," said Curran.'

Nintendo fully intends to have complex hardware solutions to avoid the Piracy of the R4 Revolution cards.  Interesting stuff!

From 411Mania.com and Wired:

Wired.com recently interviewed Nintendo Platform Producer Hideki Konno, the man spearheading the 3DS project. He revealed plenty of information about Nintendo's newest platform, including some pretty interesting traits the platform brings to the table. Though he didn't give a concrete release date or price, he did say:

The system will feature a "tag mode" that allows 3DS systems to swap save information automatically just by passing by each other, even if you're not actively playing that game.

Though he gives no specifics about it, Konno says that there will be a DLC system available for the 3DS. No word is given about storage capacity, though judging from the tag mode capability, there should be some storage available directly on the console.

The included accelerometer and gyroscope allows the console to do motion-sensitive gaming. Though the 3D effect only works for a limited viewing area, Konno claims that the eyes follow the motion of the console, allowing the 3D effect to continue working. This could provide a pretty strong possibility for motion-sensitive, 3D first-person shooters.

The 3DS could have the same screen-size as the DSi XL, but Nintendo's decided to shy away from that in order to increase the console's portability. The Tag Mode is a point that Nintendo definitely wants to expand on, and for that to work out, Konno feels that the system needs to stay as portable as possible. This may have played a factor in the collapsible stylus, which is stored in a vertical compartment to keep the system small.

From 411Mania.com

Nintendo told Bloomberg Japan today that 3DS information will be available on Sept. 29. The announcement will be made in Japan and will focus mainly on Japanese gamers, but an American release date may also be revealed as well.

Currently, all that has been revealed about the release date is that the handheld will be out in "all major territories" by the end of March 2011."

I can't wait to see Final Fantasy on this system.  Also can't wait to play the new Kid Icarus game.  I still have nightmares about those eggplant enemies!

From IGN.com:

Nintendo's 3DS could be hitting Japanese shelves as soon as this November if tweets from a peripheral manufacturer are correct.

"On November 20, eleven 3DS products that we designed will go on sale all at once," said Takahiro Amano, a man claiming to be an employee at peripheral company KeysFactory in a tweet picked up by Kotaku, "People who are buying the 3DS, buy it at the same time! There will be more details on our home page."

Nintendo has already said it will be announcing the launch details of the 3DS on September 29, and have previously said it'll be available before March 2011.

Here is some new News regarding the 3DS's hardware. This information was released on September 21st 2010:

IGN has learned that the Nintendo 3DS will pack not one, but two 266MHz ARM11 CPUs, along with a 133MHz GPU, 4MBs of dedicated VRAM, 64MBs of RAM, and 1.5GBs of flash storage. The information comes from persons familiar with the hardware who spoke to us under the condition of anonymity.

The handheld will also have substantially larger storage capacity than preceding models, jumping from only 256MBs on the DSi to 1.5GBs of flash memory on the 3DS. The total drive space can, of course, be expanded using the 3DS' SD card slot.

Read more: http://ds.ign.com/articles/112/1122617p1.html?_cmpid=ign40#ixzz10QaxJ2eK

Numerous developers working on software for the platform have likened its graphical capabilities to current-generation consoles like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, albeit on smaller, lower-resolution screens.

So awesome!!! I can't wait to buy mine come early 2011

From IGN.com:

A German tabloid has seemingly jumped the gun on Nintendo's forthcoming announcement of the 3DS release date, reporting that it's to hit Japan on November 11 and hit Europe next Spring with a price tag of around 200 EUR (170 GBP/270 USD).

Bild is making the claim (spotted by NeoGAF), and while its sources are unclear it does chime in with other murmurings about the 3DS's release date. The report also outed Ocarina of Time 3DS, a new Professor Layton and Mario Kart 3DS as launch titles.

Nintendo is making an official announcement on September 29 at a Tokyo press event, though we're not expecting much in the way of firm news for territories outside of Japan.

From 411 Mania.com:

Nintendo has a planned news conference later tonight in Tokyo, Japan that will involve details about the Nintendo 3DS.

We fully expect Nintendo to release information regarding a release date, pricing, and launch titles. Other information related to technical specs and colors may also be discussed.

Finally, an official announcement is coming!

I was about to go out, then I saw this offical Nintendo announcement on the 3DS.

Awesome news + release Dates + price, check it out!

From 411Mania.com:

One of the biggest problems with handheld systems has always been piracy. A problem that Nintendo is hoping to stop with the 3DS.  When the handheld releases, it will automatically perform firmware updates, as long as a wireless connection is available.

Satoru Iwata, company president, said that the updates will help stop piracy, but will also introduce new features as well.  "The main thing we want to do is offer players new features whenever possible," said Iwata.  Iwata also said that Nintendo can update the system by putting firmware updates on the software cartridges.

It has also been reported that avoiding these updates will be impossible.  As soon as you are within range of a Wi-fi spot, the firmware will try to update itself if necessary.

Below are the official launch titles for the 3DS, confirmed by Nintendo:

* Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS

* Nintendogs + Cats

* Pilotwings Resort

* Pro Baseball Spirits

* Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle

* Ridge Racer 3D

* Samurai Warriors Chronicle

* Steel Diver

* Super Monkey Ball

* Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition

Has a price tag been put on the 3DS yet?

PizzaNinja at October 22, 2010 at 9:02 PM

Has a price tag been put on the 3DS yet?

It comes out Feb. 26th in Japan and will cost 25000Y, which is about $300 (blue and black system colors confirmed).  Click here if you want to read more!

It's official, EA has revealed their first launch title for the Nintendo 3DS day and date with the launch of the revolutionary new handheld. EA will be releasing Madden NFL Football, 11 on 11 and 5 on 5 gameplay modes will be featured. As we get closer to March, we can expect to see a lot more developers confirming there launch titles for the 3DS. Stay tuned

From Gamasutra.com:

The potential costs of developing for Nintendo's 3DS handheld are surfacing in some estimates made by Japanese publisher Marvelous Entertainment, and for now it looks like they can end up a good deal more than the budget of a high-end DS title, and even above some console titles.

Japanese blog Hachimaki picked up on an investor Q&A from the Harvest Moon publisher, wherein the company said it expects its 3DS development activities to cost between ¥70 million ($840,000) and ¥100-150 million ($1.2 to $1.8 million), depending on the game.

The report compared this kind of budget to DS development costs in 2009, finding those costs ranged from, on average, ¥4.4 million ($53,000) on the low end and ¥44 million ($527,000) for a standard DS title. For Marvelous, Wii budgets are estimated at ¥2.0 million ($24,000) to ¥116 million ($1.4 million).

PlayStation 3 games can range between an average ¥6.3 million ($75,000) and ¥250 million ($3 million), while Xbox 360 development for Marvelous averages a range of ¥3 million ($36,000) to ¥207 million ($2.5 million).

Development costs at the beginning of a platform's lifecycle are generally much higher than later in it, once developers have become adept at maximizing the platform and its tools.

New details and artwork surfaced today for Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D and Resident Evil Revelations. From the Capcom Unity website:

With re-mastered stages from Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D delivers the intense Mercenaries gameplay experience for the first time on a handheld console.

Whether playing alone or teaming up in co-op mode, it’s a race against time to defeat as many enemies as possible before the countdown reaches zero.Confirmed characters are Chris Redfield, Hunk, Krauser and making her Mercenaries debut Claire Redfield. The controls will be familiar to those who have previously played Mercenaries but some changes have been made including the ability to run and shoot and the addition of touch screen functionality.  

Built from the ground up for the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil Revelations sees Jill Valentine and Chris investigating a deadly threat on board a stranded cruise liner. The pair will need to fight for survival as they explore the dark and claustrophobic environments both at sea and as the action moves to dry land. Join them as they delve deeper into the secrets of this all new addition to one of videogaming’s most successful series.