Nintendo 3DS Release Date Rumoured for October 2010

Like most tech companies Nintendo have remained fairly tight lipped regarding details of the Nintendo 3DS and a possible release date.

However recent news has come through which has suggested that the possible release period for the upcoming handheld device is looking as early as October this year compared to what was originally expected for Christmas 2011.

Industry experts believe that usually when a company introduces a product a few months before Christmas, they are usually confident that the product will sell, however does the Nintendo 3DS have the same appeal as some of Nintendo’s most popular products, such as the Nintendo Wii?

Well, although Nintendo told have told gaming blog, CVG that today’s story was merely “rumour and speculation”, we will just have to wait until the E3 Conference in June to see if the Nintendo 3DS is heavily promoted there to give us an idea of a definite release date.

What do you think? Is this speculation or truth regarding the Nintendo 3DS? Will you be buying a Nintendo 3DS is it hits stores at Christmas time? Leave us a comment and let us know what you think….

Via CVG

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Video: How good is the Nintendo Wii emulator Dolphin? Let’s see how Resident Evil 4 does!

So a few days ago Dolphin 2.0 was released. Dolphin is a Nintendo Wii and GameCube emulator for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it works quite well. How well? Here’s a video of me playing the Wii version of Resident Evil 4—which, yes, I do own, thank you very much.

Yes, the CG intro plays twice, but I’ve been fighting YouTube since noon today (it’s now 4:15pm as I write this) trying to get the video to process and I’m not about to start all over again.

It runs at a full 30 frames per second, full screen @1920×1080 (even with Fraps in the background), and the only hiccup I’ve experienced is sometimes the audio is maybe half a second out of sync during cutscenes. Maybe that can be fixed in the settings, I don’t know.

And yes, I’m terrible at the game. The point of the video isn’t to illustrate my amazing skills, but rather to show off what the emulator can do. I don’t have a Bluetooth dongle on my PC, so I had to map the Wiimote+Nunchuck controls to my mouse and keyboard. I just need some practice is all, and these controls will work just fine:

• The Nunchuck joystick (actual movement) is mapped to WASD on the keyboard

• Z on the Nunchuck (used for running) is mapped to Left Shift

• C on the Nunchuck (draw knife) is mapped to E

• “Shaking” the Wiimote (reloading, escaping, and quick knife attack) is mapped to R

• – button on the Wiimote (brings up your inventory) is mapped to the Space Bar

• 1 and 2 on the Wiimote (map and options menu) is mapped to 1 and 2 above WASD

• Aiming with the Wiimote is mapped to the mouse, where Left Click is the Wiimote’s A button (shoot, attack, action) and Right Click is the Wiimote’s B button (draw weapon)

I think that’s about it.

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Nintendo controller car mod goes too far

I’m all for letting your geek flag fly, but this is a bit much. Perhaps he wanted to be able to control the car from the front? At least it’s something that you can hide under you hood. I dunno. Props for knowing your roots and such.

Of course, a modification you can remove is a good thing, since it won’t impact the retail value. I mean, we’ve seen worse.

[Via Gadget Review]

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For the Nintendo 3DS? Sharp’s unveils glasses-free 3D touchscreen [Update: Video]

Glasses-free 3D displays for mobile devices are nothing new. Hitachi, for example, started selling a 3D-enabled handset [JP] in Japan as early as last year. The Hitachi product didn’t make much of a splash, but Sharp’s new parallax barrier-based 3D display for mobile devices (which the company announced today) appears to be pretty cool.

The panel Sharp showcased at a press conference in Tokyo for the first time is extremely thin, can switch between regular 2-D and 3-D modes, doesn’t require glasses for viewing images in 3D, and will be available with or without touchscreen capabilities. It features a screen size of 3.4 inches, 480 x 854 resolution, a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, and 500 cd/m2 brightness (Sharp claims the image quality is the best in the industry).

Here’s how the 3D effect works (from the press release):

This parallax barrier, which has a series of vertical slits, is incorporated into an ordinary LCD to control the path of light reaching the right and left eyes, thus creating a sense of depth.

Sharp says their screens will be used for cameras and cell phones, but there is a chance the upcoming Nintendo 3DS will have them, too. This is pure speculation, of course, but Sharp has been providing LCD displays for the Nintendo DS since 2004 (Hitachi joined one year later) – so there is a close relationship between both companies.

Sharp plans to sell both types of the 3D display (touchscreen and conventional) from the first half of fiscal 2010.

Update:
This video (courtesy of DigInfoNews) provides more insight. The Sharp representative in it explains the display can be used for games as well.
http://www.youtube.com/v/62Klxyznjyo&hl=en_US&fs=1&

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Review: Nintendo DSi XL

Short version: Nintendo’s new DSi XL is aimed squarely at the older generation of casual gamers. People that appreciate something that’s a little easier to read. The people who wear their reading glasses while they sit down for their morning glass of fiber and read their copy of the AARP Journal. And heaven help me, I like it.

Features:

• A larger screen


• Full size stylus


• Comes pre-loaded with Brain Age Express: Math and Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters


• MSRP: $189.99 (regular DSi is $169.99)

Pros:

• Large screen is easy to read


• Games still look great


• Case size easier to hold

Cons:

• Large size reduces portability


• Nowhere to put stylus


• Uncomfortable for people with small hands

I like Nintendo’s portable gaming consoles. I had a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, DS phat, and a DS Lite, but I never saw the point in the DSi. So when Nintendo sent me a DSi XL to review, I was pleasantly surprised by the functionality. Would I buy a DSi XL to replace my DS Lite? Probably not – but I do like the DSi XL, and would recommend it to someone looking to get into portable gaming.

Build quality is as you would expect it to be. Nintendo knows these things are going to be knocked around, and build them so they can take it. The unit I was sent is the bronze color, with the majority of the device having a matte finish. The top of the cover, however, is glossy and picks up finger prints. Not fingerprints like you’d see on a PSP but they are present.

I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here as far as reviewing the DSi functionality. Yeah, it’s a DSi, only bigger. It’s designed for the older crowd that play those little $10 blackjack games from Radio Shack, and if they market it properly it’ll be huge. I have large hands. I like the DSi XL because I like the larger form factor, and the larger screens. My wife isn’t as much of a fan. She’s got smaller hands and found that the DSi XL made her left hand start to cramp after playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for about 30 minutes. I saw another review mention issues with screen clarity. I definitely didn’t notice this issue. I love playing RTS games like Civilization Revolution, and if the screen was fuzzy I’d definitely notice it. The screen was crisp and clear, and it didn’t feel like the games were designed for a smaller display at all, which was one of the things I was concerned about when I first read about the DSi XL.

Should you buy a DSi XL? Sure, if you don’t already have a DSi. I’d just suggest that you check one out at your local game shoppe first to be sure that the size won’t be an issue. Is it a reasonable upgrade from the DS or DS Lite? Absolutely. Should you buy one for your mom for Mother’s Day? Only if you are a huge geek and you’re sure she’ll like it.

Product Page: Nintendo DSi XL

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Nintendo 3DS: New details leak in Japan

Nintendo’s announcement of its new portable 3D gamimg device 3DS was very brief, prompting us to speculate about possible features and implications for the way people will play games in the future. But today the Nikkei, Japan’s Wall Street Journal, is offering a bit more insight (and the Nikkei is usually a very reliable source).

As a reminder, what we know so far is that the new hardware won’t require any glasses for users to see the 3D images, will be backwards compatible to DS and DSi games, make its debut between April 2010 and March 2011, and make its debut at the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June.

Here are all new details the Nikkei was able to dig up:

- Nintendo says the 3DS will be the first device of its kind.

- It will be sold, probably in Japan first, in the latter half of this year.

- Nintendo considers giving the 3DS a 3D joystick, force feedback and an accelerometer.

- The company already secured patents for several 3DS-related technologies last year.

- Compared to its 2D-based predecessors, the new device will feature improved wireless communications speed and battery life.

- The screen will be not be larger than four inches (the DSi XL’s screen is 4.2 inches).

Another interesting thing to note is that Nintendo shares traded above 30,000 yen ($330) for the first time in over 11 months Wednesday (30,850 yen, which is 2,880 yen above Tuesday’s close). Investors have big expectations for 3D, it seems.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

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3DS: Nintendo announces portable 3D gaming device

Big news from the Japanese video game world today: Nintendo announced [JP, PDF] they will launch a successor to the DS/DSi for the next fiscal year (which begins next month in Japan and ends in March 2011). And what sounds particularly cool so far about the Nintendo 3DS is that the new portable device won’t require any special glasses for users to see the 3D images, according to Nintendo.

Details are scarce at the moment (no price, no specs, no pics), but what’s confirmed so far is that “3DS” is just the tentative name of the device. It will be backwards compatible to conventional DS/DSi games (meaning it will have 2 cameras again) and is sure to hit Japanese stores first.

Just as a reminder, Nintendo will release their new handheld, the DSi XL, on March 28 in the US.

Nintendo also said they will give us more details about the DS sucessor at the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles in June. Now let’s just hope the 3DS won’t be another Virtual Boy…

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