How the Nintendo 3DS Might Handle 3D Display 77
itwbennett writes "Blogger Peter Smith weighs in with some possibilities for how the new Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system will provide 3D gaming without the need for 3D glasses. The DSi has cameras, which means the 3DS will have to have them too if it's going to be backwards compatible. We've also heard rumors that the 'next DS' will have tilt-sensors better than the iPhone. With either the camera or tilt-sensors either of these 'faux 3D' systems would work. But since we've seen the DSi do this already, it doesn't seem likely that the new hardware will rely on the same old trick. Enter our friends at Engadget, who uncovered some details from Japanese newspapers. If they're right, the Nintendo 3DS will incorporate parallax barrier LCD screens from Sharp (see also this explanation of dynamic parallax barrier screens). This is the same technology used in a few '3D Laptops.'"
Not full/real 3D (Score:1, Interesting)
Yesterday i was checking anaglyph rendering capability of game i'm playing and then it hit me. Nether anaglyph nor interlaced glasses and probably not even VR glasses are full true 3d. Here is why: :) Well this rant is just to point out that there seems to be no real/true 3d yet unless you clobber something like this yourself using graphics card anaglyph render and some hacked up head tracking. Well one more point that such true 3d would be quite difficult to do for non interactive/non rendered graphics i.e. movies. But some day maybe :)
glasses give you perception of depth that is very cool effect and all, but one thing is missing: you move your head you see different stuff. Now head tracking gives joust that and it is also very cool in itself. Now what i would really like to try is some glasses 3d (preferably non anaglyph, cause anaglyph is hard on eyes) + head tracking 3d (probably can be done much easier tracking glasses) to get real true 3d experience
3D is fine and all... (Score:3, Interesting)
...but I'm more interested in:
Screens that are more resistant to scratches, hinge mechanisms that don't get all loose and weird, higher resolution displays, better sound (with headphones the DS actually puts out decent sound, but the internal speakers are worthless), and larger ad-hoc wifi range.
The DS is a fantastic piece of hardware, don't get me wrong...but those are the improvements I would like to see the most, ESPECIALLY the larger ad-hoc range. When a bunch of friends and I are playing Civ Rev and I have to go to the bathroom, or one of them decides to dip out for a quick cig, it would be nice to be able to keep the wireless connected.
Re:types of 3d (Score:3, Interesting)
that is if you move you'd expect to be able to see around one object blocking your view of another. but that does not happen with this kind of 3D.
Apparently, Nintendo has done this...and it's available today in NDS!
Please see this game: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/dsiware/krgj/index.html [nintendo.co.jp]
The 3D environment move when you look around the NDS screen. I think it's done by some image recognition with the front facing camera.
Anyone Remember the Virtual Boy? (Score:3, Interesting)
The Virtual Boy, Nintendo's first attempt at a 3D video game system, was an utter failure; I bought mine a year after its release for 30 dollars, marked down from 200.
I actually kind of liked playing games in 3D, it really does change the experience. But the system game me pretty severe headaches after an hour of playing. I'd like to see how they can avoid that this time around.
Face Tracking not necessary (Score:2, Interesting)
1) There's not enough processing to track the face. You could make it work, but I personally don't feel that it fits in with the pattern Nintendo's previous elegant design solutions.
2) The user will naturally keep their face in the 3D focus sweet spot. An HDTV is hard because people are spread across the room. But for Nintendo, the user is always in front of the screen, and they are always within arms reach.
3) You can use the inertial sensors to change the angle of the sweet spot. People are going to want to see around obstacles (and the game makers want to let them). But you can train users to keep their head in one spot, and roll the DS to see around obstacles. With that Parallax screen, you can adjust the sweet spot based on the amount of tilt of the DS.
pCubee 3D Cube Display for Nintendo 3DS in 2020 (Score:3, Interesting)
Researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed a cool 3D display dubbed pCubee. Imagine the Nintendo 3DS be like this interactive cube, Sony would start taking the 3DS seriously.
Users playing with pCubee experience new interaction techniques for 3D scene manipulation in a cubic display.
Watch the awesome demo video here [i4u.com].