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Nintendo Portables (Games) Games Hardware

Next Nintendo Handheld To Be Powered By NVIDIA's Tegra Chipset 216

Vigile writes "When you sell over 100 million handheld gaming systems, everyone wants to be involved in your success; just ask Nintendo. As a company with many different obstacles in its path, NVIDIA could definitely use the boost in revenues that would come from partnering with a company like Nintendo on a handheld system, and it looks like the Tegra processor will make that happen. The NVIDIA Tegra processor is an SoC that runs a set of ARM cores, a GeForce-based graphics core and an HD video processor capable of 1080p output that would definitely give the current Nintendo DS/DSi systems a performance boost in line with the Sony PSP. The 'Nintendo TS,' as it has been dubbed, will apparently be ready for a late winter 2010 release and should put a spark in the mobile gaming market and give Nintendo's developers the power to bring higher quality games to the platform."
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Next Nintendo Handheld To Be Powered By NVIDIA's Tegra Chipset

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  • Zelda! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Hell yea next Zelda DS game in 1080p!

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by hattig ( 47930 )

      More likely two screens of 480x320 to 640x480, with 4xAA and decent filtering.

      Unless they're dumping the dual-screen concept, but it's worked well so far.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        TS, not DS.
        Three screens, woohoo!

        But my only worry now is battery life.
        Are we to expect to see the Nintendo logo then power off?
        Are we to even SEE the logo? It'll be like turning it on, light flashes and off.
        Damn you Nintendo~, DAMN YOU~

        • by noundi ( 1044080 )

          TS, not DS.
          Three screens, woohoo!

          But my only worry now is battery life.
          Are we to expect to see the Nintendo logo then power off?
          Are we to even SEE the logo? It'll be like turning it on, light flashes and off.
          Damn you Nintendo~, DAMN YOU~

          Regarding your power consumption concerns. [wikipedia.org]

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Toonol ( 1057698 )
        Which is MORE than enough for a handheld. There's no reason to pack in 1600x1080 resolution into a screen that's four inches across.

        On a handheld, priorities are different than a home console. In addition to the obvious (like low power consumption), I would think resolution would pale in importance to other things like offloading physics or better compression or procedural generation of textures, to counteract the restricted processor/memory.
    • Hey, the next Zelda DS game is only a month away; much too soon for a system a year out! :P

  • TS? (Score:5, Funny)

    by sleeponthemic ( 1253494 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:39AM (#29744615) Homepage
    I'll wait for the screener.
  • by FlyingBishop ( 1293238 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:45AM (#29744725)

    Nvidia's getting out of the chipset market so fast they're actually releasing new products already.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by TheRaven64 ( 641858 )
      Uh, what? Tegra was announced over a year ago and has been shipping for a while in the Zune.
    • Nvidia is, in fact, suspending development of further X86 chipsets(since AMD now includes ATI, and Intel is playing hardball with QPI), although they are continuing production of current ones. Tegra is a totally different product line.
  • by tomhudson ( 43916 ) <barbara@hudson.barbara-hudson@com> on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:50AM (#29744813) Journal

    That's the *real* question. 1080p makes a bigger difference when hooked up to a big-screen TV than it will in a tiny hand-held.

  • Cell (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mbrod ( 19122 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:51AM (#29744821) Homepage Journal
    Would be nice if they also made this a GSM unlocked cell phone. So one could use it as a pre-pay cell phone as well.
    • by RyuuzakiTetsuya ( 195424 ) <taiki@co x . net> on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:13AM (#29745141)

      It would be great if it came with a motor and hooked up to a set of blades, it would be really useful as a stick blender and possibly a desk fan. Just make sure you have the plastic blades hooked up for that mode.

    • Because EVERY mobile device needs to be a cell phone, PDA, Alarm Clock, web browser, video game console, computer, hooker, and able to play blackjack. Just add a kitchen sink and it will be the perfect handheld, where playing 1080p on a tiny screen will make you want to throw up in a kitchen sink, so just add one on it!

      • by ProppaT ( 557551 )

        Well, look at it this way. A cell phone, at its core, is very basic. A PDA is more complicated, but only really requires a stylus. A web browser requires very little besides a stylus. A phone just requires the camera components and a viewfinder of sorts. An MP3 player just requires a basic interface and a headphone jack. Combination devices such as the iPhone and Android phones have been very successful because each function is very basic.

        No all-in-one device has ever successfully integrated games. Y

  • I wonder if they'll "upgrade" it like the PSP so you can get to repurchase your older games through DLC?
    • The manufacturing cost for the DS flash carts is undoubtedly much lower than UMD was... I'd assume that unless the market just falls in love with the PSPgo (It won't), Nintendo will play it safe and keep some form of physical media.

      • by Yvan256 ( 722131 )

        ROM != flash.

        • I stand corrected.

        • Depends on how strict you consider the "read-only" part, but whatever is in the DS cards, it sure isn't mask-ROM or fuse-ROM. It's some type of block-addressable solid state memory, so it's likely very similar to flash.

          • by Yvan256 ( 722131 )

            ROM = Read-Only Memory, so anything that can't be written or erased qualifies. The access method doesn't change a thing.

            Why would Nintendo store the game data in flash memory anyway? That would just help potential hacks to rewrite carts with other games.

            But there's also the fact that most Nintendo DS carts do also have built-in flash too, in order to save games in progress. I guess the carts could be called hybrid ROM/Flash.

            Wether or not it's cheaper to make than UMD, well, I'm not sure about that either. U

  • by afidel ( 530433 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @09:59AM (#29744927)
    On a day where most of the microchip stocks are up on good Intel earnings NVDA is down.
    • I hope this TS is real -- a true hardware upgrade is exactly what these portable systems need. The iPhone 3GS is a great deal more powerful than the PSPs and DS. I wonder how worried Sony is, considering their new PSP Go doesn't have any hardware capability upgrades (other than Bluetooth).
  • Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

    Granted, there are some big limitations to a cell phone as a gaming platform. The DS and DSi are much cheaper than the iPhone or even the iPod touch, and they have better control inputs. But that may change with future phones, especially Android phones.

    The next DS also needs t

    • by Aladrin ( 926209 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:10AM (#29745101)

      Right, because nobody over the age of 12 owns a DS...

      Wait, no. That's not right. I have one, and so does my: Mother, father, sister, both nephews... That's just off the top of my head, and only people actually related to me by blood. My youngest niece owns one, too, but she's actually under 12, so...

      • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        I didn't say that, or anything like it. You put words in my mouth then argued against them. It would be silly of me to say that since I am 33 and I own a Nintendo DS and I write software for it. [mobydisk.com] I have one because my immediate circle of friends own them.

        What I said is that the next generation of devices won't appeal to the older crowd unless they have PDA capabilities.

        I used to know a dozen 30-somethings with DSs -- every one had a mod chip. That was about 3 years ago. Now, at least half of those same

    • by richy freeway ( 623503 ) * on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:13AM (#29745135)

      I doubt that the homebrew community will spend the effort to reverse-engineer the next Nintendo hand-held when they could buy a cheap, open cell phone for the same price.

      I think you're REALLY underestimating the homebrew communities. They'll hack it just because they can.

      • +1 Absolutely Correct

      • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        I am part of that homebrew community. I get it. But you must understand the level of effort that goes into it, and the reward.

        Hacking the DS was special because the hardware was great, and cheap: you could do 10 times as much with it as Nintendo was actually doing. That makes it really cool. But the DS is no longer unique. What takes considerable effort and reverse-engineering on the DS, can now be done trivially with modern devices.

        You are right that somebody will hack it - probably just to be able to

    • Convergence is great, but if Nintendo turned their next portable game system into a phone, they would substantially reduce their potential market share by excluding all the people who already have a phone and don't want to switch to another one, or who just want the game system and don't want to pay for the phone components. Plus, Nintendo has proven that they can hold their own against giants from other industries who have attempted to move in on their space by sticking to what they know: games. Having to

      • Totally agree.

        Also, exclusivity deals. Apple and AT&t, for instance. It wasn't Apple that wanted to be stuck with one carrier, but the US phone market more or less dictates it. I'd hate to have to miss out on Nintendo's newest handheld for 18 mos/3 years because they have a exclusive deal with Sprint, or Verizon, ect...

        Keep the phone hardware off it.

      • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        What happens when, in the future, a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that can be embedded into a wristwatch? Will people not buy that wristwatch just because it has a cell phone in it?

        I don't like carrying multiple devices. So I hacked my DS and made it a PDA, browser, etc. But then I had to carry a phone. And much like many people, I said the heck with carrying around the DS/PDA since my phone did all that and more.

        I agree that convergence could result in some overlap in purpose. But I don't

        • What happens when, in the future, a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that can be embedded into a wristwatch?

          When that happens, and when it can be sold no-strings-attached without some kind of contract or network/service lock-in, then it wouldn't be a limiting factor. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

          I don't think anyone will refuse to buy a device just because it includes a feature they won't use.

          If that was true the iPod touch wouldn't exist, and everyone would just have iPhones. Again, we can chat again when a cell phone is a 50 cent piece of hardware that doesn't have any strings attached, but that's a long ways off, if it ever happens. Same for GPS, etc. etc. Sure, we can now put a calcul

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      Nintendo needs to widen their thinking.

      I think the DSi proves that they have already begun to do so. If any of the three big game companies (Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft) have proven that they can reach the casual/mainstream audience, it's Nintendo. All they really have left to do is cut out their idiotic fear of the internet.

    • Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

      Uhh... no, we don't.

    • Portable game systems are now competing with cell phones. Nintendo needs to realize that for their next portable game system or it will be limited to elementary and middle school kids. Beyond that age, they want a PDA / cell phone.

      Cell phones have a monthly fee, and in the North American region, the kind of data transfer needed for Nintendo WFC play and TSWare downloads won't fit into a bargain-basement $10/mo prepaid plan. PDAs look better for this market, and Nintendo is slowly heading that way (see Opera for DSi), but a real PDA needs the breadth of applications developed by part-time developers, not just day-job developers. With Wii Menu 4.2 that deletes the Homebrew Channel,* Nintendo is showing that it wants to shun part-timers

      • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        I hope I don't get flamed for nitpicking, but cell phones don't have a monthly fee. Cell phone service does. If Nintendo added cell phone capability, that doesn't mean that every 7-year-old has to activate it.

    • by LWATCDR ( 28044 )

      Unless game compatable Cells come down I don't see it.
      Nintendo has a great software and customer base.
      Of course it is possible that if the carriers all select LTE and it is everywhere, and the carriers become dumb pipes, then we could see a new age of devices.
      You buy your LTE account and then pick a device. Then pick a VOIP company and your set.
      Imagine the devices we could see and the servies. Prices would fall and service would improve.
      Just not going to happen.

      • by MobyDisk ( 75490 )

        Yeah, price is probably the biggest reason that what I'm describing may not happen for another generation or so. But I suspect that if Nintendo decided, tomorrow, to make the DSi a cell phone, that it would not severely impact the price. It already has wireless capabilities, a touch screen, a camera, and a decent enough processor to decrypt WPA.

        I'd love to know: Would it add $10? $50? $100? That still wouldn't double the price of the item - but for many people, it would more than double the usefulness

        • by LWATCDR ( 28044 )

          "It will be a little chip that somebody buys and can put into a device. "
          It is pretty much that way now. The problem is that the device must pass FCC testing and then get picked up by a carrier.
          And then you have to have the software for it.
          I just don't know if a $200 Nintendo cell phone would sell when you can get an iPhone for $99.
          Maybe but I just don't think that Nintendo wants to make a bad cell phone that is also a good DS or a good cell phone that is a bad DS.
          Trying to make a Good Cell phone that is a

    • by Ogive17 ( 691899 )
      I just got back from a trip to Japan, many people there use the DS as a PDA. I've seen them used as a learning supplement devices as well.

      I'm not sure if these different uses were spearheaded by Nintendo or the developers, but in Japan they seem to use the DS for everything you mentioned in your post.
  • by Eideteker ( 641508 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:07AM (#29745047) Homepage
    And, you know, batteries.
  • by bertoelcon ( 1557907 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:10AM (#29745107)
    The Zune HD has a Tegra too. NVIDIA wasn't gonna die until the Zune HD got discontinued or got a different chipset.
    • The Zune HD has a Tegra too. NVIDIA wasn't gonna die until the Zune HD got discontinued or got a different chipset.

      MS could have stockpiled the chips, right? A one-off batch of a million chips in a warehouse somewhere would last them for, what, 30 years of Zune sales?

      I keed, I keed. But seriously...

      • That's highly possible but they at least had to pay for them and if NVIDIA went out while products where still being made with their chips then those products would have their own futures questioned. The Zune has been iffy enough as it is to get the half a percent of market share it has now.
    • by LWATCDR ( 28044 )

      Yea I am sure that Zune sales will keep nVidia alive...
      Actually the ZuneHD is a better media player than the iPod Touch.
      The problem is that the Touch is a better platform than the ZuneHD.
      The ZuneHD lacks an appliacation store and the software that is available for it really is nothing to write home about.
      Too bad since the hardware is better than the iPodTouch.

      • Yea I am sure that Zune sales will keep nVidia alive...

        Not alone but Microsoft might keep it alive enough.

        Actually the ZuneHD is a better media player than the iPod Touch. The problem is that the Touch is a better platform than the ZuneHD.

        I'll agree to that.

        The ZuneHD lacks an appliacation store and the software that is available for it really is nothing to write home about.

        None != Shitty. It has an app store it just sucks hard, and You can still get them installed the old way in Visual Studio with XNA too.

        Too bad since the hardware is better than the iPodTouch.

        • by LWATCDR ( 28044 )

          "None != Shitty. It has an app store it just sucks hard, and You can still get them installed the old way in Visual Studio with XNA too."
          To me an app store is a place where third party developers can sell their software.
          The ZuneHD "app store" from what I hear only has ad supported software and is not open third party developers.
          It sounds more like the "stores" where you can buy silly games for your feature phone than a true app store.
          But I could be mistaken since I don't have a ZuneHD I have only heard abou

  • by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @10:15AM (#29745161)

    have more graphics power than the current Wii?

    • Higher resolution doesn't necessarily more graphics power. The original NES and the Playstation 2 had the same resolution....

      That said, I really don't see the need for 1080p on a handheld screen - that's like 4320p on a 23" screen, or something like that.

  • The beauty of the Nintendo stuff up to now has been that the limited CPU+graphics power forced devs to focus on gameplay. I really hope eye candy won't distract them from making fun, as opposed to beautiful or over-graphic'ed, games.

    • I could certainly see some improvement with a larger, higher-resolution screen. The screen on the DS is so small that you can't make-out small details. This really killed my enjoyment of Professor Layton - style games, because the details needed to solve puzzles are often hidden in a single pixel.

      To be honest, I really haven't been that satisfied with any of these "fun" games. My most recent disappointment: Scribblenauts. The game is captivating for about 2 hours, but then you get tired of it: the physi

  • Wait, you mean... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by default luser ( 529332 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @11:15AM (#29746067) Journal

    For once I can play a 3D game on a Nintendo portable and not be limited to 2000 polygons in a scene, and not be limited to shitty point-sample for texture filtering?

    Hurray, we can finally have REAL 3D games on the DS, instead of crappy-looking 2D/3D hybrids!

    The power consumption is also quite reasonable (Zune HD can do 8.5 hours video playback, and that stresses the GPU core and OLED screen), so it sounds plausible for Nintendo to sign-on.

    • I'm sorry, but were you just complaining about poor 3D on a handheld?? Were you born before 2002?

      Take some shit for granted why don't you...

  • by ChaosDiscord ( 4913 ) * on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @11:35AM (#29746347) Homepage Journal

    "...and give Nintendo's developers the power to bring higher quality games to the platform."

    Any developer that thinks the thing stopping them from delivering higher quality games is more powerful graphics hardware has no hope of delivering high quality games.

    • More powerful hardware gives the developer more options.

      • by ChaosDiscord ( 4913 ) * on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @12:37PM (#29747131) Homepage Journal
        I've always thought it was a shame that Rembrandt didn't have access to Photoshop; it would have enabled him to make higher quality art. And the quality of Bach's work really suffered since he lacked access to synthesizers and theremins. And I guess Casablanca is pretty good, but clearly its quality suffered for lacking the options of widescreen, color, and 3d.
        • It's a shame that [unknown caveman] didn't have permanent paints or we would marvel at his landscapes from the last ice age. [Unknown Middle Ages musician] is really underrated just because there was no technology to record his performances. [Grainy, degrading silent film] had a wonderful story, brilliant actors, and a moving soundtrack; but it's hard to appreciate it with the blurred faces and death of the organist.

          HIgher resolution alone won't make most games better. But the ability to maintain a higher f

        • by brkello ( 642429 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @03:38PM (#29749611)
          So, you are saying the 8-bit Nintendo is all we ever needed. That's the argument you are making and it is stupid. A more capable system allow for better graphics that can give a more immersive environment as well as having improved AI or capabilities. Every retard knows that better graphics != a better game. But it seems counter intuitive to people on here that increasing the hardware specs can give a developer more options to create a deeper game.

          Any artist can make great art with the tools of their time. But you seem to argue against improving those tools...that the tools we have now are good enough. Could you really have Half-Life or Mass Effect or Bioshock on an 8-bit Nintendo? Maybe, but it would not be as fun because it would be so limited. It would be like telling Mozart that all he could use is a tuba and a triangle.
          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by ookaze ( 227977 )

            So, you are saying the 8-bit Nintendo is all we ever needed. That's the argument you are making and it is stupid.

            No, actually that's YOUR stupid argument.
            He is saying that 8-bit Nintendo game were still quality games, and you're saying they can't be.
            That's a very stupid argument to make, when the 8-bit Nintendo games still sell well on Virtual Console on the Wii.

            A more capable system allow for better graphics that can give a more immersive environment as well as having improved AI or capabilities.

            Yes, but a less powerful system allows for exactly the same things.

            Every retard knows that better graphics != a better game. But it seems counter intuitive to people on here that increasing the hardware specs can give a developer more options to create a deeper game.

            Experience has shown that the counter intuitive thing is the correct one.
            What you're saying is true in a vacuum, but in real life, there's a thing called money that prevents you from reaching y

    • Perhaps think of it this way instead: there are additional visual cues that become possible with additional graphical oomph, which might be employed for more creative user interface options. PC games have shied away from trying this because developers can't count on the players having the same hardware - most graphics chips sold are still the weak built-in intel ones, IIRC. MS and Sony have staked their reputation this generation on big budget eye candy, so they haven't really hit their peak of using the ne

  • by Tarlus ( 1000874 ) on Wednesday October 14, 2009 @11:40AM (#29746397)
    Slashdot:
    "Next Nintendo Handheld To Be Powered By NVIDIA's Tegra Chipset"

    The Actual Article:
    "NVIDIA Tegra rumored to be included in new Nintendo handheld"

    RTFA and be a little less misleading, Slashdot.
  • Will it still have two screens?

    I've always hated the DS form factor. Two screens is terrible, I want one widescreen aspect ratio display. I like the hardware for the PSP Go, too bad they shot themselves in the foot about the card slot.

    • 3 screens, baby. It's that natural progression of things.
      DS = Dual Screen
      TS = Triple Screen
      I say they should just skip quad screen and jump directly to quint/penta screen, just to be 2 steps ahead of the competition. Because more is better.

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