Nintendo plans "serious" 3DS games

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 5 July, 2010

Next home console will be "3D compatible".

Nintendo wants to work with third-party developers to create 3DS games targeted at "serious gamers".

Such partnerships would be "good for both Nintendo and the software developers", Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Japanese news service Nikkei (reported by GameSpot).

Nintendo's phenomenally successful DS only caters to those who do not play games, Iwata admitted, and this is something the Japanese company wants to rectify with its new handheld.

The 3DS was unveiled during E3 2010 last month along with a long list of third-party developed games, including Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D – The Naked Sample, Dead or Alive 3D and Resident Evil Revelations.

Iwata told Nikkei that Nintendo went to great lengths to incorporate software developers' requests when making the 3DS and called on these developers to make games for the new system.

Also buried within the report is apparent confirmation from Iwata that Nintendo plans to "make the successor to the Wii 3D compatible".

But there's still no word on when Nintendo will release its next home console. "A full-scale entry into this field will take some time because 3D televisions will not catch on right away," Iwata said.

Nintendo hasn't priced or dated the 3DS. However, Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime has said the handheld will be out in all "major markets" by 1st April 2011.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • rudderless #1 2 years ago

    "DS only caters to those who don't play games", eh? I find that admittance baffling given that DS has straddled the core/casual divide far better than, say, Wii has. Tons of good stuff from third-parties on there. It's easily the best console of the generation if you're an RPG fan, for example.

  • ZeroAX #2 2 years ago

    agreed with rudderless. The DS if filled with hardcore games (soooooooo many good JRPGs) and many many bridge games, like Layton, Mario Kart, NSMB, Ace Attorney, and others.

    But then again it's never a bad thing for Nintendo to be working it's ass off to get as many good games as possible on the 3DS.
    Edited by ZeroAX at 05/07/10 @ 08:59

  • Bradach #3 2 years ago

    hey Iwata, guess what you'd have to wear to play your Wii 3D...

  • ZeroAX #4 2 years ago

    @Bradach

    perhaps they plan to release it in 5-10 years time when glass free TVs will be cheap.

  • AaronTurner #5 2 years ago

    Nothing if they've introduced TV's without glasses by then.

  • des #6 2 years ago

    Gamecube was 3D compatible also...

    Wii 2 will be 3D compatible of course,but i bet that it will have some other feature(gimmick)

  • Malek86 #7 2 years ago

    Unless they plan to make the Wii last another 10 years, I severely doubt we'll have glasses-free TVs by then. At least not for multiple viewers.

    The best we could have, probably, is those new LCDs that can use passive glasses. At the very least, we're going to save the money for 4 sets of active glasses. That's still something, true, because 4 active glasses can cost more than €400. But still... glasses will probably be unavoidable.

  • patch #8 2 years ago

    Surely all they have to do to ensure it's 3D compatible is make it meet HDMI 1.4? I seem to be missing something in all this, just read the GamesIndustry.biz article "Dark Glasses" thinking to myself have Sony REALLY invested that much in 3D? On the telly side, maybe, but on the PS3 side? It's built in to the HDMI standards so surely EVERYONE will be coming out with 3D compatible kit anyway?!?

  • youhavenomail #9 2 years ago

    What happens when everyone's gone 3D and it's become passé? We'll have to invent loads of new dimensions for TVs. Some of those Super Mario Galaxies freak me out as it is.

  • DonnieDarko333 #10 2 years ago

    If the Wii 2 is 3D compatible..then it'll have to use 3D glasses, because when thats released 3DTV's without the use of glasses may only have just come on the market and would be EXTREMELY expensive. Most consumers will then probably go for the cheaper (but still brilliant) option of 3DTV with glasses.

    Therefore Nintendo has Contridicted themselves..as they've been slating the use of 3D glasses since confirming the 3DS.

  • Widge #11 2 years ago

    It'll probably use 3D glasses, and then when glasses free comes out then it'll be fine to work with that surely?

    Does glasses free do "pop out" 3D by the way? Genuine "I don't know" query.

  • LazyDan #12 2 years ago

    I will buy a console. I will camp out on launch day for a console. I will be an early adopter and put up with the inevitably weak launch games for a console.

    I will not a buy a new TV for a console. I don't think I'm alone, and I think Nintendo know that - whatever they're planning, they're not planning it as the game is now. This time last year anyone who thought they'd release a glasses-free 3D DS in 2010/11 would've been laughed off as mental, so I'd focus on what we've got rather than trying to predict a company that will probably surprise their rivals, let alone us, with whatever they come out with.

  • Widge #13 2 years ago

    As an aside, Super Mario 3D could be the next leap for the franchise that they need. Zero Punctuation that they've done Land, World, Galaxy... something big would be required for the next step!

  • Widge #14 2 years ago

    The thing is, the console will be sitting, ready, with content when you finally do decide to go 3D. I played on my PS3 at first on an SDTV, didn't make the jump to HD for a few months as I couldn't just outlay on a new TV for a new console right away.

  • sneetch #15 2 years ago

    @LazyDan
    I will buy a console. I will camp out on launch day for a console. I will be an early adopter and put up with the inevitably weak launch games for a console.

    I will not a buy a new TV for a console. I don't think I'm alone, and I think Nintendo know that - whatever they're planning, they're not planning it as the game is now. This time last year anyone who thought they'd release a glasses-free 3D DS in 2010/11 would've been laughed off as mental, so I'd focus on what we've got rather than trying to predict a company that will probably surprise their rivals, let alone us, with whatever they come out with.

    But you don't have to buy a new TV: 3D compatible does not mean compulsory 3D. In much the same way that you can plug you console into an ancient TV and still play you'll be able to play any new games in 2D mode for at least the next generation of consoles.

  • lucky_jim #16 2 years ago

    3D would actually really suit me as a gaming tech, as I usually play games solo or online, on a separate set-up from the main telly. A 3D TV would fit nicely into that, I'd only need one pair of specs, two at a stretch.

    My only concern is content. While it'd suit me personally very well, until people are buying such sets for their living rooms, it won't be very economical to make content for people like me. The only way I can see it happening is if prices come down to the £400-600 mark for a decent 28" set, which might encourage people to take a gamble on it.

  • fizzyfish #17 2 years ago

    @Widge, Does glasses free do "pop out" 3D by the way?

    Whether something appears in front or behind the plane of the screen isn't anything to do with the physical screen/glasses technology as such (which are solely for controlling which of the two images reaches which eye), merely which way round the left and right images for that specific object have been drawn on the screen. If the left image of the object is drawn to the left and the right image is drawn to the right, your eyes will align 'behind' the screen: if the images are drawn the other way around, your eyes will cross, giving the impression that the object is in front of the screen. While the two channels are being rendered, for any given distance into/out of the scene, you choose how much a portion of image at that distance should diverge (positively and/or negatively), to control whether the image as a whole is 'into the screen', 'pop out' or a combination of the two.

  • Widge #18 2 years ago

    oh more of a play on a ZP statement of "where does Mario go next" in his first Galaxy review...

  • TonyHarrison #19 2 years ago

    Sigh... if Nintendo do put 3D in their next home console, then they would be at the mercy of the TV manufacturers on whether they have to use 3D glasses or not. It isn't their decision.

    It'd be slightly difficult to go 3D and not use the glasses if that was the only viable format at the time. But of course, with the 3DS, the glasses approach wasn't the only viable format, so they didn't go with that. It's as simple as that, there's no big evil scheme.

    Of course, they've previously said that they would wait until 3DTV penetration is at 30%. By that time, they might not need to go the glasses route then either...

  • Stuz359 #20 2 years ago

    I know some people are saying that Nintendo only has to make it compatible with 3d, but this is not the Nintendo we know. The Nintendo we know will exploit the new tech for gameplay innovation making it a requirement to have a 3d capable tv to play it's games.

  • Widge #21 2 years ago

    Yeah, he's more entertainment than factual reviewing!

  • electrolite #22 2 years ago

    "DS only caters to those who don't play games"

    (looks at DS games collection)

    (is confused)

  • Kami #23 2 years ago

    ""A full-scale entry into this field will take some time because 3D televisions will not catch on right away,"

    Ain't that the truth... it's the future, but it sure as hell ain't the now. So I suspect the Wii will be with us for a good few more years yet... that's probably going to make Sony and Microsoft sleep easier at night. Nintendo were the prime candidates to force a new generation - that this doesn't seem to be in their current interests must be the best news Sony and Microsoft could have ever hoped for - I can imagine the champagne is already flowing...

  • Kami #24 2 years ago

    I know, it's a bit odd but then, I guess the next console Nintendo make will aggressively compete with their rivals in terms of specs, mostly because Sony and MS have jumped on the motion control bandwagon. They have to look forward to what the tech will be like in a few years time, and if they think 3DTV sales will swell, they'd be a bit silly to write it off so swiftly. But of course, all subject to change with their R&D.

  • alcides #25 2 years ago

    Nintendo wants to work with third-party developers to create 3DS games targeted at "serious gamers".

    Nintendo has a chip in their head that stings every time the thought occurs they could do it themselves.

    "Such partnerships would be "good for both Nintendo and the software developers"

    Because that worked out so well with the Wii.

    with a long list of third-party developed games, including Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D – The Naked Sample, Dead or Alive 3D and Resident Evil Revelations.

    All that makes the PSP nice and redundant, then? Handheld versions of home console IPs, joining an innocuous lineup of ports and tired old franchises. Geekbait. I'm more interested in what new IPs Nintendo comes up with on this innovative design.

    I also hope they have plans to support their 3DS with innovative software and don't rely too much on the 3D screen. What I want from my handheld is lighthearted and somewhat batshit cray games like Face Training, Ouendan, Nintendogs (alright, but I mean something as fresh as that, not "+cats";), Meteos, Band Brothers and that cooking guide.

    Nintendo's phenomenally successful DS only caters to those who do not play games

    Shit what.