Nintendo 3DS specs leaked

NINTENDO'S THREE DIMENSIONAL handheld has had its specifications leaked on the Internet.

How is a handheld console going to have enough processing power to chew through the intensive data requirements of stereoscopic playback? By being as powerful as current generation consoles.

In June we reported that Nintendo's 3DS glassless handheld would be given a next generation makeover to cope with rendering graphics in 3D. To use Sharp's 3D glassless technology, the contrast ratio and brightness on the 3.4-inch touchscreen had to be bumped up. The console will also have to have enough oomph to render the image twice simultaneously to get the 3D effect and that all takes some serious components under the hood.

Now a source at IGN has leaked some information that says the 3DS will have two processors. The source claimed that the 3DS will get two ARM11 processors running at 266MHz along with a 133MHz graphics chip. The 3DS will also allegedly have 4MB of dedicated VRAM, 64MB of RAM, and 1.5GB of flash storage. IGN has revealed Nintendo information before that has proven to be correct so we don't doubt that this leaked information is substantially correct.

Sony's currently most powerful Playstation has the same amount of DRAM and a faster processor at 333MHz. However, it has only one processor and less memory with 32MB. Compared to Nintendo's current generation DSi, it is also much faster. The DSi has two ARM 7 and ARM 9 processors with the highest clocked at 133MHz, so it's much slower. It also has only 16MB and 256MB of internal storage.

We're still wary of claims that the 3DS will rival current generation consoles. The Inquirer had a first look at a 3DS prototype in July and said that the 3D graphics was very impressive. However, Nintendo hasn't as yet demonstrated any fully working game titles, just demos that could have been tweaked to sucker the crowds. µ