3DS as powerful as Xbox 360 and Sony makes a Move

3DS as powerful as Xbox 360 and Sony makes a Move

The E3 rumour mill is working overtime

JAPANESE CONSOLE MAKER Nintendo's 3DS is "as powerful as a current generation console", rumours abound and Sony's Playstation Move gets its official site.

Nintendo and Sony are gearing up for a host of announcements at the upcoming E3 games Expo. Nintendo is due to deliver more information about its 3DS handheld console while Sony will focus on its Move motion controller.

According to IGN, Nintendo's 3DS will skip Wii quality graphics and should boast the performance of a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The speculation comes from the fact that it needs enough processing power to render 3D graphics.

Nintendo hasn't officially announced any specifications. However, we do know that 3DS is being built to play back stereoscopic 3D effects without glasses.

We reported back in April that display maker Sharp confirmed its 3D glasses technology was bound for use in Nintendo's upcoming handheld. To make the 3D effect work, Sharp has had to up the contrast ratio and brightness on the 3.4-inch touchscreen. The screen now has a brightness of 500cd/m2 and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio.

To achieve this, the 3DS will have to render the image twice so punters can view on screen in 3D. This will require some serious hardware that should also be capable of much better graphics.

Meanwhile, Sony has launched the official Move site in its bid to take some motion controller mindshare away from Microsoft's Natal. The site also takes time out to have good poke at the Wii. In an introductory video on the site, Christian Busic, Move creative director, said physical control in a game was limited by two major factors.

"The graphics and sound engine itself was a step back from current generation hardware. The physical element of it was gimmicky. But you very quickly realised you wanted more. You wanted precision."

So how nice of Sony to rip off Nintendo's idea, er, take on the Wii's mantle but offer a better user experience. µ

Mon 07 Jun 2010, 14:00

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Comments

Bullshit

"According to IGN, Nintendo's 3DS will skip Wii quality graphics and should boast the performance of a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. The speculation comes from the fact that it needs enough processing power to render 3D graphics."

First, the processing power of a console has nothing to do with it's ability to display a 3D output. The Sega Master System had shutter glasses 3D and couldn't render a single polygon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Master_System#SegaScope_3-D_Glasses

Second, we can't draw any conclusions about whether the 3DS will render each frame twice or not. Those old Magic Eye books used only a depth map to create the 3D effect:
http://www.magiceye.com/advert2.htm
Since such depth map is a standard by-product of any 3D rendering, it's possible that a clever algorithm coupled with a new screen technology can create a 3D ouput without rendering a single extra pixel.

Finally, you can't compare how the 3DS will do 3D and how the XBOX360 and PS3 do it. One will work on a 3.4 inch display, and the other must work on displays of any size, 40 or more inches...

So there you have it, this rumor is utter bullshit.

posted by : Renato, 10 June 2010 Complain about this comment

Don't get too excited

Keep in mind that what they really mean "it's as powerful at it's current res" meaning if the system displays 360x240 then then it's literally 1/4th the power of a 360, but the graphics will look just as good because there is less pixels to render.

But then factor in the fact it's going to render twice as much (for 3D) so it'll only look half as good as a 360 game.

posted by : TravisO, 07 June 2010 Complain about this comment