Nintendo pins hopes on 3D game device
By Barbara Ortutay |
March 29, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH the Nintendo 3DS, the Japanese video game company is betting it can once again nudge mass entertainment in a new direction, just as it did nearly five years ago when it launched the Wii with its innovative motion-based controller.
This time, though, the competition is tougher.
The handheld 3DS, which went on sale in the United States at the weekend for US$250, lets users play 3D games without wearing special glasses. It also takes 3D photos. And this summer, the 3DS will play 3D movies streamed from Netflix on its 3.5-inch screen.
Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo's US arm, calls it "the first mass-market 3D device."
Nintendo's handheld gaming systems have been wildly popular since the days of the Game Boy, but in recent years people have grown accustomed to playing games on their smartphones. And both AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp have announced they'll be selling smartphones with 3D screens soon.
Fils-Aime acknowledges that consumers have a wide range of entertainment options. Nintendo, he says, must provide better entertainment experiences so that people keep flocking to its games and devices.
So far, they are. While demand for the handheld DS has slowed over the past year, video game analyst Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research said that's only because people have been holding out for the 3DS.
Retailers say demand for the latest device has been strong based on the number of pre-orders they received.
The technology used to create 3D images on the 3DS is not new. Called a "parallax barrier" LCD screen, it works as if two sets of thin blinds were laid over the screen, so that your eyes each see a different version of the image. Your brain then puts them together, creating the 3D effect. Because it only works if the viewer is at a certain place in relation to the screen, the technology is better suited to hand-held devices than TVs.
This time, though, the competition is tougher.
The handheld 3DS, which went on sale in the United States at the weekend for US$250, lets users play 3D games without wearing special glasses. It also takes 3D photos. And this summer, the 3DS will play 3D movies streamed from Netflix on its 3.5-inch screen.
Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo's US arm, calls it "the first mass-market 3D device."
Nintendo's handheld gaming systems have been wildly popular since the days of the Game Boy, but in recent years people have grown accustomed to playing games on their smartphones. And both AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp have announced they'll be selling smartphones with 3D screens soon.
Fils-Aime acknowledges that consumers have a wide range of entertainment options. Nintendo, he says, must provide better entertainment experiences so that people keep flocking to its games and devices.
So far, they are. While demand for the handheld DS has slowed over the past year, video game analyst Jesse Divnich of Electronic Entertainment Design and Research said that's only because people have been holding out for the 3DS.
Retailers say demand for the latest device has been strong based on the number of pre-orders they received.
The technology used to create 3D images on the 3DS is not new. Called a "parallax barrier" LCD screen, it works as if two sets of thin blinds were laid over the screen, so that your eyes each see a different version of the image. Your brain then puts them together, creating the 3D effect. Because it only works if the viewer is at a certain place in relation to the screen, the technology is better suited to hand-held devices than TVs.
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