If you want to one-up the neighbor who has a new glasses-required 3-D TV, Nintendo has just the thing. On Tuesday, the games giant unveiled a new version of its DS handheld device that can play games and show movies in 3-D without glasses.
Introduced at the E3 Expo currently taking place in Los Angeles, the 3DS features two screens — a 3.53-inch top screen display and a 3.02-inch bottom touch panel — and three built-in cameras. Two of the cameras allow the user to take 3-D digital photos. A slider allows for depth adjustment on the 3-D effect.
Parallax Barrier System?
There’s also a motion sensor, a gyro sensor, and a Slide Pad for 360-degree analog input. No price or release date has been announced, although Nintendo has previously suggested a launch in March of next year.
The company didn’t describe how its technology works, but some industry observers had previously predicted it would utilize a parallax barrier system created by Hitachi and Sharp. That technology uses vertical slits in front of a LCD screen, which directs the appropriate light to the left and right eyes.
Nintendo video-game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said the “additional dimension of depth in 3D makes it easier for players to judge distances while giving developers a new tool to create games and experiences that play with both height and depth.”
The company showed a variety of 3-D games that build on existing franchises. These include Mario Kart, which Nintendo said “shows off the potential of driving and tossing bananas in 3D”; StarFox 64 3-D, which can now show “the true distance and depth of outer space”; DJ Hero 3-D; and Samurai Warriors 3-D.
In production are 3-D versions of Super Street Fighter IV, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Codename: Chocobo Racing 3-D, Final Fantasy, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and Splinter Cell Chaos…