Tech Report: Updated 3DS Software Analysis

Yesterday Nintendo announced the worldwide launch details of the 3DS, revealing that the machine would be released in Japan on 26th February, and sometime in March 2011 for both North America and Europe. The system will go on sale in Japan for at 25,000 yen, roughly equating to 200 of our GBP, or 300 dollars for those folks over the pond.

But rather than repeating countless details that you can read pretty much everywhere else, instead we’ll be taking an tech-focused look at some of the direct-feed trailers released by Nintendo and select third-parties of first batch 3DS software.

Nintendo themselves displayed a multi-title show reel of games currently in development for the system, although heavy-hitters like Resident Evil Revelations and Dead Or Alive Dimensions managed to get their own individual trailers. Seeing these two titles in motion alone, along with Metal Gear Solid 3, I was left distinctly impressed with the kind of quality on offer from these early, first-gen experiences.

Clearly these titles are already beyond anything seen on the last generation of consoles. Whilst polygon counts may be lower, and in some regards noticeable so, the impressive quality and precision of the effects on offer more than make up for this. In fact, they prove that despite the low paper specs of the console, that it can still deliver some graphically accomplished titles whilst touting all the benefits of stereo 3D along with them.

Taking a look at the individual titles themselves, and we can see the various strengths and weaknesses of the system in their entirety.

Metal Gear Solid in particular seems to show a perfect balance between low geometry and use of advanced visual effects. Whilst the game’s poly counts are noticeable lower than the PS2 version, the level of detail on offer is also visibly superior. You can easily see in the trailer that most of the game is normal mapped, and not just the characters.


The environments in particular benefit hugely from this, in some cases looking smoother than in the original PS2 game. The flower scene particularly demonstrates the 3DS’s ability to throw around lots of normal-mapped geometry on screen, along with having enough power left over to handle all the physics calculations needed for so many moving objects.

MGS Trailer

Dead Or Alive seems to feature excellent use of per-pixel lighting and normal mapping, both effects looking far superior to anything seen on the original Xbox. Texture detail is reasonable, filtering is pretty good maintaining relatively moderate levels of image quality, and the characters also seem to have dynamic shadow maps applied to them, which works well with the rest of the lighting solution. One downside however, is the lack of any self-shadowing. This makes the game look slightly flat compared to SSFIV and RE Revelations. Although seeing as it should be running at 60fps, this is a worthy compromise.

DOA Trailer – Our previous look

We’ve already taken a look a Resident Evil Revelations extensively here, and dare I say seeing it in motion is an incredible experience, comfortably showing off just what the 3DS can do. The quality of the normal-mapping is superb, the per-pixel, HDR infused lighting solution creates an incredible sense of depth, and texturing is quite possibly the most detailed on the platform.



Obvious issues stand out with the game running in 3D mode however. Texture shimmering and aliasing is apparent, as is edge aliasing due to the lack of any AA being present. These issues can be seen in the majority of PSP titles - a clear graphical downside of the Sony system - and in most of the 3DS games revealed so far.

RE: Revelations footage can be found this in line-up trailer

Super Street Fighter IV we’ve already covered here, so to be fair there’s very little we can add on to our original report. The game’s downgraded use of assets from the PS3/360 versions makes the title look remarkably close to the high-end console game. Self-shadowing if evident, and is backed up with a slew of impressive shader effects.

SSFIV Trailer

Perhaps one title that didn’t impress as much as the others was Capcom’s Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, a separate game from RE: Revelations. As you can see from the screenshots below, the game suffers from terrible aliasing from both a lack of AA, and from some pretty bad texture shimmering. This is made worse than in RE: Revelations due to greater amounts of small geomretry being present on screen, along with what looks like a lower level of texture filtering, and poorer mip-mapping.

Detail levels are incredibly high though, and it is clear that despite the low image quality that the game looks considerably more impressive than RE4 on the iPhone.



A general trailer showing off a wide range of 3DS games in development can be found below:

Nintendo 3DS Games Line-Up Trailer

Judging from the various videos released yesterday, it is pretty apparent that in many ways the 3DS easily outclasses every last-gen system with regards to visuals effects, and in fact pretty much everything seen on the iPhone so far. Epic citadel may have higher res texture maps and art assets, along with higher precision normal mapping, but it is also lacking some, if not most of the high-end, per-pixel effects that so many top-tier 3DS titles are showing off.

Case in point; there is nothing running in real-time on the iPhone that I’ve seen matching RE: Revelations, or MGS3 with half as many effects, whether that be an actual game, demo, or otherwise. Maybe that is simply because there is very little incentive to produce titles with such high quality visuals on the platform. And when most high-end titles sell for just £6.99, that is completely understandable, though it is precisely this difference which could make the 3DS stand out. That, and of course the fact that every game will be playable in 3D on the console with most of its visual integrity intact.

However, despite the polished visual mastery on offer with high-end 3DS titles, we can also see that the machine struggles with maintaining overall texture fidelity in some cases, with various issues from poor mip-mapping, to aliasing being present, very much like with what we are seeing on the majority of PSPgames. This is one downside that I perhaps didn’t quite expect to see so obviously given the nature of the hardware.

When you look at how even early Dreamcast titles manage to feature correct mip-mapping on textures with better filtering, and a lack of texture aliasing (even in titles which feature no AA), then we can begin to see the compromises Nintendo has had to make in order to get a reasonably powerful, albeit low spec handheld with 3D support out the door at a relatively low cost.

Saying that the 3DS isn’t the iPhone, nor is it the PSP2. Plus battery life, and a reasonable entry cost are far more important than having the absolute bleeding edge in visual fidelity at your disposal. It’s these factors, along with the desire to innovate, which usually separate Nintendo from the competition.

Even when taking into account some of the graphcal cut-backs sighted, the trailers released thus far show that for the most part, in real-world terms that the 3DS handles top end visuals extremely well for a handheld device, with a slew of shader effects balancing out the few negatives. Coupled with the fact that developers also have the option of enhancing their games with 2D only extras (AA and per-object motion blur) then what you have here is still a mightily impressive showing, just not quite as flawless as some may have hoped.

Tech Report: Nintendo 3DS Hardware Analysis

We first took a look at how powerful we thought the 3DS might be right here, and then again here, just after we learned which GPU would be powering the system. Now it’s time to do this once again, as a few days ago IGN appeared to accurately reveal the complete 3DS spec sheet, with information encompassing everything from CPU type and final GPU clock speed, to the amount of memory on board, both for system and graphics use. In short, the complete picture has been unravelled right before our eyes.


The full specs list for the 3DS is as follows: the machine is powered by two ARM11 CPUs running at 266MHz, and a DMP PICA200 GPU clocked at 133MHz. It features 4MB of VRAM dedicated to graphics (textures, framebuffer, effects? That’s not clear yet), 64MBs of RAM, and 1.5GBs of flash memory for storage.

Looking at the above, we can see that the 3DS appears initially to be rather underpowered. The GPU speed is incredibly low for a modern handheld device, and the ARM11 CPU was last featured in the original iPhone and iPod touch, and certainly more than a fair bit weaker than the A4 Cortex powering the new iPhone 4. However, when looking closer at the hardware itself, the resolution it runs at, and just what graphical features will be running, and how they will be implemented, it is also clear that the hardware isn’t quite as stillborn as you might expect.

Current game demos like Resident Evil Revelations, and Metal Gear Solid 3 both showcase the machines strong graphical capabilities despite the on paper limitations. And it is also important to point out that Nintendo’s hardware, unlike that of the iPhone and other multimedia / general handheld devices, the 3DS isn’t likely to feature a performance sapping OS powering it, or a restrictive high-level API limiting what you can do graphically. Nope, it’s almost certain that with the 3DS it will be possible for developers to code directly to metal, thus ensuring that they get ever last drop of juice from what the hardware is capable of.



Taking into account the small screen size, and small screen resolution itself (800x240), then you find that the system’s overall performance is perfectly suited to this type of environment. There’s no point for example, in rendering dozens of millions of textured, layered, and complexly shaded polygons per-second on a small screen in which at such a low resolution - most of that will almost certainly go to waste. Instead, like we have said before Nintendo seems to have taken a balanced, economical approach to their next-gen handheld hardware. And this looks to be the right choice. Cost/performance wise, it looks set to get the job done comfortably, and when looking at the individual make up of the system’s internals we can see why.

The CPU for example, an ARM11 running at 266MHz, is unlikely to be doing any complex physics calculations, or highly advanced AI routines – these aren’t really needed for small doses of on the go gaming, so appears to be low spec, but entirely adequate for the task in hand. Of course we can expect basic physics, and the illusion of advanced AI with the chip – seeing as it is rated roughly in line with an Intel 486 CPU, then scripted AI events, and arcade-like physics are more than possible, and satisfactory.

Looking at what was achieved on the original iPhone, and the fact that developers were still hindered by Apple’s domineering software API, then you can easily expect a substantial improvement when coding direct to metal, or much closer with a less restrictive development environment. Better collision routines, AI etc. All that is possible when taking into account the chip in context of how the 3DS works in comparison.

The decision to downclock the GPU is a rather interesting factor, not least of all because the standard PICA 200 running at 200MHz is very low spec by today’s standard – trailing way behind the iPhone 4’s SGX535, but also because it’s unlikely to be that much less cost effective. Instead, like in our original assumptions, we assume that this downgrade was done in order to preserve battery life, whilst also providing a small, but altogether beneficial decrease in overall system cost.

Even with GPU’s downclocking to 133MHz, it still packs plenty of punch. The original PICA-200 running at 200MHz can push around a maximum of around 15.3 million polygons per-second in a best case scenario, although that is unlikely to be in a real-world game environment (30 or 60fps with full effects etc).


In the 3DS, where the clock speed has been lowered to 133MHz we can expect a further drop in performance. From what we can see with current game demos, is that the systems peak polygon performance (on first-gen software at least) looks to be around the 3 to 6 million mark per-second – just over that of the PSP, and equalling the mid-range table of what the PS2 can do. Of course this is assuming optimised conditions, seeing as none of the software looks like it pushing anything more than around 4, maybe five million polys per-second.

However, such low geometry counts seldom makes a big difference these days, especially where advanced shaders, and multiple texture layers are concerned. And this is where the 3DS shows us its trump card. With the addition of advanced fixed-function effects which simulate the use of programmable shaders, along with actual vertex shader capabilities, Nintendo’s handheld can do a lot more with less, polygon wise, thus negating what can be seen as a lack of overall polygon pushing power. Also on such a small screen, huge amounts of geometry is always going to be less beneficial than a string of useful visual effects.


In terms of memory, the system is pretty much on par with the PSP. The 3DS has 64MB of main memory, and 4MB of video RAM - basically the same as the PSP Slim & Lite (bar VRAM in which the PSP S&L has 8MB). Initially, the inclusion of only 64MB of memory for the overall system to use may seem limiting. However, when you consider that the 3DS is a cart-based system, and that large amounts of data can be streamed in real-time from the format, then 64MB appears to be a suitable amount given what’s expected of it.

The same could also be said of the system’s 4MB of video RAM. Although it does seem rather limiting at first - it’s not yet known whether it is simply being used as framebuffer memory, or to hold the entire rendered scene, complete with textures and fixed-function texture layers - it should be enough for most games given the overall make up of the system's architecture. Determining its impact on performance though, is somewhat guesswork at this point.

Saying that, assuming Nintendo has included an efficient texture compression system then 4MB should be more than enough to fit in both the framebuffer and graphics data as an all-in-one solution. At the 800x240 resolution games are rendering at, you’re not really going to need that much more space for decent image quality anyways.

Obviously we don’t know the bandwidth numbers for the system’s graphics memory, although current game demos clearly demonstrate performance beyond that of the PSP, and the PS2 with regards to visual effects. And that’s with pushing around a lot more through the graphics pipeline. The standard PICA-200 GPU running at 200MHz has a pixel fill-rate of around 800 million pixels per-second (more than the GCN but less than XB and Wii), so we can comfortably say that the downclocked 3DS revision features noticeably less that. Although by how much, we can’t really say.

Surprisingly, when looking at the raw numbers of the 3DS’s specifications, you can actually see that the machine isn’t all that much more powerful that Sony’s PSP, with the amount of memory being the same, and geometry counts being very similar, albeit a little closer to the low end, mid-range of the PS2. What gives the 3DS its visual edge it seems, is simply down to its GPU’s capacity for rendering loads of advanced fixed-function effects on screen in lieu of having proper pixel shaders. Per-pixel lighting is supported, as is bump-mapping, specular and diffuse reflections, refraction mapping, procedural texturing and soft shadowing.

All of these add serious clout to the final images the 3DS produces in its games, and is exactly why the likes of Resident Evil Revelations and Metal Gear Solid 3 looks so good. The former looking closer to current 360 and PS3 games than most titles on the original Xbox.

Lastly, the system also features 1.5GBs of flash memory, used primarily for user-based storage. We can expect this space to be occupied by downloadable content, and various music and media files the user has transferred onto the console. Interestingly, it appears that the system actually features a 2GB flash memory chip inside, leaving 512MB solely in the hands of the OS. It is likely that this will be used to upgrade the machine’s firmware further on down the line, adding new functionality to the unit and who knows what else.


With the final specifications of the 3DS revealed (minus the odd bit of info here and there) it is clear that the system is, at first glance, not blinding more powerful than the PSP as it originally appeared. Much of what makes the 3DS games graphically so impressive comes from cleaver implementation of layered texture effects, and some impressive texture compression. Obviously, stuff like total system bandwidth is still up in the air. Although we can see that Nintendo's machine is working smarter, rather than harder.

However, this just might be enough. From what we’ve seen of the software, the machine has no problems in overshadowing DC and PS2 games, even bettering some Wii and Xbox 1 titles, so the lacking nature of the machine’s raw specifications are certainly not the be all and end all of the story.

Like with the N64, GCN, NDS, Wii, and pretty much every games console they’ve ever done, Nintendo have always been clever in selecting cost-effective, but capable performing parts, ones which get the job done without needing as much raw grunt as its competitors. And this is exactly the case here with the 3DS. They could have gone with NVIDA’s Tegra 2 solution (and evidence points to the fact that they originally were going to), however, for what is likely to be either cost or power efficiency issues, decidedly to switch to the DMP PICA-200 chip instead.

The decision, however silly it might seem in the face of vastly superior smartphone tech, and the rumoured PSP2, makes sense when you consider that the main draw of their system is it’s ability of deliver a solid 3D experience without the need for the user to wear glasses, and at what is likely to be at a reasonable price. The fact that games for the system currently impress, despite paper limitations, is just another sign that the company has done the right thing, especially given the circumstances of the ever-increasing cost of having cutting edge hardware in the home.

Balancing impressive graphics hardware and a low entry price with mass-market adoption is usually not an easy task. But Nintendo has shown time and time again that it definitely knows what its doing in this sector. And the 3DS looks like being another shining example of just that.

Capcom Shows Off MT Framework Mobile Tech

We know that the 3DS is a potentially very powerful machine, and although its GPU is lacking any kind of programmable pixel-shader support, many of the effects done through this method can be recreated via its advanced fixed-function pipeline. The result is a range of visual effects that look surprisingly high-end and extremely close to what is possible on current home console hardware.

A glimpse of just what is possible on the system was briefly shown off with Capcom’s Resident Evil Revelations demo at E3 earlier this year, but now the company has shed even more light on the tech powering the game, and the results are not so surprisingly impressive.

In an interview with Zenji Nishikawa for Japanese site Impress Watch, Capcom’s Jun Takeuchi (head of production), Masaru Ijuuin (head of technical research and development), Satoshi Ishida (programmer) sat down to discuss the latest version of their MT Framework engine (called MT Framework Mobile), created specifically for the 3DS and incorporating many of the advanced visual effects usually found in the company’s PS3 and 360 titles.

Impressively, the trio revealed that the new engine is fully capable of delivering advanced features like normal mapping, depth of field, motion blur, gamma correction, anti-aliasing, surface shaders and self shadowing, whilst rendering in real-time at 30fps, and with most of the effects being enabled in 3D.

Some of these, like motion blur, and anti-aliasing are not available in this mode, perhaps down to both the way they are implemented and the additional processing load they require to work.

A few comparison shots were also revealed. They show the game with these features both enabled and disabled, demonstrating that the 3DS’ fixed-function graphics pipeline can still handle work carried out by the PS3 and 360’s pixel-shaders with relative ease.

The results are very impressive. And the screenshots in question can be found directly below.

Note: top shots are without these effects, bottom ones are with.

Motion Blur



The use of motion blur appears to be more than just a simple post-process effect added to the finished framebuffer image. Instead, all signs point to it being object based, calculated in real-time and processed only for the items which use it. This usually requires a large amount of processing power compared to the much cheaper ‘camera-based motion blur’ solutions, so seeing it up and running here is a pretty incredible feat.

Currently the effect has been fully implemented with the game is running in 3D, although Capcom are assessing its suitability for use in this mode.

Depth Of Field



When using a DOF effect objects in the foreground or background appear to stand out, and focus points are created. This accentuates cinematic realism when using certain camera angles.

HDR (top) and Colour Correction (bottom)





Capcom’s use of high-dynamic-range lighting here seems to create a larger contrast between light and dark areas of the scene, although it can also be used to show a larger spectrum of light points across the entire available range. The above shows a more realistic presentation of shadowed parts of the screen, creating a moody, more atmospheric look to the proceedings.

Normal Mapping



Seeing as polygon counts are vastly lower than in 360/PS3 Resident Evil 5, normal mapping has clearly been used to make both characters look smoother, their lower polygon origins slightly more concealed as a result. This technique allows for more detail to be included via texture mapping without the need for incredibly high levels of geometry, which is perfectly suited for the 3DS.

Surface Shaders and Self Shadowing



Like with HDR, the effect of self shadowing adds additional realism and depth to the scene, whilst additional shaders help maximise the amount of detail from the game’s texture maps.

Anti-Aliasing

Perhaps the most interesting feature is the inclusion of 2xAA when the game is running in 2D mode. While Capcom didn’t discuss the method of edge smoothing they were using, it is very likely that it is the very same supersampling technique as found in Nintendo’s Starfox 64 conversion.

Effectively the 3DS renders its final framebuffer output at 800x240 when running in 3D mode, with two 400x240 frames being created (one for each eye). These are then combined to form a single 2D image using jittered samples, thus basically equating to 2x supersampling, and it’s this image that is finally displayed on screen. Regardless of mode, the game is always rendering the full 800x240 resolution in order to apply AA in the final framebuffer output.

Tech Advantages

It’s pretty clear from what we’ve seen so far that the MT Framework Mobile engine is a force to be reckoned with for sure. From a mere graphical standpoint Resident Evil Revelations is easily the most complex 3DS title we’ve seen to date given the large range of effects displayed at any given time. However, it is the engine’s cost and time saving properties which are perhaps even more important than its flagship game’s visual splendour.

One of the main things to come out of the interview was that when making for the platform using MT Framework Mobile, you wouldn’t need to start the entire game creation process from scratch. It is possible for developers to carry over all of their existing art assets from the work done on PS3 and 360 titles, simply scaling back geometry counts and texture detail to match the lower spec hardware.

This is exactly what Capcom have done for Resident Evil Revelations and 3DS Super Street Fighter IV, in which most of the artwork and assets were taken directly from both Resident Evil 5 and the console version of Super SFIV, before being downgraded accordingly.

Effectively, by doing this overall development costs should be lower, thus allowing for software teams to target high-end levels of graphical performance that are usually expected from fully-featured AAA titles. Only this time in the handheld space. And all without breaking the bank.

Ultimately, Capcom’s mobile version of the highly proficient MT Framework engine bodes well for not only future handheld ports of PS3 and 360 games, but also original titles as well. More time spent on game design, and less on getting your art, assets, and tech up and running can only be a good thing. And it is precisely this approach which will be the driving force behind future development - a statement echoed by the fact that the company also confirmed the MT Framework Lite; a cross platform solution designed to get games ported from PS3 to Wii more quickly, but without the usual legwork.

A Look At Some New Dead Or Alive 3DS Screens

Early screens of Dead Of Alive 3DS surfaced at this year’s E3 shortly after Nintendo unveiled the 3DS console itself, showing off Dreamcast quality graphics with more advanced visual effects. Now Tecmo have released some updated shots of the game, which not only further showcase the 3DS’ fairly advanced graphical prowess, but also the progress that has been made since its initial unveiling.

Dead Or Alive Dimensions, as it’s now being called, is looking mightily impressive. Previous shots of the game looked good, although didn’t quite appear as detailed geometry wise compared to the DC version of DOA2, nor did it feature quite as detailed texturing. However those screenshots were heavily compressed, and also came from a much earlier version of the game. Compared to the ones released at E3, this latest batch of shots appears distinctly more polished, clearly featuring improvements in a number of areas.


Texturing seems to be a little more consistent, with the characters in particular seeing more detail than before, and the overall shading model is a little less rough around the edges. Specular highlighting is also present, appearing subtly amongst the game's more pronounced use of normal mapping.

Interestingly the latest screens all feature insane amounts of anti-aliasing, more than what is likely to be present in the actual game, if any at all. Like with most publisher-released screens these are likely to be downsampled bullshots, and given the lack of any aliased edges this is almost certainly the case. Currently Nintendo’s 3DS port of Star Fox 64 is the only 3DS game we know of that uses anti-aliasing.



The most noticeable improvement besides the obvious, and slightly artificial increase in image quality, is the liberal use of normal mapping in these latest shots. It’s pretty clear that the characters in DOA Dimensions aren’t made up of as many polygons as DC DOA2, however a similar level of detail, and more in certain areas, is created through using normal maps to simulate ‘bumpy’ surfaces and other such looks.


Impressively, the clothing appears to a focal point for using the technique. You can see all the little creases and folds that occur during movement which adds even more realism to the proceedings. Admittedly, this on its own is hardly new, and we don’t know whether or not the developers are simply using a static normal mapping solution, or whether they are dynamically blending different 2D normal maps together to create an effect which contorts and changes with motion. If they are then this is a pretty mean feat, although particularly unlikely.


Dead Or Alive Dimensions is looking pretty darn hot right now, with impressive use of various graphical effects and much better image quality than many 3DS games we’ve seen so far. These latest shots represent a noticeable improvement to the ones released a few months ago, and things generally seem to be progressing nicely. It will particularly interesting to see how well the developers can maintain a constantly fluid 60fps with so much detail being apparent, especially in some of the backgrounds, and with all those effects. Although I guess we shall just have to wait until the first direct-feed gameplay footage surfaces.

More screens of the game can be found over at Famitsu’s website.

Editorial: Moving On From The NDS

In 2008, when the Nintendo DS was at its peak, nobody really expected a slump in sales to be heading its way. Although in hindsight, all the signs were there, albeit subtly rising to the surface with Nintendo providing the obvious reactionary response by releasing new hardware in the form of another restyled Nintendo DS console.


You could argue that after nearly five years on the market, that it was time for the company to be thinking about new hardware - about replacing the existing NDS with something considerably more powerful whilst also adding in another standout feature, a talking point which could convince existing owners to move over to the new machine; the recently unveiled 3DS.

That feature, and the talking point of the latest machine, is 3D - a format brought back to the attention of the mainstream by movie studios in an attempt to re-invigorate cinema screen ticket sales, whilst also fending off digital downloads and the increasingly popular digital rental market. The very nature of the format makes it far more suitable for gaming than film however, with depth perception being far more important in trying to gauge your next jump, or in making that critical headshot. Interactive content demands high precision and definitively accurate reactions, all of which can be increased via the added depth afforded by 3D.

It’s a natural fit, and one that has the potential to immerse the user into the experience beyond what was possible with current tech, while at the same time giving Nintendo that difference for a second time running. Nobody else has 3D gaming hardware like this. No one else has a portable 3D solution outside of the cell phone.

So, given the large drop in sales and rampant piracy that has plagued the DS in recent years a change in hardware is really for the best, and in that respect not really all that unexpected. 2008 marked the highest point for NDS sales. Riding high after the constantly repeating success of Brain Training and its sequel, New Super Mario Bros, Nintendogs, and various third-party hits like Professor Layton, cracks began to appear in the machine’s previously unblemished record.

Software sales for first and third party titles were down across the board, and despite an initially strong uptake of the new DSi console, sales started to tale off a few months later. Third party publishers for the first time began cutting back on all DS operations, sighting both piracy and a saturation of games being produced for the casual market as the cause of this change. Nintendo themselves had barely released any notable titles for the system outside of the new Layton game, and another instalment in the Mario & Luigi series of RPG’s, instead relying on more sales of existing products and me-too third party clones of its own titles.

But why the sudden drop off in sales, and how come after four straight years of success is the platform slowing down so rapidly?

A number of factors have to be considered. Firstly, the casual market has seen a massive explosion ever since Nintendo struck gold with the likes of Brain Training and Nintendogs, with competing titles covering practically every avenue of potential interest, from pets, to playing doctor, and string of brain teasing games and puzzle-based adventure titles.

A crowded market is rarely a healthy market, especially when consumers are so bogged down with choice that they simply decide to vote using their wallets, by not buying anything, or simply to look elsewhere for entertainment otherwise provided by the DS. This over abundance in choice it seems is equally restrictive in the sense that the choices available are limited to certain genres and titles that casual gamers have grown accustom to appearing on the format. Outside of these genres there is little innovation, and titles aimed at the ‘core’ gaming market are mostly ignored due to a lack of familiarity even if some of those are perfectly suitable.

It appears that the bubble has broken, and that a string of similar experiences simply won’t be enough to sway a vast number of new owners to the platform, especially when there are over a hundred million of them already. Combined with the fact that the world market has just hit a sudden downturn due to the recession, and that leaves consumers vary of splashing out, something that the gaming market, despite early signs pointing otherwise, is not immune to.

The other reason why so many publishers and developers have recently been turning away from the DS, and in turn why consumers find themselves with a lack of imaginative new software is piracy. That old dog is once again up to its old tricks in a re-run of what has happen countless times before with the old gaming platforms of the 1980’s, the original PlayStation, and continuously to this day with the PC market. Like with any popular platform the NDS is far from immune from the problem, instead further feeding the pirates with its gigantic userbase.


Simple piracy in it self isn’t a huge problem for the DS, it’s the widespread scale of the issue, and the fact that it has become a fairly commonplace thing amongst casual gamers, and not just the technologically literate hardcore. Everyone from the little girl next door to parents simply out to save a few quid have turned to illegal downloading and game sharing for the DS. The popularity of many micro SD card readers for the system, such as the infamous R4, has made this phenomenon possible, and the ease of obtaining both the hardware required and the games themselves, so widespread across so many demographics.

Although Nintendo have in recent months begun to heavily crack down on large illegal game distribution operations, and hardware manufacture, they may have inadvertently left it too late. The R4 and other similar devices have too much market share now in order to be effectively combated to a point of no longer being a problem. Plus with the DS platform itself aging rapidly (it’s five years old already) there is little financial sense it trying to salvage and rebuild the success that it has seen over those five years with the same hardware. Instead it makes far more sense to concentrate on a new console altogether, one which will feature much greater protection from the pirates, and that can also instil fresh imagination into the gaming public.

Enter the 3DS.


With the selection of original NDS games quickly depleting, and the machine largely falling out of favour with the hardcore crowd to the less successful PSP, Nintendo have a chance to re-build bridges with that audience as well as provide a platform that doesn’t alienate the current casual consumer. In fact the use of 3D however gimmicky it may at first seem, may just convince those very people to jump aboard and experience a more traditional form of gaming. After all, what is there to loose, you have complete backwards compatibility with the existing DS, making the 3DS more of an upgrade than a complete replacement, along with a whole host of visualy alluring titles. Granny or little Suzie may not see the appeal, but many others will.

Importantly, the 3DS more than anything else will provide a safer development environment for developers away from the piracy ridden confines of the current NDS platform. This new sense of security will also be backed up with a fresh way of looking at handheld titles. Maybe not fresh, in the sense of new gameplay experiences, but fresh in the sense of experiencing PS2-like blockbusters in full 3D anywhere you go, in addition to fan favourites such as Mario, Zelda, Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid.

The NDS has definitely run its course, and now you can so easily see why and where most publishers development resources have gone. The shrinking selves of DS games will surely be replaced with a greater amount of 3DS titles come next year. Some may just be enhanced DS games aimed at the mainstream, whilst most look likely to be titles bread and nurtured for the ‘core’ gamer. It’s no surprise to learn that most Nintendo-based handheld software projects are being lined-up for the 3DS, both from first and third parties, and this in turn represents why DS software has dried up of late.

In the end, while it may seem like the DS is somewhat dying, and in a way it is, the future of the brand remains intact and ready for its second phase. Backwards compatibility ensures that the 3DS won’t alienate the current audience, or destroy the existing DS software chain overnight. But it will ensure the healthy continuation of the platform as a whole.

That is, of course if it becomes successful, although all signs point to it having an initially bright future. The rest, as always is up to the software and marketing, being able to convince the right people that this IS the right product for them. And with Nintendo’s recent track record that shouldn’t be a problem.

Nintendo 3DS GPU Revealed

Yesterday Japanese firm DMP revealed the graphics processor contained within the Nintendo 3DS ending speculation as to where the GPU would come from, and how powerful it really is.

A few days ago we assessed the capabilities of Nintendo’s new handheld based on seeing a handful of high-performance games and comparing them to titles on other platforms. It was a rough guestimate on how powerful we thought the machine to be, with a potential re-assessment upon having concrete new information. That re-assessment this is not, instead what follows is a look at the actual GPU that is powering the hardware and how the specs released ties into what we’ve seen of the 3DS’s capabilities so far.


First things first. The GPU powering the 3DS is the DMP PICA200 graphics core, a 2006 chip designed solely for portable device applications – everything from mobile phones to games consoles is mentioned in the specs document – and which actually packs quite a reasonable punch for cheap and efficient graphics rendering in a handheld device. With the design of the chip being complete in 2005 and released into market the following year, it isn’t in the same league as the GPU powering the iPhone, although it does fit squarely in between the GameCube and the Xbox in terms of overall ability.

According to DMP the chip is rated at 15.3 million polygons per-second (pps), with a pixel fill-rate of 800 million pixels per-second (more than the GCN but less than XB and Wii), all running at relatively fast 200mhz. Interestingly the numbers here are actually real-world figures in terms of the chip being used as a GPU solution in custom hardware. However, the demos and games shown for the 3DS don’t add up visually with the numbers given above, with the most complex titles pushing no more than 4, maybe 5 million polygons per-second at best.

So how can this be explained? Could it simply be a case of early development hardware, or a lack of optimisation with first-generation games? Well, this is particularly unlikely seeing as some of the software shown at Nintendo’s press event was highly polished and running at a brisk 60fps – not something un-optimised titles tend to do this early on in the hardware life cycle.

You could also argue then that the use of 3D, and having to render each frame twice could be having a considerable impact on the system’s graphics performance, if only were not for the fact that the 3DS renders one 800x240 image and splits the horizontal resolution down to 400 for each eye. At this low resolution, such a heavy performance hit isn’t very plausible seeing as you are basically rendering 800x240 as a total single screen resolution with 60fps equating to 60fps, and not 30fps as it would be for rendering for display using regular stereoscopic 3D images.

This resolution is hardly GPU busting compared to what the iPhone is doing – its basically little more than a expanded version of the Saturn or PSone’s low resolution mode.

Instead all signs point to Nintendo downgrading the chip in some way. The most likely scenario is the same one Sony took when launching the PSP, downcloking the GPU in order to save on battery life at the expense on overall performance. This lowering of the clock speed would indeed have the undesired effect of lower polygon throughput, thus resulting in the lower geometry counts we are seeing in the first batch of 3DS games.

The other area is memory. Even if the chip is capable of delivering somewhere in the region of 15.3 million polys per-second, the 3DS might not have enough graphics RAM in order to hold more than 4-6 million textured, lit and fully shaded polygons on screen, in which case the full power of the GPU is largely irrelevant with the exception of the extra grunt being used to obtain a stable 60fps in ‘most case’ scenarios.

Either way, without actually seeing the entire specification set of the machine we can’t really make any more assessments on how powerful it is, or how much of the above GPU performance is obtainable in real-world scenarios in 3DS games.

More interesting though, is the GPU’s lack of any programmable pixel shaders. We estimated that the 3DS might in fact have pixel and vertex shaders in our initial assessment of its capabilities last week due to seeing what looked blatantly like shader-based effects being visible. As it turns out this is only half the story.

The 3DS is basically an Open OpenGL ES 1.1 compatible chip with some customised fixed-function effects and vertex shading capabilities, but no pixel shader support of any kind. It has the ability to perform advanced effects such as per-pixel lighting, refraction mapping, procedural texturing, soft shadows, and gaseous object rendering. All of which are carried out using fixed hardware routines, and not as hinted at by Nintendo, shaders themselves. However, like we mentioned in our original article many of the effects created through the use of shaders can also be duplicated using fixed-function hardware. And in this case DMP have bumped things up considerably, with more advanced extensions than most previous fixed-function T&L GPU’s tended to have.

The fact that many, myself included, saw evidence of pixel shaders at work proves that using a cheaper, older fixed-function design was the correct way to go. Many of the custom extensions are much more powerful than the ones available on either the Wii or the GCN, and in most cases perfectly replicate the look of programmable pixel effects.

For such a low-resolution screen, and the kind of handheld Nintendo makes, the above solution seems like a good fit. For one we can expect the 3DS to be much cheaper than competing platforms with similar 3D LCD screen technology, and at the same time still have some pretty impressive visuals for the price.

Once again it has to be said that Nintendo definitely have been very thoughtful, and indeed economical in its part selection for the 3DS, using old and outdated hardware to good effect. It’s something that seems to have worked for them in the past with both the NDS and the Wii, and will no doubt work for them again with the 3DS as well.

Tech Report: How Powerful Is The 3DS?

So, the 3DS is finally out of the bag and the first screens and videos of some visually impressive titles are making their way across the interweb. Tuesday’s unveiling of Nintendo’s latest hardware entry couldn’t have gone better, with a crowd-pleasing assault of titles aimed squarely at the ‘core’ gaming market, and some solid tech backing it up.

This tech is what we’re going to be looking at here today at IQGamer, uncovering the details behind the visual mastery in the various screenshots doing the rounds, and assessing just how powerful the 3DS really is. Of course, without actual hardware specs there isn’t much to go on outside some released screens, and poorly captured internet video. However pictures do tell a tale, and in the 3DS’s case, a significant amount about the underlying hardware. Definitive conclusions you won’t find – this isn’t really possible at the moment – but an insight into just what we can expect from Nintendo’s latest is something we can clearly provide.


Many people were quick to point out in their initial impressions that the 3DS appeared to have PS2 or GameCube quality graphics. A bold statement indeed, as that would make the hardware incredibly powerful, matching the iPhone in pure polygon capability whilst lacking some of the mobile device’s advanced shader effects. In reality that doesn’t seem to be the case, with the system’s current performance looking to be in between the Dreamcast and the PS2, but with liberal use of bump-mapping and specular effects. Better than the PSP? Yes, but maybe not in terms of raw geometry pushing power.

Another thing to consider is the fact that the machine is rendering everything on screen in 3D, and this means rendering each frame twice. This takes up far more potential processing power than just rendering a single frame for 2D display, and more than likely impacts on the level of polygon performance the 3DS is capable of.

In addition the 3DS also allows you to adjust how much of the 3D effects is displayed in real-time using a slider next to the screen. The reduction or increase in the effect appears to be calculated on the fly by the processors inside the system, so clearly for it to do this eats up whatever power could have been used for something else.

Maybe if the 3DS didn’t have to render every game in 3D, then it would more than likely exceed the PS2 in terms of graphics overall, matching it with regards to real-world polygon performance, but completely topping it in the visual effects stakes. As it is, not so much so.

Using screens for comparison we can see just how the 3DS holds up against other formats, and whether or not claims of the machine being close in power to a PS2 or like an enhanced Dreamcast are really true.

It’s pretty clear from the offset that the 3DS’s polygon pushing power is nowhere near that of the PS2 or the GameCube in mid or high level scenarios, instead it does resemble some low end, low key GCN and PS2 style graphics but with a greater amount of visual effects.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is a good example of this. Here we have a title that is perhaps pushing around more on screen that of a Dreamcast – with lots of bump-mapping, specular highlighting, reasonable texturing, and some nice lighting – but that clearly falls short of a high-profile PS2 game, geometry wise at least. Instead polygon counts look very similar to top end Dreamcast games, but with a far more liberal use of special effects. Use of programmable shaders are also very apparent, clearly putting the hardware ahead of the PSP, PS2 and GCN in the effects department.



The same thing can be found with Resident Evil: Revelations, a game which initially looks strikingly next-generation but hides its low poly make-up under a veil of bump-mapping and shading. You can see that the character models are in fact a little blocky, lacking the kind of intricate geometry detail to be found in most PS2 and GCN games. Instead the game manages to fool you into thinking it is more high-end than it actually is by cleverly using a healthy amount of bump-mapping, and good use of texturing and lighting, which allows smoother edges and more detail with less geometry being needed.



To emphasize just how important bump-mapping can be to creating a smooth image, lets talk about Activision’s Call Of Duty for a second. In an interview with developers Infinity Ward it was said that the characters in Call Of Duty 4 were made up of less polygons than in COD2, but that they actually looked noticeably more detailed as a result of improved use of certain effects. The developers pointed out that by using improved normal mapping (a more advanced technique with similar results to bump-mapping) and better texturing, that they were able to create more detailed characters with less geometry cost. It’s this very same thing that is happening here with Nintendo’s 3DS.

Compared to Sony’s PSP, the 3DS does appear to be approaching it for the most part with regards to real-world polygon counts in games, with the exception of top-tier titles such as GTA and OutRun 2 which seem to be pushing closer to the PSP’s technical maximum of around 6 million polygons per-second. Other than that, the 3DS competes remarkably well but demonstrates a clear effects advantage over Sony’s machine.

It’s these effects that make some of the 3DS titles look so much better than what is available on the PSP. Strangely, it appears that it is mainly third-party titles that are pushing the hardware using a wide range of effects the new machine seems to offer. Nintendo’s own games instead, seem far more basic in comparison using the standard textured and shaded approach to graphics rendering. Of course it doesn’t help that most of their titles shown were either N64 ports or what looked to be enhanced DS games.

Capcom’s Super Street Fighter IV is a good example of this. The game appears to have polygon counts approaching PSP levels, but with much more detailed texturing, and more advanced use of lighting/shadowing, plus some evidence of advanced shader effects too. It’s noticeably better than anything on either the PSP or the Dreamcast, and like with Resident Evil shows signs of visual effects normally found on the original Xbox.

Particularly impressive is the use of self-shadowing, an effect absent from the original PS3 version of SFIV, but later included in the ‘Super’ version. This is not something you’d expect to see on a handheld title, that’s for sure.



As you can see in many of the screens, it looks like the 3DS clearly has programmable pixel/vertex shaders, like with the original Xbox, or the PS3 and 360. Initially some people pointed out that Nintendo’s machine could simply be using older fixed-function type effects, ones that aren’t programmable in any way but give off a similar look. There are many fixed variants of common shader effects, and it could be that is just what 3DS games are using. However it has since been confirmed in an interview with Miyamoto that the hardware is fully capable of using shaders, thus putting an end to such speculation.

What this means, is that although it is pretty obvious that the 3DS is similar in power to Sega’s Dreamcast in terms of polygon rendering capabilities, and pretty close to the PSP, it is substantially more powerful than either of those two machines, or even the PS2, GCN and the Wii with regards to effects. Supporting shaders, the 3DS goes beyond what any of those machines can do in this regard, but how about against the iPhone?


Comparing it to the iPhone is perhaps a little more difficult, not least of all because few developers have actually tried to push the hardware, but also because there is a heavy software layer hiding direct access to the machine’s graphics hardware preventing devs from fully exploiting it. However, we do know that the SGX535 GPU inside the iPhone 3GS is clearly capable of better visuals than the 3DS regardless of the software restrictions. Developers using the Open GL development environment have access to the full range of shader effects the SGX535 Shader Model 4.0 core provides, whilst also being able to push similar levels of geometry to lead PS2 games around on screen.

The question with the iPhone, is whether or not developers have enough incentive to do this. After all, the iPhone is hardly a hotbed for bleeding edge games development, and there’s also the case of making games look good with the limited resources you have on offer, neither of which seem to be happening on Apple’s platform. In this case it really is an example of one platform being vastly superior (iPhone), but in which there is little software to showcase this fact. So with this, it’s safe to assume that most third party 3DS titles will look better than some of the best iPhone games, but not because the actual hardware is more capable, but because it is in the developers best interests to do so.

At the end of the day it looks like we can expect graphics quality in between Dreamcast and the GCN, but with the added use of shader effects seen on the original Xbox and beyond. Is it possible for the 3DS to do more? Maybe, but without seeing the specs sheet we simply don’t know, and it would be foolish to try and make such assumptions so early on.


In terms of what hardware lies inside the 3DS, we don’t really know for sure as nothing has been confirmed. But we do know that there must be some kind of ARM-based CPU inside the machine to maintain compatibility with the old NDS - enhanced and clocked at a faster speed to also handle the new stuff too – And, that the GPU is looking likely to be one provided by Japanese firm DMP, seeing as the company already has a chip powering another portable 3D display.

All things considered, the 3DS is a pretty powerful piece of kit sitting somewhere in between the Dreamcast and the original Xbox in terms of overall graphical performance. It might not be able to push polygons around on screen like there’s no tomorrow (less than PS2, GCN and XB), but with a range of impressive visuals effects made possible through the use of shaders, it doesn’t need to. In that respect, Nintendo’s latest handheld appears economical in its hardware design, yet perfectly capable for the task at hand. And for a successful handheld that really is all you need.

As more information surfaces, and developments occur we shall endeavour to revisit our look at the hardware inside the 3DS, updating you with what we hope will be the most informative and accurate report of its technical capabilities around. For now, this little insight into what is possible will have to do.

Nintendo Unveils 3DS, Full Software Line-Up

Just a few hours ago Nintendo unveiled the hotly anticipated 3DS to the world at its E3 press conference. The machine, looking strikingly like an enhanced version of the current DSi and XL machines, is a vastly more powerful beast equipped with both motion sensors and an adjustable 3D widescreen display.

Those of you expecting an Xbox 1 matching visual experience will be disappointed. However from what we’ve seen the 3DS seems to rival the PS2 and GCN on a lower level, and exceed them in certain areas (possible shader effects, bump mapping etc). It's not so surprising then, that the brand new handheld was being aimed squarely at core gamers at the event, with a barrage of classic and updated franchises.

Lets take it away!


On first inspection the 3DS looks remarkably similar to the existing DSi and Light models available on stores shelves. Looking closely however, reveals some major improvements, and a doggedly stubborn approach to change. The standard d-pad plus four face buttons remain, as does the two shoulder buttons and bottom touch screen. The d-pad now appears lower down, and in its old position sits a flat analogue nub of sorts, much like the one found on the PSP, but situated slightly inside the unit’s shell.

The bottom screen is the same touch screen as present in the DSi, however the top screen is where all the special stuff occurs. As you may have read before in this very blog, the top screen is a sharp manufactured, auto-stereoscopic widescreen display which displays 3D images without any need for the user to wear polarised or shuter glasses. It measures 3.53 inches across, and has a pixel resolution of 800x240 (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing).

A slider on the unit controls the strength of the 3D effect, which will be adjustable for every game, but also allows you to turn it off completely if you want a crisp and clear 2D image instead.

Backing up the use of 3D and the existing touch screen, comes the rumoured inclusion of motion controls and tilt functionality. To that end the unit features a gyro sensor inside, along with other motion sensing equipment. Apparently both 3D and motion sensing can be used at the same time, although reports state that the image can become split in two, and suffer from ghosting if viewed off-axis, meaning that in order to get the best image, you will have to be looking straight on at the screen.

It is likely that most games will either choose to use subtle motion sensing and 3D combined, or 3D and greater motion sensing separately. Certainly, from early hands-on impressions this would seem like the best course of action for developers. But we will see.

Moving on, the two cameras present in both the DSi and the DSi XL remain, although the outer camera now consists of two camera lenses enabling it to take photos for display in 3D on the top screen. Both have a 640x480 in 0.3 megapixel resolution, same as in the DSi, and still present the user with grainy, low-res looking pictures as before.

Wi-Fi is of course present – the same 802.11 band as found in existing models, along with WPA/WPA2 security support, and a stereo headphone jack is present at the bottom of the unit.

In terms of software, Nintendo announced a slew of impressive titles. Some were merely remakes of old N64 and PS2 games, whilst others were a combination of brand new releases and ported PS3 and 360 games.

The most impressive ones were:

- A port of the PS2 smash hit, Metal Gear Solid 3, which featured some lavishly bump-mapped visuals, great lighting, and solid texturing.


- A new iteration of Mario Kart:


- StarFox 64:


- Resident Evil: Revelations:


The full list of games can be found below:

- Activision - DJ Hero 3D

- AQ Interactive - cubic ninja

- Atlus - Etrian Odyssey, Shin Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

- Capcom - Resident Evil Revelations, Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition (working title)

- Electronic Arts - FIFA Soccer, Madden NFL, The Sims 3

- Gameloft - Asphalt GT

- Harmonix - Music game

- Hudson Soft - Bomberman, Deca Sports, Kororinpa

- Konami - Baseball, Contra, Frogger, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D "The Naked Sample", Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven

- Level-5 - Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (working title)

- Majesco - BloodRayne: The Shroud, A Boy and His Blob, Face Racers: Photo Finish, Lion's Pride: Adventures on the Serengetti, Martha Stewart, WonderWorld Amusement Park

- Marvelous - Bokujyoumonogatari 3D (working title)

- Namco Bandai - Dragon Ball, Gundam, Pac-Man & Galaga, Ridge Racer, Super Robot (all working titles)

- Nintendo - Animal Crossing, Kid Icarus Uprising, Mario Kart, nintendogs+cats, Paper Mario, PilotWings Resort, Star Fox 64 3D, Steel Driver

- Rocket - Crash-City GP, VS-robo

- SEGA - Sonic, Super Monkey Ball (working titles)

- Square Enix - Codename: Chocobo Racing 3D, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts

- Take-Two - Carnival Games

- Tecmo Koei - Dead or Alive 3D, Dynasty Warriors, Ninja Gaiden, Samurai Warriors 3D (all working titles)

- Tomy - Lovely Lisa 3D, Naruto Shippuden Action

- THQ - de Blob 2, Kung Fu Panda Kaboom of Doom, Marvel Super Hero Squad Infinity Gauntlet, The Penguins of Madagascar, Puss N Boots, Saints Row: Drive-By

- Ubisoft - Assassin's Creed: Lost Legacy, Battle of Giants: Dinosaur Strike, Driver Renegade, Hollywood 61 (working title), Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

- Warner Bros. - Batman, LEGO

Along with a long list of games Nintendo also mentioned that the 3DS will be able to display 3D movies. Disney, Warner Bros, and Dreamworks were all said to be involved, though no further information was forthcoming.


Overall, the 3DS definitely feels like a turbo-charged upgrade to the current DS than an all out revolution. Certainly, in terms of design and aesthetics, it looks that way. However the machine appears to be more powerful than most handhelds on the market, packing more usable grunt than the PSP or maybe even the iPhone in real-world terms, and has 3D support to back it up.

What remains to be seen is whether that particular effect is enough to keep people interested in what could initially appear to be one DS model too many. Thankfully, from what we’ve seen at E3, that doesn’t appear to be the case, plus with the extra horsepower under the hood – and the use of analogue controls – the 3DS could well usurp the PSP as the core gamers mobile platform of choice.

IQGamer will be investigating the hardware and graphics potential in the 3DS shortly.

Editorial: 3D Visions - The Next Arms Race?

The lure of 3D to the gaming industry is no more surprisingly than the increased focus on the format in recent film production, with many new releases being retrofitted for screenings in 3D in order to generate that extra buzz required to bring more people into the cinema. Everyone it seems is after a piece of the pie, and given the renewed public interest in viewing movies down at the local picture house it was only a matter of time until some of gaming’s big guns got on board.


Cineworld recently reported a 17% increase in ticket sales directly as a result of 3D movie screenings, and most of which were at the higher price charged for seeing a film in 3D. The effect it has had for the film industry has not gone unnoticed, with various high profile game developers stating that this new format could well be the future of videogaming as a whole.

Many state the incredibly accurate depth perception that comes from using the format, along with the increased levels of immersion when putting the player visually closer to the action - taking them perhaps further into the game than ever before - as the main reason for pushing forward with the tech.

Perhaps in this case 3D does more for most games that it does for most films. Improving our judgement of space and distance on a 2D display, separating images clearly from one another allowing us to truly experience more life-like scenarios than ever before. For gaming, the use of 3D, and in coordination with motion controls opens us up to a world in which we can feel really connected in a way that a film never could. And it’s this feeling which has driven many software developers and hardware companies into investing in its future.

With the DS in its fifth year, and the two most powerful current-gen consoles in a strong battle of one-upmanship over features, 3D represents a clear path for at least one of those two companies to distinguish themselves. Sony in particular - going for the ‘it does everything’ impression with the PS3 - sees 3D as their next milestone in gaming, hoping to become synonymous with the format in time for the next generation of consoles still a few years away.

Despite support for the format from Microsoft (although more concerned with Natal at this point) Sony in particular want to be seen as ‘the company’ who delivers the most cutting-edge of all 3D content, lining up a barrage of compatible titles at this year’s E3.

Sony are clearly aiming at the high-end here, with the prices of 3D enabled HDTV’s starting around £1700 and going up to at least £2200 for Panasonic’s reference level VT20. Admittedly not cheap, and certainly out of the mainstream user’s standard price range, which means that any uptake is going to be rather slow and distinctly pedestrian at first.

However, Sony and many other publishers see a potentially bright future going down the 3D route, ensuring their focus is strong and their software line-up defining enough to make a dent in peoples impressions. Plus in a few years time it is expected that most 3D compatible tellies will be available from at least 37” as the norm, with some smaller high-end 32” models also featuring the tech. Eventually though, every single HDTV will support the format, and its inclusion will read out like another check-box feature such as ‘100Hz processing’ or ‘HD Ready 1080p’.

Clearly this is just what Sony are counting on, and their aim to deliver the definitive 3D experience in light of this potential is understandable. Sure, it may take a few years for the tech to become widely adopted by the mainstream, and the overall cost associated with development may well go up (inevitable regardless of the inclusion of 3D), but at least they could have a much stronger position in the market as a result. Or that’s how they appear to be looking at it, adopting a standard long before it has any real presence in the consumer domain and turning it around so that it does in fact become prevalent. It’s this forward-thinking approach which catapulted the PS2 to worldwide success, but which also stalled the initial uptake of the PS3 with the insistence on pushing BluRay.

Nintendo on the other hand, are trying something altogether different. Once again they are focusing on the handheld market, in which they’ve held nothing but a dominant position since they first unleashed the GameBoy to the masses some twenty years ago. With 3D they have found a clear gap in which to exploit, however gimmicky it initially appears, and this could indeed set them apart from other manufactures in the handheld space. Yes, I’m talking about the 3DS.

Nintendo’s latest handheld is likely to be a very affordable entry into the world of 3D – below £200 price point is likely – and with complete backwards compatibility guaranteed for all NDS and DSi titles they won’t be alienating their existing user base, simply building right on top of it. Also, if rumours are to be believed the company has something else up its sleeve with the 3DS outside of its auto-stereoscopic screen.

Currently, the effect of viewing 3D images on such a small scale is relatively unproven, though somewhat tantalising, and its use in at least one Japanese smart phone has apparently yielded promising results. And perhaps this is the reason behind the push forward into that realm of an extra dimension, not only because hardly anyone else has done this before, but because Nintendo have a clear track record of taking something untested and making it work in areas others have failed (VitualBoy aside).

Disruption like with the NDS and the Wii, is the key here. They need something other than motion controls and the touch screen - which Apple have made their own, and which Sony are no doubt eying up for PSP2 - to once again separate themselves from others in the market, and they know it. 3D is one of those things, but with the option to turn it off, not the only one it seems. More surprises then? All will be revealed at E3.

Like with Sony, Nintendo not only hopes to capture a large chunk of the market, along the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere, but instead also intend to be the first ones to bring affordable 3D tech into the home. The 3DS with its estimated sub-£200 price point (I’m gambling on £169.99 or 179.99 as the clincher) has far more potential at opening up the gaming mass-market to 3D technology, in both the handheld space and the home consumer market than the exuberant price tags that accompany bleeding-edge 3D HDTV’s.

Being cheaper and more affordable is a start, but they need more than price on their side. They need to impress. But what if this new technology turns out to be something of substance, really visually impressive on the small scale? It could convince many people into buying one of those expensive 46”+ size HDTV’s we mentioned earlier, thus in turn actually helping Sony and their high-end approach to 3D gaming, and industry adoption of the format in general.

Looking at it this way, it’s not hard to see that the consumer is presented with what looks like a win-win scenario, with both ends of the pricing scale accommodated for. I also imagine that Microsoft will begin driving forward 3D support in conjunction with Natal if the PS3’s attempt to capture this new market gains momentum, especially if it has a noticeable impact in 3D HDTV sales – more TV’s sold means more opportunities for pushing the format, and greater sales potential for all that extra work. Sales of current HDTV’s jumped with the advent of high-def consoles, and then exponentially so with the eradication of standard-def CRT’s from the market.

Either way, the thing to remember is that the notion of 3D isn’t particularly new, and it will take a few years of price reductions on HDTV’s, and impressive software to convince the consumer to invest. The glasses also are another hindrance, heavier and more bulky than their cinema equivalent. Even then, it’s hard to expect any revelations, or even a major impact on the console front before the next-generation of systems is upon us. 3DS aside, which looks to comfortably occupy its own space, for now anyway. In the end the seeds are being sewn, and the groundwork being laid. All that’s left is to see how we as consumers perceive the road lying ahead, and whether or not this is indeed the path we’d like to go down.

Other than trying to predict what might happen , something tells me that this story is going to be particularly interesting, it could in effect usher in a new level of interactive entertainment with both 3D and motion controls at the forefront. Or it could simply fall flat on its backside, another reminder of what happens when the industry tries to push something that just isn’t ready. The death of classic gaming this is not, that’s for certain. But a mere an expansion into areas that bring us closer to the games we play, and the worlds we get so immersed in.

Near defining statements aside, all shall be revealed at this year’s E3 in two days time. There we will have a better view on just what each manufacturers plans are for the format, and how this much-talked about 3D thingy finally fits into place.