That's what Craig suggests in this feature.

Craig Harris said:

How powerful is the 3DS?
Nintendo has not revealed any specs for the 3DS system, but expect it to well surpass the Nintendo DS in visual and processor capabilities. To provide stereoscopic 3D effects the system must have the ability to render each game field twice, one for each of the player's eyes, a technique that will require significant horsepower to produce.

Several developers that have experienced 3DS in its current form have reported, off the record, that it has processing capabilities that far exceed the Nintendo Wii and bring the device with abilities that are close to HD consoles such as PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

According to several developer sources, the 3DS device is not using the NVIDIA Tegra mobile chipset, a rumor that's been floating around since 2009.

Crazy if true.

URL to share (right click and copy)

@Smerd
Nintendo just better not pull a Sony and expect to charge a lot for the system and expect everyone to go out and buy it anyway, just because it's the next DS. They will kicked in the junk hardcore if they do that.

Posted by

WrathOfSamus777

on: 06/05/10, 07:15

@bpumpkin777

Agreed. I'm not in the mood to pay more for a handheld system than a console. Maybe that's dumb logic to some, but it's made a hell of a lot of sense the past two decades.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 06/05/10, 07:50

This amount of power seems... excessive? I don't want a red hot 3DS or one that sounds like a jet engine. ;)

I'd be very happy with 60fps Cube level graphics in 3D, probably at a slightly lower resolution. It would make sense that Nintendo has better hardware partners for their new machines though. Nintendo has the money and the potential for great hardware sales, their prospective partners should be working much harder at bringing them good, affordable tech.

Posted by

Infinitywave

on: 06/05/10, 13:31

The PSP2 is rumored to have a quad core processor, and the iPod 4g is rumored to use the A4 processor from the iPad. If true, then I don't see it as being to far of a stretch that the 3DS could be more powerful than the Wii.

Price may not be as much of a concern as one may think. Sure, they charged a premium for the DSi and the XL. But that may have just been because neither system was meant to replace their respective predecessors, but instead to compliment them as upgraded options.

Posted by

nhatch

on: 06/05/10, 14:38

Technically more powerful than the Wii to pull off the 3D effect? I can buy that. I'm still not expecting overall visuals that surpass the Gamecube, though... which is more than adequate for a handheld.

Can't wait to see this thing and some of the games they have in mind.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 06/05/10, 15:00

I also feel that Wii-level power could probably enable Gamecube-level 3D visuals. I just hope they focus on resolution. I want tooooons of resolution. It's the bottleneck for jaw-dropping 2D.

Anyway, I wonder if 30 FPS 3D games will allow you to disable the effect for 60 FPS.

Also, I will pay whatever they charge for the 3DS. Im-fucking-mediately.

Posted by

Anand

on: 06/05/10, 16:19

Edited:

06/05/10, 16:20

It makes the wait for E3 all the more unbearable, doesn't it?

Posted by

CB200

on: 06/05/10, 16:44

@anandxxx

You won't need "tooooons of resolution". We're still talking about a portable machine. Portable = small screens. (My guess is right between DSi's and DSi XL's)

Smaller screen = you can keep resolution down WITHOUT loss clarity. I don't know the technical stats of the psp, but I doubt the resolution of the 3DS will be much higher than what the psp runs at.

They're going to use the horsepower to, as other people have said, render every image twice. They'll also use it to draw a shit ton (yes, that's an actual measurement of weight) of polygons. So even though the resolution won't be SUPER high, it will still be able to render highly detailed images.

Posted by

cooliocuneo

on: 06/05/10, 17:35

@cooliocuneo

But the 3DS needs at least the resolution of an SDTV for an adequate portable VC...

Posted by

Pandareus

on: 06/05/10, 18:53

@ Dr.Finkelstein, bpumpkin

No that all makes sense...it's a delicate balance and a fine line Nintendo is working with here... however, aren't people paying hundreds of dollars for an IPad/IPhone etc...and doesn't it play tons of games? What do they decide?

How much would you be willing to pay for a portable system these days with pretty high tech?

S

Posted by

Smerd

on: 06/05/10, 21:39

@Smerd

That's somewhat true, but the iPad/iPhone's primary function isn't gaming (despite what recent sources would have us all believe). In fact that's secondary at best for either platform.

Thus, the price of entry for those (again, depending on who you ask ) is a bit more fair.

I'd have to agree that a $300 portable system - even a DS - would be too much for me. I'd have to wait for that to come down in price.

I honestly expect it to still be very modest when it comes to power if only to keep the cost down. I just don't see them going crazy enough with it to push it out of that $200 sweet spot. Unlike pre-PS3 launch though, I'm not going to make the mistake of saying that Ninty would never put out a system that costs that much (in Sony's case, I didn't think they'd actually put out a $500-600 system). I'll just say that if they do, it'll be a while before I embrace it (ala PS3).

Posted by

roknin

on: 06/05/10, 21:51

@cooliocuneo
PSP res on one screen would be very nice (and a significant boost), but I wouldn't mind them going even higher (not too much, since boosting it much more than that would result in diminshing returns, on such a small screen). I'm thinking more of 2D than 3D. I envision a whole library full of painterly games that can stand up visually to the Muramasa and Wario Wares of the world.

Can you imagine a Metroid or Kid Icarus (or Zelda II sequel) with the visual fidelity of Muramasa? *droooool*

Posted by

Anand

on: 06/05/10, 22:33

Edited:

06/05/10, 22:33

I think we need to consider what the 3DS will do in addition to gaming? Might we see some voip features or an enhanced interface for browsing the net and downloading software. Will it run similarly to PS3 and XBox where the OS is constantly running in the background allowing for multiple tasks (friends lists, etc.) and online interactions that are streamlined? The need for more powerful processing might also be indicative of some of these other things.

Or maybe Nintendo is just looking to make a badass little system.

Posted by

FINlos

on: 06/05/10, 23:12

*statement retracted*

Posted by

casper884

on: 06/05/10, 23:27

Edited:

06/06/10, 03:04

Hmm...

Posted by

Anand

on: 06/05/10, 23:40

*statement retracted*

Posted by

casper884

on: 06/05/10, 23:47

Edited:

06/06/10, 03:05

@casper884

So, are you saying the 3DS has a multi-core processor?

Posted by

nhatch

on: 06/06/10, 00:13

I'm actually more excited for better looking 2D games than for any 3D game for this system.

Posted by

sirmastersephiroth

on: 06/06/10, 00:19

*statement retracted*

Posted by

casper884

on: 06/06/10, 02:10

Edited:

06/06/10, 03:05

Hah. So 3DS games will probably look a lot better than Wii games? Crazy...

Very good sign that the next-gen console should actually have tech that is worth a damn.

Posted by

Hinph

on: 06/06/10, 02:47