High Res Nintendo Handheld Incoming

DS (probably not DSi) backwards compatibility would be a good start. Some kind of 3G internet-connection-from-anywhere like the iPhone would be ace for online play, and of course a handheld Virtual Console.

( Edited 06.01.2010 13:23 by Phoenixus )

This is going to be the Gameboy comeback. It will have a DS slot in the bottom of it, so you can play your DS games on it.

DS and GB backward compatibility. Touch screen is a must.
Looking forward to what will probably be 8th gen's first competitor!

I don't think we'll be getting a GBA slot on the new DS. A DS card slot will most likely be included.

Maybe go with a multi-touch touchscreen too.

The games should be looking like Xbox games at a minimum. Needs a bloody joystick this time around and better buttons.

I agree, they should put an analogue stick on it. One that pops in and out with a push of a button, and it should be a clamshell design aswell.

Too many new DS models.

Seriously? This is Nintendo, and it's a handheld console. I'd be surprised if it looked as good as the GC.
Also the DS buttons are leet.

Its about bloody time. The DS is tapped. We need a new system. No doubt it\'ll have better touch screens. I\'m guessing capacitive multitouch for both screens. Probably an accelerometer in there somewhere too.



He says its a DS successor, so I really doubt that its a Gameboy. That brand has been superseded in popularity by the DS, so why go back to it? Gameboys don\'t have two screens either (if they did it would just be.. a DS), so playing DS games on them wouldn\'t be possible.



I\'m guessing GB compatibility will be delivered through a VC like service. They\'re not going to just give you that compatibility for free. It also wouldn\'t shock me if they did that for DS compatibility, but I doubt that they will seeing how popular the DS was. They understand that a little backward compatibility helps people make the jump to a new system (see the DS in its first year).

( Edited 06.01.2010 15:36 by Jacob4000 )

The original DS d-pad is a huge strain on the old left thumb.

As for DS computability, it does place significant limitations on what the console would be like. Must have 2 screens, a microphone, touch screen etc. I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but it would be a huge shame if the new console's design was restricted so that it could play DS games.

Considering we already knew they were using the Tegra chipset, it's not exactly a surprise.

What do they mean High Res ? Like "higher res ever seen on a portable system ?" (could be like 640x480 then), or really what's considered to be HD ? (720p+).

Nintendo has always been reluctant to give high res screens for its portable devices so i'd go for something like 640x480 max.

Yeah, they probably just mean 'higher res than the DS'. I can't imagine anyone coming out with a 720p handheld games console any time soon. Especially Nintendo.

As long as they stay well away from the errors of Sony then the next gen Nintend-a-ma-jig should be amazing.

I have doubts about that too, however one of the selling points of the Tegra Chip its supposedly using, is that it is powerful enough to output 1080p. Would Nintendo do that? I No way. But 720p would be pretty amazing.

Realistically, I\'m guessing like Kafei that it\'d likely be in the 640x480 range (if the screens aren\'t 16x9). Still though, that\'d be a pretty huge jump on the pitiful 256x192 the DS is currently sporting.

( Edited 06.01.2010 17:08 by Jacob4000 )

Not much point going too high res on a small screen.
Id rather the power be spent on antalising and polygon counts.

Personally though; I just dont care.
I\'m more interested in using decent processing power for camera tracking and augmented reality use\'s

Hell, if Nintendo can just wait another 4 years or so I think they could even release a decent HMD based system.
The virtual boy may have been a disaster, but I think the tech is ready now (look at Vuzix\'s glass\'s), it just needs to be a little cheaper and smaller. And that will come in a few years.



Bull\'s to that.
Theres plenty of great games still coming.

Hardware is outdated the second its released, you might as well wait for the *games* to start to dry up.
And that isnt going to happen for at least a year or two.



( Edited 06.01.2010 18:13 by Darkflame )

We already had this discussion. The hardware is actually getting in the way of great games at the moment (see Scribblenauts, severely limited by the power of the DS).

Great games are still coming yes. Greater games can be had with greater technology. Why the resistance? Its been five years. Lets see some new things. I can't wait to see what devs do with higher power, dual touch screens and multitouch.

Come on, Jacob's probably the biggest DS fan in the multiverse, and when he says the DS is tapped then it probably is!

I wouldn't mind the DS going on for another year or two while we wait for the new guy to drop in, but the support does seem to be dwindling a little.

Also I would be incredibly surprised to see real HD on a handheld. I don't see it happening.

Way to motivate me to buy a DSi, Nintendo. Also, how the hell are you going to incorporate motion controls into a handheld in any practical way??

Well if the screens are 16:9 why not a resolution of 720x480? The iPhone's got a resolution of 480x320 and it looks good enough, but then, I think Nintendo would atleat want to outdo a phone/iPod.

I'm sure it will have more RAM than the Wii if it's using the Tegra aswell.

Probably very simply like with the iPhone or Kirby tilt'n'tumble.

This could mean 480p (and or widescreen) with a better LCD dislpay, NOT 720p since the next handheld would be the equivalent to a performance-enhanced GC (as the DS is to a N64).

Are we talking about iPhone hi-res or iMax hi-res? I'm guessing 2 QVGA screens (320x240 or double that of GBA). Two full VGA (640x480) screens may tax the system too much and reduce the battery life and may heat up the system too much. Remember that the Wii only outputs to a single VGA screen.

Both screens will be touch screens because whenever you show the DS to someone new, they always try to use both screens as touch screens. I'm not sure if the screens will be finger touch (like iphone) or stylus touch, or both.

Bring in a Dual screen, it will help even to make the video bigger and protect the two screens. Video playback, Music playback is awesome in the DSi but come on i wanna watch Mario and all my other dvds on my handheld. remain SD compatible, and of course what phoenixus said VIRTUAL HANDHELD CONSOLES.

If it does have backwards compatibility with DS/i and GB, a motion-sensor feature added to the camera, the charms of a music/video/photo player, Internet browser, and expandable memory, then it may become as good an idea as Riverdance for the Wii. Wait, would Riverdance Wii really be a good idea?

The exact description is that it can decode 1080p video, not produce real time 3D graphics in 1080p like the PS3 or 360 can.