Japanese publications have leaked possible details about the recently-announced Nintendo 3DS, and the new handheld might well have an analog stick and support force feedback.
could look like as seen in DSi title Hidden 3D Image: There It Is!)
There’s very little concrete data – as in, things we know beyond a shadow of a doubt – about the newly-announced Nintendo 3D-capable handheld, but that hasn’t stopped reports and rumored leaks from springing up all over the place. Japanese publications Asahi and Nikkei have leaked details about the device, reports Engadget, and the new information is pretty interesting.
Of course, keep in mind that this is all unconfirmed and may just be speculation. The only things we know for sure is that the 3DS will be coming in Fiscal Year 2010 and will have 3D capabilities – take everything else with that in mind.
The Asahi Shimbun suggests that the 3DS will achieve its glasses-less 3D effect by the use of a paralax barrier LCD screen made by Sharp, a screen that has already been used in a handful of Japanese mobile phones but is apparently unsuitable for larger screens.
Nikkei‘s report indicates that the 3DS’ screen will be less than 4in diagonally, which would be bigger than the screen on the DSi but smaller than the 4.2in DSi XL. It also says that the handheld will feature “3D control stick(s),” but whether this is a brand-new feature or just the standard analog nub that we’ve grown to know and love on our PSPs remains to be seen – information that Nintendo secured patents for the control scheme last year would seem to suggest that they’re new, though.
Other information out of the Nikkei report says that the 3DS will feature support for force feedback via vibration. While that might make you think that the system will have a shorter battery life than its predecessors (I mean, it’s wasting power on shaking the thing, isn’t it?) the 3DS is also rumored to have improvements over the DS on both “WiFi transfers and battery life.” So, go figure.
There are lots of rumors, and some of them may well be true. We’re unlikely to find out for sure, though, until this year’s E3 in June.
