During a recent investors meeting in Japan, Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata revealed details on his company’s upcoming 3DS handheld. Primarily, that 3DS is not it’s official name. Iwata made it clear that the system will be, ‘"…released during this term, so the announcement of the formal name will not be too far off."
According to Iwata, the 3DS is being designed with both hardcore and casual gamers in mind. The premature trickle of information on the system, which eventually resulted in an official announcement from Nintendo, was done intentionally to get developers’ creative juices flowing. I wonder if Mr. Iwata realized how fast the news would spread online…
Since the leak, there has been some speculation that developing 3D titles would be more expensive than previous formats. Iwata did his best to quell such rumors, saying, "If a game is originally made as a true 3D space, you make the 3D image by drawing two lines, one matching the left eye and one matching the right eye, so converting a game that already takes place in a 3D world into 3D is not all that difficult. However, the trial and error is there for any development where you try to make new entertainment experiences, and not just 3D."
As compelling as 3D may be, Nintendo still wants to please consumers who just aren’t sold on the idea of gaming in the third dimension.
"This isn’t limited to just kids, but we’re aware one in some tens of people, including adults, has difficulty with three dimensional visuals," he said. "So, while the 3D image is a special feature of the 3DS, we won’t force the player to use the 3D functionality. By making it so that the player can at all times play with [the 3D feature] off, we believe we can comply with those who have difficulty with the 3D view or those who are worried about their child’s eyes."
So, 2D or not 2D? That is the question we will ultimately have to ask ourselves when the 3DS launches later this year.
