Looks like Engadget has the scoop on a possible (probable?) Android/Sony gaming phone.

Here’s some info:

“Here’s what we can tell you about the hardware: if you’re a gaming fan, this is exactly the kind of phone you’ve been waiting for. The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go — in other words, it’s a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a “long touch pad” for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we’re told might not be final, and it’ll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board. The phone is mostly black with some silver highlights, and the gamepad area is white / silver in color. Apparently it’s currently branded as a Xperia device, but it looks like it will carry PlayStation branding as well. Those who’ve seen the phone say it looks “pretty damn sexy.” The mockup above probably doesn’t do the actual hardware justice, but it should give you an idea of what you’ll be dealing with.”

On the software side, it looks like the device will be running Gingerbread (Android 3.0) with a phone-specific skin, and there will be a new area of the Android Market specifically for the games.

Jump over to Engadget for the entire article and the massive ” Android + Sony + Gaming = FTW” and “Heeeeellllzzzz yeah” commentary.

Gizmodo mock up:

Freddie25:
A Christmas project with accordion, flutes and other acoustic “instruments”. The original music is from the Legend of Zelda series. (Mostly from The Wind Waker, full song list below.)

MP3 here: http://www.speedyshare.com/704964519….

0:04 Medli’s Prayer (part of the opening theme)
0:21 Makar’s Prayer (also part of the opening theme)
0:40 Medli’s Prayer again
0:52 Aryll’s Theme + Makar’s Prayer
1:04 Overworld (Ocean Theme)
1:28 Zelda’s Lullaby
1:34 Dark World (A Link to the Past)
1:44 Aryll’s Theme + Medli’s Prayer
1:56 Aryll’s Theme + Makar’s Prayer + Zelda’s Lullaby
2:08 An arrangement of the original Zelda Overworld theme

Most of these songs were already included in a medley at the end of the game though. (The Staff Credits music.)

UPDATE: Super Mario Galaxy 2 just hit the all time highest ranked game in existence according to Game Rankings, finally beating out The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time which was made in 1998.

With the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2 and the plethora of spectacular reviews (go ahead, click it…I dare you!) showing up all over the Internet, I felt it fitting to post an homage.

This video is truly epic if you are a fan of old school video game SKILLZ!

And this video…well. Just see for yourself.

Here is a link to the original Top 11 Mario moments from 1up.com

Kotaku via MCV

Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, is believed to have told his senior executives recently the war on Sony is victory. Time to focus on Apple, its iPhone and iPad devices, as the “enemy of the future”.

Last Christmas, almost twice as many Wii consoles were sold in the US as the PlayStation3. But games developers increasingly see Sony’s machine as having a large enough base of users to justify not making titles for the Nintendo machine. After all, the Wii hardware isn’t nearly as fast or badass as Sony’s.

So, Nintendo is at a fork in the road. What do they do? Do they create a Nintendo Phone? Do they get in the app business?

The world in 2010 is much different than 2006 when the Wii arrived on the scene.

Both Sony and Microsoft are getting into the more family-friendly gaming genre. But when you look at what is starting to take away from the profits, is the foothold that Apple is getting with it’s app store. Most people would rather carry around a bad ass smartphone instead of a Nintendo DS, although my 8 year old is begging me for a Nintendo 3DS, when it arrives on the scene.

To me, Nintendo is nostalgia. It has had a nice run. But unless it finds away to capture our imagination again and sucker us into some new ecosystem of awesome, I think Nintendo becomes irrelevant. So, they’d better have their eyes toward Apple. In my opinion, they should have taken notice 3 years ago. Methinks it may be too late.

I know how my parents feel.

In addition to Twilight tee shirts, Hot Topic also sells cartoon and video game related merchandise.  If you want a Thundercats sweatshirt or a Pac-Man tee shirt, Hot  Topic is your place to go.

When I was 16, I got heavy into classic rock.  Back then, classic rock was everything up to The Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker”.  I listened to a lot of Cream, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Rolling Stones (ABKCO albums), Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin.  I also had long hair.  My parents would talk about how great the music was when they were young and hippies in California in 1967 and wouldn’t shut up about Woodstock and would dump on the music of the day that I did listen too (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Hole, Soundgarden).

And they’d talk about how “Oh yeah, we had the best music” and tell me to stop stealing their Led Zeppelin and Beatles LPs.  It’s not my fault that they didn’t listen to their LPs and I did.  And if my dad didn’t want me to take his original pressings of “Are You Experienced?” and “Revolver”, then he should have put them where I wouldn’t find them.

The point is that I was invading their generation’s culture.  I suppose this is natural.

So there I stood in Hot Topic, looking at “Legend of Zelda” tee shirts, having the realization that my younger siblings, aged 21, 18, and 10, were now invading my generation.  Each of them adores the NES.  They’re each down with Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart, and Zelda.  Some of this is my fault.  Just as my dad wouldn’t shut up about how Slash couldn’t carry Jimi Hendrix’ jock strap (my dad is right; he can’t), I wouldn’t shut up about Star Wars and my sibs are little Star Wars geeks too.

They’re not alone.  There is an entire generation that has been brought up in the long shadow of the NES and Star Wars.  To them, the Atari 2600 controller is an icon but not something that they’ve ever used.  Super Mario Bros. is for speed runs.  That Super Mario World 3 is a great game is a given, even if they’ve never played it, and “blowing on cartridges” is a concept that they’ve never practiced.  And just like my dad could blow my mind by talking about seeing The Doors play at the Whiskey A Go-Go, my sibs can’t grasp the notion of hooking a Commodore 64 up to a 19″ TV set and toggling a box called an “RF adapter.”  Just like knowing the names of the great music venues of the late Sixties is esoterica that shows that you’re heavy into classic rock, knowing Load “*”,8,1 is video game arcana.

After I had this epiphany, a 14 year-old girl came up and asked me where the Justin Bieber tee shirts were.  I told her that the only Justin Bieber shirts they had were “Who The Hell Is Justin Bieber?!” and they were on back-order.

Using what looks to be the Street Fighter IV graphics engine couple with Marvel Universe crossover game play, they undoubtedly will have a winner here.

Kotaku stated:

It’s been ten years since the characters of Marvel’s comics and Capcom’s video games faced off in a fighting title, so 2011′s Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds can’t come soon enough.

The title, which will likely feature more than 30 characters to choose from and feature 3-on-3 tag team fighting, hits the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in spring 2011. There currently are no plans for an arcade, computer or Wii version of the title, Capcom tells Kotaku.

The shaders used on each character, Capcom’s Seth Killian said, are what really make all of the characters so visually distinct in motion. Even Capcom’s Ryu, he pointed out, is brought out in a new way with the help of the shaders.

“You could see him sitting in a comic book frame,” Killian said, “and maybe one day you will.”

The game will also have an eclectic and robust mix of music, with at least 100 pieces including remixes of favorites from previous Marvel Vs. Capcom games as well as some new music.

Via Kotaku

The iPad, with its big and bright screen, practically begs to be a video game machine.  But with all the excitement of games with razzle-dazzle graphics and fancy sound effects, other genres are being ignored.  Here are six games I want to be developed for the iPad:

Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy:  That’s right! Everyone’s favorite text-based game is back.  And now it’s on the iPad.  Just like the original it features no new graphics, no new sound effects, and black text on a gray background.  So get ready to figure out how to get a Babel Fish from the Babel Fish Dispenser.   Available on 5 1/4″ floppy (iPad-compatible floppy drive sold separately)

NetHack:  Hey kids – do you like video games that are older than you?! Sure you do!  So play NetHack.  It’s an exciting dungeon crawler game.  Fight kobolds as a knight, barbarian, wizard, rogue, valkyrie, priest, monk, or samurai,or even an archaeologist, tourist, or caveman!  Featuring the best ASCII graphics on the iPad, you’ll be wearing the Amulet of Yendor in no time.  Available exclusively in USENET groups.

Pac-Man – Atari 2600 Edition:  If you’re a hipster with a retro bent (and I know you are), then you can’t go wrong with Pac-Man.  Featuring the original Atari 2600 graphics, your eyes will burn with joy as you squint at the flashy-blinky ghosts.  Your ears will bleed with delight at the faithfully reproduced terrible sound from the Atari game.  Playable only with Atari 2600 joystick accessory (sold separately).

E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial – Atari 2600 Edition:  Another in the Atari 2600 Edition series of games for the iPad, this is a must-buy.  Critics dismissed the original as rushed to market, but this is one that’s been in the works for almost three decades.  And it shows.  A faithful reproduction of the original game, you will giggle with anger at every terrible puzzle and laugh with rage as you fumble with the bad controls.  True to the original, this is available on 16Kb ROM cartridge for use with the Atari 2600 cartridge adapter (sold separately).

1990′s Magic 3D Picture:  3D is so hot now that it’s burning up the box office.  Now, it can burn out your iPad screen (and your retinas!).  This fun-for-all-ages optical illusion will have you staring at your iPad screen for hours on end, trying to see the spaceship (or the sailboat or the teddy bear).  But wait – there’s more.  The real trick is that there is no picture of anything.  But no one but you has to know. To help you stare for hours on end, Magic Picture overrides the power management feature of the iPad completely and permanently, cranking the brightness to maximum and destroying the auto-off function.  Once you turn it on, you won’t turn it off (it also destroys the ability to turn off your iPad or escape to the Home screen).  $2.99 on iTunes.

Desert Bus:  The legendary minigame is back – in iPad form.  Featuring the same terrible controls from the original, drive the bus in real-time from Reno, Nevada to Tempe, Arizona.  Each time you make a successful round-trip, you score one point.  This is for hardcore gamers and casual gamers alike.  No saves, no pause function, no soundtrack except the simulated sound of tires on a poorly-maintained highway.  Run off the road and feel what it’s like to be towed back to the bus depot in real time.  And with the iPad’s wifi connectivity, you can post your scores to the Leaderboard.  Available on CD-ROM

Mario loves to get stoned and listen to this.

This is either the one of the coolest, or geekiest things I’ve ever seen. Dark Side of the Moon, Nintendo style.

Have you ever wondered what Dark Side of the Moon would sound like if Pink Floyd had written it for NES?  Well, here, it is.  Brad Smith, the mastermind behind this, has a modest website set up for it where you can download the “Dark Side of Nintendo” complete mp3 albums.  No expansion chips were used to render this sound; this album works entirely within the limits of the standard North American NES.  They used the following plugins, Famitracker, NSFplug and Audacityto make this magic happen.

This is hauntingly good.  Here are a couple videos.  Id recommend downloading the mp3 files.

Snag ‘em here: http://rainwarrior.thenoos.net/music/moon8.html

Looks like it is only for XBOX Live thus far.

As seen over at Kotaku

As someone who has installed and run various Linux distros on multiple PS3s since it was first available (two launch PS3s; 60GB JPN  & 60GB US), allow me to explain why the loss of Linux on the PS3 isn’t much of a loss at all.  Linux on the PS3 did serve a unique purpose for individuals interested in IBM Cell development, and organizations that have used the PS3 in clusters (such as the military), but those machines are dedicated to a specific task and are not used to play games or log onto PSN (and won’t be updating firmware anyways).  The real people that this firmware update will impact are casual Linux users that play games, log onto PSN, as well as use Linux.  The problem is, Linux on the PS3 was never really that useful to begin with, and people that have actually used Linux on the PS3 (like myself), are very few, and very far between.  And many of those people have come to the conclusion that Linux on the PS3 has very little utility and isn’t really more then a technical curiosity.

The biggest issue with Linux on the PS3 is that you only have access to 256MB of RAM.  But in practice you really have much less then 256MBs, due to various overhead you actually only have closer to a paltry 196MBs of RAM that is actually accessible by the system.  Consider that the applications and everything else needs to fit in this 196MB space.  Companies such as Yellow Dog Linux have made a business of making a stripped down Linux distro specifically for the PS3 that conserves those limited resources.  Even in 2006, when the PS3 was first released this was considered small, in the modern context, its plain ridiculous.

The second problem is that ‘Other OS’ doesn’t have drivers for the RSX, which means the graphics are largely handled solely by the PPE core of the Cell processor.  Combined with the anemic availability of RAM it means that the default resolution for many PS3 Linux distros is an odd 1124×644 resolution.  There are easy ways of adjusting this, but due to its limitations the PS3 has difficulty handling higher resolutions very well, much less anything relatively graphically complicated without dedicated SPE programming.

The third real issue is that you need to find PowerPC (PPC) stable builds of applications you want to use.  PPC has not been aggressively maintained since Apple moved to x86 for OSX.  This means that a lot of crucial programs, such as Flash, plain don’t work.  The current workaround to get Flash functioning on the PS3 is through Gnash, which is far from ideal, and isn’t completely stable or compatible in all situations.  Linux running on a x86 machine does not have these problems.  For the casual user not interested in the Cell processor, any cheap Atom-based netbook or an old desktop would functionally be superior in running Linux to the PS3 both in terms of compatibility as well as overall performance.

Linux on the PS3 was really meant for IBM Cell development, and for that niche it functioned wonderfully.  There are numerous examples of PS3 clusters that perform admirably for the time.  However, now that general processors are incredibly fast, and the emergence of affordable GPGPUs, the PS3 for use in clusters has their days numbered.

By principle, its understandable to be angry at Sony for a loss of functionality, however, that anger should also equally be directed at George Hotz, whose hack has prompted the removal of ‘Other OS’.  After all, the PS3 was the only console to have officially supported Linux out of the box, and they have kept it in the PS3s only until it was exploited.  There was a degree of good faith to put this seemingly ancillary feature into the PS3 in the first place.

The bigger issue for the average PS3 user isn’t where to put the blame, there is a serious risk that a completely hacked system would mean that trophy data could also be altered; the PSP doesn’t have trophies for this very reason.  The authenticity of any trophy could come into question.  Worse, it does open the possibility for cheats and hacks for competitive online games to be easier to implement as well.   I few people with a hacked console could negatively impact the gaming experience of other players online.

Outside of a limited niche of Cell development, Linux on the PS3 has been close to a novelty for all but a limited few.  As a loss of feature it won’t be missed.  But the sadder reality is that even while the implementation of Linux on the PS3 was indeed shoddy, it did give full access to another OS and the Cell itself.  There have been some interesting results by the commercial industry with the PS3 Linux, but the community in general was always small and has been diminishing gradually.  “Homebrewing” really never took off on the PS3 outside of some sporadic examples, even for a system that was open from day one, perhaps its because of the limitations I’ve presented here, but also perhaps because ‘homebrewing’ needs the attraction of more nefarious intentions as well.

In term of innovation in gaming, Nintendo itself is a very aggressive company; from the design of the original d-pad on the NES/Famicom, to the analog-stick in the N64, to the touch-screen in the DS, to the motion controls in the Wii.  Nintendo has always been a company that experiments with new ways of interacting with technology, they have also had several lesser known, lesser successful, endeavors like the Famicom Disk System, Virtual Boy, 64DD, and the Satellaview that brought online gaming in the mid-90s.

However, Nintendo has not been a company that develops the key enabling technologies from scratch, rather they are a company that uses existing technologies and reinterprets them for entertainment purposes.  For this reason we can examine existing technologies and analyze how Nintendo may be adding 3D display technology to the 3DS.

Autostereoscopic Displays

The technology to display 3D without glasses has existed for close to a decade.  Sharp first released a cellphone in 2002 called the SH25LiS for NTT DoCoMo in Japan that came with a 3D display, this was one of the first models with a display switchable between 2D and 3D modes.  In 2004, Sharp announced a 15″ 3D monitor called the LL-151D, and they have has also released laptops with 3D displays as well.  Phillips until 2009 even sold a 42″ WoWvx TV.  In 2009, Hitachi released the Wooo H001 cellphone that also had autostereoscopic technology, and most recently Fuji has started selling a 3D camera and picture frame both of which have 3D displays.  However, the technology in its current form has its nuances and limitations that better suit smaller screened devices.

To understand these limitations we first need to understand how this technology works.  The visual ability to perceive the world in three-dimensions comes from the fact that each our eyes are receiving two slightly different images; this is called stereopsis.  The technical challenge is to insure that each eyes sees different images from the same display.  With 3D glasses, we can filter the image directly before it reaches the eye, however without glasses this presents a challenge.

There are two primary methods that this is accomplished.  The first method is through a lenticular lens screens, which has small micro-lenses that are put above each pixel, these lenses direct light from alternating pixels to different eyes.  The Phillips WoWvx uses this lenticular lens technology, and most recently, Sumimoto-3M, has also shown a lenticular lens display prototypes that utilize this method.

Sumimoto 3M Lenticular Lens 3D display

The second widely used method is the use of a parallax barrier that is placed in front of the LCD screen.  The images for the left and right eye are placed on alternating pixels; the parallax barrier acts to block out the light from the alternating pixel so that only the corresponding image for each eye is shown to the viewer.  The parallax barrier itself is merely a transparent monochromatic LCD that is placed above the main LCD display.  For this reason, parallax barrier itself can be completely turned off to display a conventional ’2D’ screen.  Sharp, Hitachi, and Fuji use this method for their 3D screens.

The biggest issue with either of these methods is that the 3D image can only be effectively viewed within a narrow spatial window.  For this reason, the viewer needs to be a set distance from display to properly get the 3D effect.  This is also the reason why autostereoscopic TV sets have not been pursued as aggressively for 3DTV sets; multiple viewers and variable viewing distance can quickly ruin the 3D effect.  Also, the larger the screen, the more effort is necessary to keep your eyes within that 3D sweet-spot, and prolonged viewing can quickly lead to fatigue.

For handheld devices, the viewing distance is a lot more predictable; the viewer’s eyes would be between a comfortable viewing distance to no further then an arms length away.  Even for a person with very long arms the actual viewing distance would be fairly consistent.  Furthermore, a handheld gaming device is much more personal, the concern about multiple viewers is also reduced, and the getting yourself in the 3D sweet-spot should be less of a problem with a portable device compared to a fixed monitor or TV set.

Faux-3D.

Another option is giving the user the illusion of 3D while using a conventional 2D screen.  As was mentioned on Kotaku, as well as here, there are various methods that would give the player the illusion of 3D.  The “iPhone method” is through the use of an accelerometer, where titling the device would produce a different field of view.  The problem is that the field of view is based off of the orientation of the device, not the viewer’s eyes.  For that reason the 3D effect is minimal, and accelerometer alone cannot effectively produce a faux-3D in all but the most limited environments.

The more effective faux-3D method is by using eye-tracking technology.  As Kotaku has pointed out, a similar technique is used by DSi game, 3D Hidden Picture, which uses a less sophisticated face-tracking technology (the video below demonstrates the efficacy of a face tracking on a Mario doll).  In that game, the camera is used to adjust the image orientation to hit the viewer’s field of view.  There are also commercial monitors with mounted cameras that use this same principle to produce a 3D-like effect.

Eye-tracking is well suited for portable gaming devices since the user would be positioned less then a meter away from the handheld device and camera.

Nintendo 3DS may use Natal-like technology

If a eye-tracking approach is used a crucial component in this capability would be the camera.  However using a conventional camera to do eye-tracking could be a problem for a portable device.  After all, we should expect that the 3DS would be used in  a large array of lighting environments, on a bus or a train, with constantly variable lighting, at home, on the toilet, or even in complete darkness.  For this reason, a CMOS camera using a normal image sensor cannot be relied upon to eye-track the user in all environmental conditions.

The solution to this, and the prevalent technique which most eye-tracking is done, is through the use of near-infrared TOF (time-of-flight) cameras.  This is the same technology that Microsoft is using to capture full-body motion in the Natal.  The basic principle of operation is that a diode sends out infrared light, and that light bounces off the user and captured by an infrared sensor, and the ‘time-of-flight’ of that infrared light can be calculated.  The main benefit of a TOF camera is that it operates irrespective of visible light.  It can even operate in complete darkness, and mated with a normal camera can cover a large range of environmental conditions.

There are key differences in how the Natal would implement this technology and how the 3DS would.  First and foremost is the fact that 3DS would capture the player less then a meter from the camera, for this reason the infrared diode and camera would be designed to meet these conditions.  Natal, comparatively needs to capture the entire body of the player, and in some cases multiple players.  From that data, Natal creates a 48-point skeletal model of the human player based of that data.  The 3DS would only need to do head-tracking or eye-tracking, and possibly hand-gestures.  Technically speaking, the 3DS would not have the processing requirements that Natal would need if they used a TOF camera.

TOF (Time-of-Flight) cameras can capture images in three-dimensional space that can be utilized in eye-tracking as well as gesture control

What would Nintendo do?

Asahi is reporting that Nintendo will be using Sharp’s displays for their 3DS.  Which means that Nintendo will be using the parallax barrier method to display 3D.  Asahi, we should assume, to be very reliable.  Asahi is a news organization that has a 130 year history in journalism, and are generally considered to be fairly conservative with strict editorial oversight for their business related news.  Sharp, also has a long history of being a supplier to Nintendo; including the DS.  Moreover, Sharp has invested in 3D technology since the early 90s, particular through their European arm.  If Nintendo where to choose a partner for 3D displays, Sharp would be a primary candidate considering their existing relationship with the company as well as their current technical prowess of this technology.

Another thing we should consider is that parallax displays and eye-tracking is not mutually exclusive.  There has been research in mating these two technologies, where eye-tracking could be used to adjust the efficacy of the parallax display.  But as we add technologies we need to consider the cost of these technologies as well.  Nintendo has traditionally shied away from high-cost gaming devices, and instead have relied on the elementary economic principle of supply-and-demand.  From this rationale, we should expect the Nintendo device to be within the ~$200 range, give or take, and we should not be expecting the addition of technology without direct purpose.

As for the parallax display, Sharp has had a difficult time promoting this technology due to the lack of content (its difficult to sell a 3D cellphone when only the menus are in 3D).  Teaming with Nintendo and their developer network gives Sharp dedicated content and a market for their technology.  To add a parallax barrier itself only requires a transparent monochromatic LCD.  What deal that Sharp has with Nintendo is still a mystery, or whether both screens with have 3D functionality.  However, we do know based on the Asahi report that the screen should be below 4″.  Based off of iSuppli, the 3.5″ within the Apple iPhone 3GS costs $19.25.  For this reason we should consider the BOM (bill-of-materials) for the dual LCD screens itself for the Nintendo 3DS to be over $40 without the 3D capability assuming they have a similar resolution.

In term of adding eye-tracking, from a cost perspective, a TOF camera’s CMOS sensor is not necessarily that different from the cameras already on the DSi.  A CMOS/CCD sensor has the ability to capture light in larger range then human’s perception of visible light, and for this reason most camera sensors go through the effort of keeping captured light only in the visible range.  Capturing excessive IR light in normal photography produces fake-colors and is considered an undesirable trait, but there have also been some specialty cameras like the Fujifilm S5 Pro that captures IR, as well as UV, images.  In the context of volume which would be necessary for the 3DS, an addition of a TOF camera would meet sufficient economies of scale, and the cost to implement it should not be significantly more then the two-cameras already present on the DSi, however it will still be an additional cost nonetheless.  Now, if Nintendo will implement parallax display and/or eye-tracking is still speculation.  However adding either or both should still be a significant cost to Nintendo.

Force-Feedback 3D Controls

Nikkei is reporting that the 3DS will have “a 3-D joystick and a force feedback mechanism that will let players feel the collisions of a game character, for example. It had already acquired related patents at the end of last year.“  The Nikkei we should also consider to be a very reliable source, they publish Japan’s primary stock market index, and is generally very accurate on what they report.  This “3D joystick” may only mean a traditional analog-stock, however, the patents Nintendo has acquired last year are of a different nature, so the Nikkei may be referring to something completely different.

Nintendo has traditionally avoided adding graphical enhancements without backing that technology up with a corresponding control scheme.  If we think back to the N64, Nintendo added an analog stick to move characters in three-dimensional space, and added 4 yellow “c” buttons to control the camera angle.  Mario 64 was a revolutionary game for the time, and it was the first true-transition from 2D gameplay into a fully realized 3D gaming experience.  Those “c” buttons has evolved into a second analog stick, but the original concept remains.

When we think of Avatar-like 3D, we expect objects coming out at the viewer in three-dimensional space.  Instinctively, we reach out to touch these visual objects to only have our hands pass through them.  Its an experience I’m sure we have all had when we first saw 3D at the theaters.  So we need to re-investigate the semantics; is Nintendo going to make ’3D controls’ in the vein of what currently exists in the form of analog sticks?  Or is Nintendo going to create ’3D controls’ that exist in three-dimensional space?  Assuming that its the latter there are several technical methods that this could be accomplished.

If Nintendo is going to add a IR TOF camera, the easiest method would be to do finger-tracking.  As the video below demonstrates, a user’s fingers can be made into a 3D mouse and be used to type on a virtual keyboard.  The force-feedback could be given via rumble in the device itself when a corresponding gesture is made.  While Nintendo implementing IR cameras is still speculation, if they are implementing the faux-3D approach via eye-tracking, this control mechanism could be added for little to no additional cost.  Again, much like eye-tracking, finger-tracking can be accomplished without the TOF cameras, however given the variable lighting conditions that the portable would be subjected to, a TOF camera would insure accuracy and consistency.

Another method force-feedback 3D controls could be implemented is through a stylus.  Nintendo has patented related technology, and these patents may be what Nikkei was referring to.  Within this patent, Nintendo refers to a game apparatus that is akin to a stylus, and when used in a gameplay environment, for instance attacking an enemy, vibrations of that gameplay action can be felt directly in your fingertips.  The benefit of using a physical device like a stylus is that it can have buttons on it as well.  If this approach is taken, the overall size and how such an input device would be powered is another question.  It might be a stylus-sized Wii remote, or it could be something completely different.  But there are examples of similar technologies:

Nintendo patent demonstrates force-feedback on a portable gaming device

In the video above, the news reporter is startled as the stylus device he is holding in his hands is mysteriously pulled towards the screen, he laughs as the stylus device is then pushing his hand away from screen.  The scientist explains that there is a small motor within the stylus, and the spinning of that motor in calculated directions can give force-feedback sensations.  The reporter then tests out the pinching and pulling of this 3D ball; he explains that there is a distinct sticky sensation as he moves his stylus.

Conclusion

The technologies presented here may, or may not, be used in the 3DS when its finally showed in June.  What we need to understand is relative to Nintendo’s announcement there is a limited number of options that can accomplish what Nintendo is claiming.  The announcement of the 3DS saw Nintendo stock surge almost 10%, all based on short PDF announcement without much detail.  There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but what we can count on is Nintendo is full of surprises.

Nintendo has announced today that they will be releasing a completely revised handheld device called the Nintendo 3DS. 

Based off of the DSi design, the 3DS will incorporate a  list of new features according to Kotaku:

What We Definitely Know

Here’s the stuff that’s explicitly stated in the press release.

- That a new handheld, called the Nintendo 3DS, will be released sometime during Nintendo’s next financial year (Apr 2010 – March 2011).

- It will be capable of producing 3D graphics, without the need for 3D glasses.

- The 3DS will be backwards compatible with the entire line of Nintendo DS products.

- It will be properly revealed during the E3 trade show in Los Angles, which will take place in June.

What We Think We Know

There are a few more details we can glean from the information above. This isn’t confirmed, just stuff we suspect based on supporting evidence.

- The 3DS will feature 2 cameras (If it includes support for DSi software, it’ll have to)

- It’s an all-new line of hardware, not simply a new model of the DS. Despite having the letters “DS” in the name, it’s a working title, and the use of terms like “backwards compatible” and the fact it’s succeeding the “Nintendo DS series” sounds a lot like this is the first of Nintendo’s next generation of handheld gaming devices.

- It’ll use those cameras to track the movement of the handheld and/or the player. That movement will then be used to display the 3D effects, similar to the way recent DSi title 3D Hidden Picture handles things. In support of this, in an interview with a Japanese newspaper earlier this year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said in relation to the company’s next handheld “it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing”.

A letter released from Nintendo stated:

Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo believes that the 3D could be assisted by the acceleraometer announced in the new device.

http://kotaku.com/5499823/nintendo-3ds-could-borrow-3d-trick-from-iphone

See this effect between 2:35 and 3:30 minute marks.

And this video shows the DSi camera assisting in changing the screen in a Japan-Only (so far) DS game,  effectively give depth to the viewable image angle.

Official announcement with detail to come at E3 on June 15th 2010.  Exciting!

3D Mario image courtesy MyLinks.

What does the iPad, iPhone, iPod, Windows Phone 7, Nintendo DS, Nokia N900, Motorola Droid, Google Nexus One, and the Kindle all have in common?  They are all powered by ARM microprocessors. The ARM architecture has been around since the mid-80s, why is it only now that it has ascended to a level of central importance?  The answer is because we rely on our mobile device not just to make calls, but check Facebook, surf the Internet, watch videos, listen to music, and play games.  ARM has become the CPU of choice for mobile devices, and as the line between mobile and immobile gets further blurred by devices like the iPad and Chrome OS, the ARM architecture has become the most viable x86 killer that has ever existed.

ARM is the democratization of the CPU outside the Wintel paradigm.  Every significant tech company, Samsung, Qualcomm, Cirrus, DEC, Sharp, Texus Instruments, Yamaha, LG, NEC, Nvidia, and even formerly Intel makes ARM processors. Instead of “Intel Inside”, the freedom and openness of the ARM architecture allows Apple to make their own ARM-based SoC (System-on-chip).   Apple A4 CPU in the iPad is an example of an “Apple Inside” situation.  There is nothing to stop a “Nintendo Inside”, “Dell Inside”, “Microsoft Inside”, “Google Inside”, “Qualcomm Inside”, or a “Sony Inside”.  Any company can bypass the Intel paradigm, license the architecture  for themselves, and design and build their own CPU to custom-fit their product.  Just as importantly, the ARM licensing fee has been calculated to cost as little as 6.7 cents per chip.

Most crucially ARM allows fungibility of processors between manufacturers.  For instance, Apple uses Samsung-sourced ARM processors in the iPhone, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon, the CPU used in the Nexus One, has been rumored for both the iPhone as well as iPad; ultimately Apple created their own ARM processor called the A4 for the iPad, and presumably will use variants of that chip for future iPhones and iPod devices as well.  The end-user doesn’t know or care, they both function identically, but ARM offers real free market competition between manufacturers and real interchangeability between makers that keep prices down and quality up.

ARM SoC (System-on-chips) offers freedom of choice

The major strength of ARM is that it excels in performance-per-watt and performance/mm2 (die area); this means a smaller chip, less cooling, smaller batteries, smaller overall device, and dramatically reduced cost.  Companies like Nvidia have packaged the entirety of the Tegra chipset in a size no larger then a USB thumb-drive and claims battery-life measured in the days instead of hours.  ST Telecom has even created a new type of  SIM-card with an ARM-processor, Android OS, and flash memory onto an incredibly small package.   Just as importantly, being that ARM is cheaply licensed and flexible, it can be mated with non-ARM components like graphics-acceleration, to make a complete SoC like Nvidia’s Tegra and Apple’s A4.  This is a flexibility that x86 cannot offer, Nvidia have tried building a x86 SoC solutions, including a rumored x86 processor, but its been an endeavor that has ended with failure and a billion dollar anti-trust lawsuit against Intel.

ARM allows any company the freedom to choose what parts come on their SoC.  The graphics can be from Nvidia, or PowerVR, or ARM’s Mali, a video decoder could be added to play HD video, and features can be added or deleted as the need fits.  The reason this is possible is because the business model surrounding ARM is agnostic to what goes in, or doesn’t go in, the SoC.  Intel for their part is also creating an ARM-competitor for smartphones and mobile devices called Moorestown, and it too is a SoC and is hoping to be on the market sometime this year.  However, Intel’s business model is about selling chips, their SoC is theirs, uses Intel’s graphics, and uses their technology.  Because of this the hardware is designed for the processor, while in ARM’s case, the processor is designed for the hardware.

The closing performance gap

ARM is a fast, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processor, and its an architecture that has been inherently designed for low-power applications.  Hitherto, ARM chips could not compete against Intel’s x86 chips in terms of raw processing power, but recently that performance gap has narrowed and the market dynamics have changed as the demand for high-end desktop CPUs have contracted in favor of lower-cost, lower-power processors like the Atom.  Hence, both ARM and x86 markets have been on a collision course, and within the next few years its expected that ARM processors will start encroaching on devices that have traditionally been dominated by x86.

With the ARM Cortex-A9 the performance gap with x86 has narrowed even further.  As can be seen by the video below, a 500Mhz ARM Cortex-A9 can out-perform a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom in web browsing.  When you consider that the ARM Cortex-A9 chips are expected to hit 2Ghz and have up to 4-cores, you can begin to comprehend the level of performance these ARM chips will be bringing to the table in the coming years.  Just as importantly, each of these cores is expected to consume only 0.25W of electricity per core, making it suitable for a large range of mobile devices.  The upcoming multi-core OMAP 4 processor from Texas Instruments, which is based on the ARM Cortex-A9, boasts that it will bring 1080p video recording and playback, 20-megapixel imaging, and high-end 3D graphics to the smartphone.  That’s not all, in a couple of years, ARM is already readying its Cortex-A9 successor, codenamed Eagle, by then its expected that ARM performance would have grown to the point where they would start competing with Intel in the server market.

ARM: Cheap as chips

Perhaps the greatest advantage that ARM has is in its economics.  Business is business and gold glistens, and there is no greater incentive for the adoption of these ARM chips then its price.  Recently, iSuppli calculated the cost of the Qualcomm 1Ghz ARM chip within the Google Nexus One to cost a mere $30.50.  Apple, by taking ARM development in-house, is estimated to get their 1Ghz A4 ARM chip for a mere $17.  These are both SoC(system-on-chips), meaning that the cost of the CPU, GPU, controllers, etc is all included within that low price-point.  Again, this demonstrates the democratization of the CPU; if the costs of supplying your chip from an external supplier like Qualcomm, TI, or Samsung is undesirable, then a company like Apple can decide to build their own chip if the economies of scale make sense.

Lower-power variants are already below $10 per chip, as ARM performance shifts forward, we can presume that what we consider currently to be high-performance chips will fall to those prices as well.  There is no bottom for ARM chips, they become as cheap as the market allows, and there are no orchestrated marketing exercises to artificially keep chip prices within their market segment.  ARM as a company only licences their design and IP, as stated before, ARM licensing averages out to only 6.7 cents per chip.   If the market demands gravitate to smaller, cheaper, faster devices, then chip design follows those needs; no longer is the CPU maker like Intel dictating market segments and expecting the industry to form around it.

x86 isn’t going anywhere

The reality of course is that x86 will continue to be a central part of the computing industry for the foreseeable future.  The x86-based desktop, notebooks, and servers will continue to exist and be an crucial tool for individuals involved in content-creation.  The businesses and industries that require x86 machines will not disappear, and on the higher-end Intel’s chips, such as the i7, are unrivaled in performance by any ARM chip.  For serious professionals involved with fields like graphics design, 3D graphics, office productivity tools, and software development; x86 is still the CPU of choice.

The doom-and-gloom surrounding x86 and PC-makers are largely due to the constriction of profitability in the PC market due to budget chips like the Atom and Netbooks.  To the average consumer, the Internet is the ‘killer-app’, and Netbooks/notebooks within the $400-500 range offer functionality ‘good enough’ to meet their needs.  Sony’s VP called this a ‘race to the bottom‘ and Acer founder has predicted US PC-makers to become extinct.  This is where the battleground with ARM will be fought, from the bottom up, with devices like the iPad and operating systems like the Chrome OS.  The PC will continue to survive, and occasionally thrive, within a higher-level niche.

Will we see an ARM-compatible Windows 7 or Mac OSX?

The greatest advantage that x86 has is Windows and Mac OSX.  Particularly in Windows there really is no other option other then x86.  But that may be changing, future ARM support for Windows 7 (or possibly Windows 8) has been hinted at by people such as ARM’s CEO.  Windows CE variants already support ARM, and their mobile platforms such as Windows Phone 7 and their Courier device shows how seriously Microsoft is taking those market segments.

While Apple’s plans are very secretive, their iPhone/iPad OS is an OSX derivative that already runs on ARM, and Apple is now in the ARM chip-making business.  It stands to reason that there is a large incentive for Apple to move to ARM in their future desktop OS, they’ve already demonstrated the willingness to move between architectures with their jump from PowerPC to x86, a future Macbook using an Apple-designed dual-or-quad core 2Ghz ARM Cortex-A9 running on OSX or OS11 is not inconceivable.

Ultimately, a move to ARM would require a hypervisor to maintain a level of compatibility with the x86 variant of the OS.  Google seems to be taking a similar approach of x86 virtualization by using their Native Client (NaCl) for cross-compatibility between ARM and x86 on their upcoming Chrome OS.  These virtualization tools have also matured with contemporary examples such as Intel VT-x and AMD-V, but there still is a substantial technical challenge.  While we shouldn’t realistically expect ARM-variants of either OS in the immediate future, there is a financial incentive to move to lower-cost ARM chips as a method to regain profitability in the struggling PC and desktop OS market.  An ARM-based Windows/Mac opens up the possibility of a Dell PC running a Dell CPU, or Apple OSX using the same processor as in a future-faster iPad.

Mobile and beyond

In one form or another, ARM will play a central role in our digital lives. It may be in the form of a phone, iPad, portable game console, or possibly even a desktop OS.  While the ‘death’ of x86 may be an over-exaggeration, as it currently stands, ARM has changed the way we interact with technology and the way the chip-industry does business.  The ubiquity of ARM can be attributed to its openness and its business model that gives manufacturers, and ultimately consumers, a larger say on the processor that goes into their products.

A video trailer of the upcoming NBA Jam for Nintendo Wii has recently been posted on JoyStiq, to watch the trailer scroll down to the end of this post the trailer has been embedded.
As you would expect with a Wii release it looks as if the game aims to deliver fun gameplay rather than being a realistic graphics, with exaggerated slams and zany commentary, it should be entertaining. Now, I wonder if you can still play with Bill Clinton, or if they are releasing an Obama code?

Source: JoyStiq