Bring depth to a mobile near you.
Jan
24
The hyperbole and industrial disinformation created in response to the imminent release of Nintendo's new hand held game console has been focused entirely on the products ability to display to render things in 3D. How will it look? Does it really create an illusion of a 3D image without using glasses to control the light source seen by each eye? Is 3D that important for game play anyway?
The official European launch for the console took place last Wednesday in Amsterdam, was streamed live to via the corporate website and immediately covered on a variety of technology and game focused websites, reporting on the specifications provided and videos shown. Global reach for the launch of the mobile console, which having sold over 145 millions units (http://www.vgchartz.com/yearly.php, on 20/01/2010) in all it's different iterations, this is a major event for the games and mobile electronics industries, and an interesting progression for the mobile device.
The console will be connected using the BT FON infrastructure to pass game play information between users consoles. The gamer can join a constantly updated network of competitors or community of fellow users. A version of Augmented Reality has been incorporated to enable the gamer to add animation to a camera feed, and potentially to other games using the gamers surroundings as a backdrop to the gaming action. Standard activities of internet browsing are catered for and the software has been updated.
Multi use mobile technology is not new, and this device updates and seeks to enrich an existing and understood mode of engagement, in adding depth to the mobile game screen. How the depth of image will enhance the gaming experience of Mario carts 3D or Pro Evolution Soccer is open to question (although the animals of Nintendogs are likely to be more obviously enhanced) this development will force the addition of a new question to the list for any new mobile device manufacturer; will it be 3D?
The previous generation of DS have been used as multi use mobile devices for quite some time. Harper Collins teamed up with Nintendo in 2008 to release a cartridge of 100 classic novels, and last year saw the release of a collection aimed at children that included Gulliver’s Travels, Moby Dick and Around the World in 80 days.
While Nintendo have supported publishers who look to provide ebook content for the games console, the consumer take up has proved slow. Apart from some press interest with the launch of the original title in 2008, the take up of the use of the DS as a reader appears to have been slow, with the reported global sales in the region of 670,000, though that does include a copy of the cartridge that was sold with some versions of the console. While still sounding impressive, this only represents 0.4% of consoles sold to date. Homebrew software like ReadMore for the DS allow the user to read any book in a text file format, opening access to the works available via the Gutenberg Project.
The technology of small application (apps) development for smartphone and tablet technology allows users to modify their own device to have functions that best fit their needs. The apps are cheap and simple to obtain, downloading direct to the device from a website store, with no delay between purchase and use. If you don’t like ‘this’ one, then there is often ‘that’ one, which may work better for you. Included in this mix are apps like the Kindle for iPhone and Android, with all the capability of the reader and integration into the online store.
In both cases, the hacker 'homebrew' software running off an SD card in a Nintendo, or the app developed with a kit provided by the owner of the operating system and sold via a shop also provided by the owner of the brand and system, the user is shaping the technology to their own ends, choosing new functionality to add to a favoured device. The development of 3D image technology is interesting, but can only be measured as a real development when the user adopts it fully, adapting the possibilities it offers to their own desires.