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Rumor mill says Nintendo DS2 might be headed for E3 unveiling
Hot on the heels of the recent DSi XL appearance, rumors are swirling that Nintendo is preparing to announce a second version of the DS -- the DS2, if you will -- at E3 in June. Over on RPad they're spilling the beans about the supposed device, including the fact that it'll boast two larger, higher resolutions screens, an accelerometer, and it will also supposedly run on an NVIDIA Tegra chip. Finally, RPad is also reporting that they spoke with developers who say their games will be finished by the end of the year... leading us all to speculate the unannounced successor could, possibly, be announced at E3, then available by the end of the year. Of course, this info's all 100 percent unofficial, so take everything with a grain of salt, relax, and we'll let you know as soon as we hear something more solid.
Nintendo patent details force feedback in a handheld
At this point, nothing has really been confirmed about this whole "DS2" thing -- motion-sensitivity and snazzy graphics were both apparently hinted at by Iwata (via Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun). Later, he said those statements were "misinterpretations," but it hasn't kept some from thinking Nintendo's prepping a new handheld for sometime later this year Now, the latest chapter in this ongoing tale comes from a January 28 update to a Nintendo patent from back in 2005, which describes a system of force feedback (aka rumble) produced by an interaction between an apparatus (likely a stylus) and a LCD touch-screen. The vibration is presented as dynamic, with the example being that an enemy being struck with a stick in the background only vibrates the device lightly, whereas interaction with an enemy in the foreground produces a stronger vibration. Current Nintendo handhelds have no such built-in functionality, leading many to believe this is in reference to brand-new hardware -- a possible DS successor -- and with GDC and E3 quickly approaching, if it's coming, an announcement likely isn't that far off. We'll keep you posted. [Via Broke My Controller and Eurogamer]
Third-party studio offers more confirmation of motion-sensing Nintendo DS2
We've already had a pretty clear indication that Nintendo's inevitable DS successor would have at least some form of motion control, and an unspecified third-party studio has now offered some additional confirmation of that, and some downright glowing impressions of the device itself. According to CVG, an "insider" that's currently using a DS2 development kit says that the DS2 is "genuinely the best thing I think I've ever worked with," and that it has "a 'tilt' function that's not dissimilar to iPhone, but does a lot more." The source further added that The Pokemon Company is getting "special attention" with it (rest easy, everybody), and that Nintendo likely won't be showing off any hardware at GDC next month. Yeah, that sound you just heard was the rumor mill being cranked up a notch.
Iwata: Wii successor needs 'something new' beyond HD
In Nintendo's recent quarterly investor Q&A, president Satoru Iwata discussed the possibility of an HD-followup to the Wii. "If asked if making the Wii compatible with high definition -- just making it compatible with high resolution -- will get players throughout the world to buy it," he said (as translated by Andriasang), "I would of course say, 'Do you think it would sell with just that? It needs something new.'" Note that his statement isn't a denial of an HD Nintendo system at all. Iwata also addressed the contested statements he allegedly gave to the Asahi Shimbun about a DS successor. The newspaper reported that he said it would have motion-sensing and "highly detailed" graphics, a claim that Iwata later said was "misinterpreted." Iwata helped clarify the situation further in the investor Q&A, suggesting that the reporter led him to that statement. According to Iwata, the reporter asked, "The next DS will need to have high resolution graphics and include a motion sensor, wouldn't you say?" to which he responded, "Those are naturally considered requirements. However, do you believe it will sell with just this?" All together now: It needs something new!
Nintendo DS2 to be announced this year, released not too long after?
Nintendo has already been talking up what a Nintendo DS successor might look like, so it wouldn't come as too much of a shock if we saw the device in the near term. That's what EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich believes, anyway. He has a research note out saying that Nintendo will be releasing a new handheld in the next 15 months, and make the announcement within the next eight months. The reasons are numerous, including the need to bone up on online distribution, rampant piracy, and just the regular march of technology that Nintendo is never unaware of -- just ask the routinely trounced handheld competition. Unfortunately, there's nothing "solid" in this report as far as we can tell, so we'll have to wait for some "unnamed sources" or our cousin's friend's dad's barber to weigh in and tell us how it really is.
EEDAR predicts DS2 will be announced this year
In a recent report, EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich has predicted that Nintendo will announce its next handheld -- let's call it the DS2 -- within the next eight months. Furthermore, Divnich believes that the product will be released within fifteen months. "one of the biggest reasons for Nintendo's success in the handheld market is their ability to remove opportunity gaps for competitors to enter," says Divnich, citing the early release of the DS, which effectively stymied the chances for the PSP a year later. Other reasons to release new hardware include the increasing threat of piracy and the specter of declining support from publishers (Ubisoft, for example, has announced plans to scale back support for Nintendo platforms). Frankly, the DS hardware is getting a little long in the tooth; as such, it's not too hard to imagine Nintendo ramping up for the release of its inevitable successor. Hell, even Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has been talking about it. Or has he?
Nintendo: Iwata's DS2 comments were 'misinterpreted'
[Reuters] We all know a brand-new Nintendo handheld is coming eventually, but in what seems like an effort to detract from the buzz surrounding such a device (and likely to get some of that buzz back on the latest DS revision, the DSi XL), Nintendo has issued a statement regarding reported comments from Iwata on a new handheld -- what we've affectionately dubbed the "DS2." Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America's senior director of corporate communications told Kotaku, "Mr. Iwata did not make any comments regarding the functions of Nintendo's future hardware systems," adding that Iwata's statements as reported by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper were "misinterpreted." As for those statements, it seems to be a given that Nintendo would add motion-sensing technology to its next handheld. Looking to ape the Wii's success, the entire industry has moved in the direction of motion-based gaming -- including Microsoft, with Project Natal, Sony, using the PlayStation Motion Controller, and Apple, a direct competitor in the portable market, chiefly with the IPod Touch. And let's not forget, motion control isn't out of the realm of possiblity for the current Nintendo handheld.
Nintendo sez DS successor will sport motion control, better graphics; Wii Vitality Sensor in July
In an interview with Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper, Nintendo prez Satoru Iwata provided some rare commentary on what we might expect from a DS successor – not just another DS revision, mind you – whenever the gaming giant gets the urge to upgrade its golden goose. "[It will have] highly detailed graphics," Iwata said, giving ample (but obvious!) fuel to those NVIDIA Tegra on DS rumors. "And it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing." Now, before you do that annoying cough thing while saying "iPhone" under your breath, we'd like to remind you that Nintendo isn't really an also-ran to this motion-controlled gaming thing. Iwata made a point of saying that an iPhone-esque monthly cellular data plan wasn't in the works; however, that doesn't rule out a Kindle-like data service for the future handheld, as the executive previously mused about, providing for "free" gaming downloads on the go. Now that the boring kid stuff has been put to bed, we can take the mature news out of the cabinet: The pulse-detecting Wii Vitality Sensor will make an appearance at a press conference in July (hey, that's E3 time) with plans for a release "as soon as possible." We trust you guys can take care of the old people jokes yourselves, right?
Iwata: DS2 to feature movement sensor, new Wii Zelda coming 2010
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has offered the first concrete information about the next DS system -- as in, not the next revision of the current DS, but the true next Nintendo handheld system -- in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. "[It will have] highly detailed graphics," Iwata said, "and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing." Sort of like the iPhone, yes, but Nintendo isn't exactly an also-ran in the field of motion-controlled gaming. Iwata declined to specify a release window for this DS2 -- or a better name than our suggestion. Iwata also addressed potential service changes for both the current DS network and its successor, suggesting that there would be no "monthly service plan" offered for games. He indicated that Nintendo was looking to increase the number of businesses that host DS Wi-Fi hotspots instead of supporting a 3G-like service (à la Kindle or iPhone) for the DS. The "Mac de DS" service Nintendo provides in partnership with McDonald's offers free wireless connections for the handheld, along with exclusive downloadable content. In Wii news, Iwata dropped one bomb that will delight fans ... and one that will probably initiate eyerolls. First, the good news: The new Zelda game -- sort of revealed at E3 last year -- is scheduled for release by the end of 2010. And now, that other news: The Wii Vitality Sensor, the bizarre biofeedback attachment also unveiled at E3, will be released somewhere in the neighborhood of July, following a press conference about the device. [Via Kotaku]
Hardware battle looms for theoretical successors to Nintendo DS and Sony PSP
It's a sorry state of affairs when a media player like the Zune HD has more polygon-pushing power than the latest handheld videogame consoles on the market. If rumors are to be believed, Nintendo and Sony will set things straight with their next-generation portables -- at least for a little while. We've already heard that the successor to Nintendo's DS will have Tegra power, but the current speculation is that it'll be a Tegra 2 chip, promising twice the power of the current iteration. On the Sony side the PSP2 is apparently shaping up to use an offspring of the IMG PowerVR graphics found on the iPhone, said to be theoretically superior to what the DS2 will be able to achieve but costing more, being more difficult to develop for, and not shipping until sometime in 2011 -- potentially a year later than the DS2. In other words it's standard operating procedure if these rumors are to be believed, but even if there aren't any surprises in this showdown we'll be there in the front row with popcorn to watch the bloodshed.
DS2 already concoting a G.hn-compatible chipset
Man, these guys are really on top of things. Just days after the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) ratified the G.hn home networking standard, DS2 has emerged to announce that it is already working to introduce a G.hn-compatible chipset as early as next year. When brought to market, the DSS9960 chipset will enable manufacturers to jump in and attempt to revive the obviously flagging powerline niche. Will interoperability be what finally turns this segment into a viable business model? We'll wait 'til the wireless HD fiasco gets sorted before attempting to answer that.
Widescreen DS refresh on the way?
Nintendo might be cranking out new DS Lite colors left and right, but IGN says something bigger's brewing in Kyoto -- a third iteration of the DS with dual touchscreen displays, one of them widescreen. Those are pretty significant changes, so we'd actually say that sounds more like a second-gen DS rather than another rev of the current hardware, but IGN says the rumored release date of April or May 2009 doesn't jive with a whole new unit. We'll see when we see -- hopefully we won't be waiting long. PS.- That's just IGN's mockup, don't get too excited.
DS2 announces 400Mbps powerline networking
Forget 200Mbps powerline home networking -- and don't even mention your poky 85Mbps setup -- because industry leader DS2 has just made all current gear obsolete with its introduction of technology that will enable 400Mbps theoretical speeds over standard electrical wiring. Capable of pushing five simultaneous video streams, the zippy new tech will be key for applications such as PVR networking and multi-room HD IPTV, and should start appearing in "next generation" devices slated for 2009. Luckily 400Mbps products will actually be backwards compatible with 200Mbps gear according to DS2, meaning that you should be able to reuse some of your existing adapters and extenders instead of relegating them to the gadget graveyard.
Netgear and DS2's 200Mbps Powerline HD solution gets real
Close on the heels of XAVi's announcement earlier this month, the HD Powerline collaboration we told you about a few months ago from Netgear and DS2 (sorry HomePlug) has officially hit store shelves. The new HD ethernet adapter (HDX101) and networking kit (HDXB101), which are selling for $129.99 and $249.99 respectively, allow for data to be transferred at high speed through a building's existing electrical wiring. The step up in bandwidth and the video quality of service technology allow for real-time streaming of HD video and gaming content by prioritizing that data over everything else. It's good to finally see a networking solution with its priorities in line with our own. Now all we have to do is hope these can actually live up to the bandwidth hype, unlike some other Powerline devices we've seen in the past.[Via WiFi Net News]
Netgear teams with DS2 for 200Mbps powerline networking
We weren't so impressed with Netgear's 85Mbps powerline solution (pictured), so we'll give them another shot with their 200Mbps attempt. Netgear nabbed DS2's chip for their up and coming 200Mbps Powerline HD solution. The theory is that any electrical outlet in your home can be used as a blazing fast Ethernet port with the equipment and 200Mbps is more than enough for multiple high-def streams. No product until the second quarter of 06, which is fine with us; we're still smarting over our failed attempts to stream HD, or SD for that matter, with the last product iteration. For now, we'll keep streaming our HD over 802.11a.
