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3DS Tag Mode functions called 'SpotPass' and 'StreetPass' in the West
We know them by the catchy names "Itsu no Ma Tsuushin" and "Surechigai Tsuushin," but an English-language hardware outline for the 3DS (PDF) provides the English names for these Tag Mode services, both of which allow the 3DS to communicate wirelessly without the user's involvement. The ability for the 3DS to seek wi-fi signals while sleeping, and automatically download content, is known as "SpotPass," while the passive communication between DS systems (used, for example, to trade Miis in the new Mii Plaza) is "StreetPass." "It is possible to transmit data for multiple games simultaneously," the document notes.
Nintendo 3DS 'tag mode' demonstrated in Super Street Fighter IV trailer (video)
Wondering how wireless "tag mode" will work on Nintendo's new 3DS? You're not alone. Fortunately, a trailer for Super Street Fighter IV has been loosed upon the internets giving us a pretty decent overview of what serendipitous game play will be like. To start with, a minigame feature lets you automatically fight your nearby rival's collectable action figures even while the 3DS is tucked away in your bag. The more you fight the more figures you collect. Then there's the more obvious wireless battle mode for active multiplayer gameplay with nearby 3DS owners. Should make for some interesting chance encounters on public transportation. You do live in a densely populated area don't you squirt?
Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)
Enough with the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS already, let's get official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It'll then land in the US and Europe in March for an undisclosed amount. Launch colors are aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS' front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii -- you can edit it too using Mii Studio on the 3DS. You can even merge two photos into a single image if you choose. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless "tag mode" or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card. Ninty also announced a special edition Super Mario DSi LL (no hardware changes) set to launch for ¥18,000 in Japan on October 28th. It also confirmed that a Wii Remote Plus is in development (it'll be announced at a date some time in the future) and a partnership with Fuji TV that will trial 3D video streaming to Nintendo's new handheld. Finally, a virtual console-style store was show serving up downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS. Update: Nintendo just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan with a bit more product detail including new feature overview and software lineup videos found after the break. There you'll see a built-in pedometer with activity graph and what looks like background multitasking (or at least a state save) letting you launch other apps and then return to a game at the exact same point you left it. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day (even when the 3DS is sleeping); Augmented Reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box; a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, WiFi toggle, and more; a Book app; and note writing / diary software.%Gallery-103589%
Dragon Quest IX hits the road, Gamestop distributing treasure maps
Look, America isn't blessed with the near-universal dependence on public transportation and cultural adoption of Square Enix's portable games that makes using Dragon Quest IX's "Tag mode" and other networking features worthwhile. Rather than let our nation's DQIX-playing community steam in a broth of its own jealousy, Nintendo will attempt to rally players together in the one centralized location with which they're all likely familiar: their local Gamestop. This coming Saturday, July 31, select Gamestops will be hosting an all-day event where potential Quest-ers can check out a demo for the game, meet up with other players to wirelessly exchange bonuses, and download the "Zoma" treasure map, which has yet to come stateside. Similar events will be held at Best Buys across the country August 7, as well as select shopping malls every weekend until September 19. That sure beats turning on Tag Mode, then aimlessly walking the streets like some kind of sad Dragon Quest IX panhandler.
Dragon Quest IX map, Metroid: Other M demo available at Comic-Con
Yes, there will be lots of interesting panels, swag, premieres, celebrities and other stuff at Comic-Con. Whatever. Nintendo just gave us the real reason the July 22-25 event is worth attending: a new Dragon Quest IX map. If you bring your DS to Nintendo's booth, with the game running in Tag Mode, you'll automatically pick up the "Mortamor" treasure map, being offered for the first time in North America. Presumably, other people will be there doing the same thing, making it your best chance at multiplayer. If you aren't playing DQIX yet, you'll be able to spend some demo time with it at the booth (#2944). You'll also get the opportunity to play Metroid: Other M, over a month before its August 31 release. Now that's an opportunity worth fighting the cosplaying crowd for.
3DS producer explains new Tag Mode, confirms final hardware shape
While that big 3D screen is the most noticeable new feature of the Nintendo 3DS, the company has some other ideas for extending the boundaries of gameplay past the flat screen -- like Tag Mode, a passive wireless communication feature that allows DS systems to talk to each other and beam game data back and forth. Speaking to Wired, platform producer Hideki Konno offered additional details about the hardware's expanded implementation of Tag Mode. "In the hardware," Konno said, "we have the capability that when you first play a game that supports Tag Mode, it will save to a Tag Mode data slot in the hardware system. We are planning to support multiple games at the same time: Mario Kart, Nintendogs, Animal Crossing, etc." The current DS system allows Tag Mode-enabled games to communicate only when that game is running, with data saved to the cartridge. Konno said that Nintendo was planning a "Tag Mode Viewer" that would allow users to manage the data received in this way. He hopes the use of Tag Mode will "bring consumers a sense of wanting to play a game again, after they get new data from games that they'd forgotten about." At the end of the interview, Konno said about the design of the 3DS shown at E3, "You can take this as the final shape." Nintendo has previously said (and is still saying on its E3 site) that the design was "TBA." %Gallery-95697%
