IwataAsks
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Nintendo 3DS XL sports less reflective screen than its predecessor, improved parallax effect
Supersized screens may be the centerpiece of Nintendo's 3DS XL, but a new Iwata Asks interview reveals that its top display packs some new anti-glare tech too. Takashi Murakami, from the company's Mechanical Design Group, notes that each of the LCD's three glare-prone layers were specially treated to reduce reflectivity from the original 3DS' 12 percent, down to three. According to head honcho Iwata, anti-reflection coatings have been on the Big N's radar since the GameBoy Advance era, but were typically abandoned because they were too pricey. The Q&A session also confirmed something we noticed when we put the handheld through the review gauntlet -- the larger display increases the parallax effect, which translates to a deeper looking 3D experience. If your current handheld's screen bounces too much light for your liking, the XL can take its place starting August 19th in North America.
Iwata Asks Sakurai: Volume 2
Following yesterday's dojo update, we were excited to see another Iwata Asks piece hit the net. For the president of an incredibly successful company, Iwata's interviewing skills are amazing. And, of course, we'll take any and all things about Super Smash Bros. Brawl we can get our grubby little mitts on.In the second installment of Iwata and Sakurai's discussion, Sakurai discusses his feelings on working with the Wii and what he thinks of the console, as well as the design philosophy behind Brawl (they developed it thinking it would be the last game in the series, allowing them to put in as much as they could). Not only that, but Sakurai also goes on about how Super Smash Bros. Brawl could have easily been a more casual title (thankfully, it didn't turn out that way).Overall, it's a very fascinating read.
Confirmed: Wii has MP3 playback support
In the most recent "Iwata Asks" interview, Iwata talks with Kouichi Kawamoto about the Photo channel for the Wii. Aside for some basic Photobooth functionality, Kawamoto mentions an interesting tidbit: MP3's stored on the SD card along with the photos will be played in the background during a slideshow. While this seems horrendously not cool, consider the fact that this functionality is in fact very similar to the Xbox 360's ability to play personal tracks during gameplay. In fact, a developer could most likely easily implement this functionality into any game they desire, so keep on the look out. If nothing else, it's an easy cop-out if Nintendo wants to add an extra "music channel" to expand functionality.
