Comments 182

Re: Samsung To "Aggressively Position" OLED Tech In Console Gaming Space

kenzo

OLED with its high potential refresh rate and high brightness, makes it possible for the switch to display 3D images.

3D wired or wireless shutter glasses would be required to view the 3D images.

The switch could potentially emulate a 3DS if held vertically in portrait mode to cover upper and lower screens.

Thanks.

Re: Prototype Wii Nunchuk Controller Included A Rumble Motor, According To New Photos

kenzo

@SoIDecidedTo

The wiimote speaker was crippled by some poor hardware decisions.

The speaker and sound chip circuitry only cut in properly above 400 Hz so it missed out the important lower three octaves c2, c3 and c4 for sound.

That's why only high pitched sounds were available from the speaker - for example - girls voices, cartoon voices and telephone voices.

They should have used the Bluetooth channel directly for sound - as is common today - and not used the tin can method and dribbling data into the sound chip.

The other failed feature was rumble.

Nintendo could have put the rumble motor under one of the buttons - like the B button - for better tactile effect.

Still, the wiimote is a modders dream.

Re: Federal Government Is Officially Investigating Nintendo For Possible Patent Infringement

kenzo

I remember seeing a photo of a Wii U mock up at Nintendo where a wii remote controller was fastened to either side of a screen.

So this idea of a controller attached to either side of a screen is not new, and is public knowledge from many years ago.

The only real concern Nintendo has, is that other companies may copy the same idea if it proves not to be a patentable invention.

https://www.geek.com/games/no-surprise-wii-u-gamepad-prototype-was-two-wiimotes-taped-to-a-monitor-1531506/

Re: This Nintendo-themed Masking Tape Will Keep Your Labo Stuck On-Brand

kenzo

I called this four weeks ago on NintendoLife.

Sign me up Nintendo !

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/01/random_cleaner_at_german_video_game_age_ratings_firm_almost_mistook_nintendo_labo_for_trash#comment4308102

"Small print on Labo box will reveal - "Ripping cardboard will void warranty".

But the real money will be in Nintendo branded duct-tape for officially patching to make it "more stable".

It will be called - Mario Brothers Plumbers Tape (tm)."

Re: Feature: The 2017 Nintendo Life Game of the Year Awards

kenzo

Metroid Samus Returns on 3DS neglected one thing that could have really improved on it.

The game is based in cavernous underground settings, which is enhanced by the marvellous 3D visual effects.

However, the producers Mercury Steam neglected the 3D audio effects to supplement the great 3D visual effects.

I would have expected a reverberation effect to simulate the echoes of gunshots and other sounds in that environment.

For fun I connected the audio out from the 3DS to a Littlebits Korg music synthesizer, and got the Metroid game producing reverb on loud speaker (in mono though).

All I did was connect power, microphone, delay and speaker bit modules together.

It worked really well and I wished they added this feature into the game. Perhaps a patch is not completely out of the question to make this a truly classic experience.

Re: Playing Super Mario 64 Could Help Fight Off Alzheimer’s Disease

kenzo

@Sakura

Stop press: Dec 11, 2017

Major cause of dementia discovered

The latest paper by the scientists, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that Huntington's Disease - one of seven major types of age-related dementia - is directly linked to brain urea levels and metabolic processes.

Their 2016 study revealing that urea is similarly linked to Alzheimer's, shows, according to Professor Cooper, that the discovery could be relevant to all types of age-related dementias.

The Huntington's study also showed that the high urea levels occurred before dementia sets in, which could help doctors to one day diagnose and even treat dementia, well in advance of its onset.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-major-dementia.html

Re: Editorial: Wii Remote Pointer vs. Switch Gyro Controls - The Resident Evil Test

kenzo

The Wii IR controls should have been fused with the motion plus gyro controls for games like Resident Evil 4.

The IR sensor calibrates the absolute position of the pointing direction when the sensor bar is in range, and the gyro sensor guestimates the pointer direction when the sensor bar is not within angular range of the wiimote.

An alternative idea is to clip on a fisheye lens to the wiimote IR camera and for there to be a calibration option to correct for the resulting fisheye effect.

In any case the ultimate was using a Blaze Scorpion Vii as the preferred gun for RE4. Lucky I found one in a second hand shop !!

Re: Talking Point: An Era Ends As Nintendo Continues to Ignore 3D on the 3DS

kenzo

I have always used strong reading glasses with the 3DS to get a widescreen virtual reality effect with the 3D on. It works well.

The 3DS can live on with a larger switch-like screen and new generation electronics to improve frame rates and wireless streaming if need be.

The resolution is good as it is. I like the cartoonish 3D that we get now, as it works well and doesn't make pretensions to be cinematic quality. It's a clever toy that requires imagination to appreciate.

If the screen size is doubled from the 3DSXL and the viewing distance is doubled from the 3DSXL, much like switch is now, then the resolution will look much the same as the 3DS but with less eye strain and steadier 3D. This is the way to go Nintendo.

Long live 3D on Nintendo consoles.

Re: Random: Here's The 'Switch Visor' - For The Lazy Players

kenzo

There is a couple of things this switch visor needs.

1. Some light suppressing ribs/baffles or black felt lining to reduce internal reflections.

2. Get some reading glasses to focus the screen further away to reduce eye strain. Perhaps these reading glasses could incorporate some prismatic divergence to prevent going cross eyed too.

Apart from that, it looks cool.

Re: Nintendo Made Us A Better Developer, Says Metroid: Samus Returns Studio MercurySteam

kenzo

It is disappointing to see many adverse comments made about MercurySteam and Castlevania.

Mirror of Fate is a beautiful game, with great artwork and 3D effects. This Castlevania game could have been the first time that some players have been introduced to the series.

If Mercury Steam was as bad as people make out, then why would Nintendo have given them the Metroid job.

Based on their Castlevania work, I have great expectations for the release of Metroid.

Re: E3 2016: Reggie Says VR "Needs to be Mainstream" For Nintendo To Get Involved

kenzo

Reggie claimed Nintendo wasn't going to be entering the VR space anytime soon, and said that VR "needs to be mainstream" - is one of the dumbest things I have heard.

Reggie seems very conservative - as you would expect from someone lacking imagination and lacking the Nintendo spirit of trying new things first.

With this kind of thinking, there would be no Wii console, Wii U console or upgraded models of 3DS. If Nintendo copies Microsoft or Sony they will surely lose.

So what gives Reggie. Here is a plan for you - light a camp fire and sing boy scout songs instead.

Re: E3 2016: Check Out the Paper Mario: Color Splash E3 Trailer

kenzo

We need to see some origami action in these Mario paper type games.

Come on .... paper plus Japanese game. So logical and would be so much fun with possibilities.

Using scissors is like admitting defeat.

Also, the genealogy of the game reads like -

(Blob -> Splatoon) + Sticker Star = Paper Mario Colour Splash

Re: Pokémon Sun and Moon Could Use QR Codes in Interesting Ways

kenzo

So ....Pokémon Sun and Moon will use QR codes.

That's potentially great news for hackers !

The current primary exploits for 3DS use QR codes in Cubic Ninja and Freaky Forms Deluxe.

Any such exploit for Pokemon will be great news on the scene as its ubiquity means hax for everyone.

I am sure Nintendo are aware of what's going on and are doing their best to avoid such a situation.

Re: Feature: How One Man Saved Kyoto - And Video Games - From The Atomic Bomb

kenzo

@NinChocolate

I started this same forum thread on Hiroshima Day last year, but it got deleted. Nuked.

Now to my surprise it has risen phoenix-like from the ashes.

Perhaps now that US Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting Hiroshima, it is acceptable to talk about it.

The proposition that Kyoto was nearly levelled by an Atom Bomb in World War Two is a disquieting historical and well-documented fact.

Britain did not stop Bomber Harris from destroying Dresden, but America did stop General Groves from bombing Kyoto.

Be thankful for the voice of restraint.

Today where are the voices saying stop the guns.

Re: Soapbox: Nintendo Was Wrong To Turn Its Back On The Wii Remote

kenzo

There are some things very under-appreciated about the wii remote.

There was still plenty of scope for advancing the design of the wii remote. It seems once the wii console generation was over, the development of the wii remote died.

The wii remote started a hacking revolution that persists to this day. Many people from hobbyists to university researchers were looking at cheap but versatile gadgets to modify for their projects, and the wiimote made things happen.

Also, the wiimote started the drone craze after enthusiasts developed cheap microcontroller autopilots based on the gyro and accelerometer sensors from the wii remote and motion plus.

Lastly, Nintendo missed out on making a STEM toy by not commercialising the educational value of the wiimote, much like LEGO created Mindstorms.

Re: Carnegie Mellon Professor Thinks Nintendo Is Working On A Fully-Mobile Virtual Reality Headset

kenzo

I have said this a number of times in previous posts about Nintendo making virtual reality happen with a 3DS style screen strapped to a persons face like goggles.

Now this professor seems to agree. Well thanks.

Nintendo has shown it can make 3D work on a small display. I can imagine Nintendo can extend the technology to work on a bigger screen with higher resolution for a wider viewing angle.

So why not have something which is a combination of a WiiU gamepad, a 3DS and a detachable head mount like on other smart phone VR devices.

Re: Soapbox: If Nintendo Took On Virtual Reality, Would It Be A Disaster Or Gaming's Holy Grail?

kenzo

Nintendo have always been innovators in virtual reality.

Yes, the Virtual boy was not a success, but many people at Nintendo must have thought it had potential at the time. Success has a thousand fathers but failure was the orphan Gunpei.

But wait, there is more.

Motion control on the Wii is Virtual Reality too, and it was an original idea and a huge success. Just as the Virtual Boy was not completely ready when launched, it could be argued the Wii, initially without the motion plus gyros, was potentially a waggly failure waiting to happen too.

Finally, Nintendo implemented Virtual Reality sound with the Wiimote and the TV speakers. The Zelda and Link arrow sound effect is one subtle example. However this effect was not helped by the limited sound quality of the Wiimote.

So Nintendo have been innovative in virtual reality all the way to the present systems.

Re: Nintendo Is "Looking At" Virtual Reality, But Don't Expect Details Any Time Soon

kenzo

It would be strange if Nintendo did not carry their 3D stereoscopic technology far into the future.

Firstly, many Wii and GameCube games perform successfully in 3D with the Dolphin emulator - on PC.

Secondly, the existing base of 3DS games are in 3D.

Thirdly, Nintendo have secured the intellectual property rights and patents to use its 3D technology for at least 20 years - until the relevant patents expire.

Knowing that Nintendo have made such a risky bet on 3D and have been successful, it seems a sound business decision to continue building upon its existing 3D infrastructure into the future, for both software and hardware.

I can see a hybrid WiiU and 3DS gamepad.

In portrait mode the gamepad displays in 3D and works just like a 3D version of the 2DS.

In landscape mode the gamepad works conventionally in 2D mode.

It can be done now.

Re: Nintendo Is "Looking At" Virtual Reality, But Don't Expect Details Any Time Soon

kenzo

The Nintendo 3DS is not far off being a virtual reality headset.

The screen is already 3D and all it takes is some suitable lenses to make the screen appear wider and much more virtual.

It doesn't have to have super-resolution or a super-wide field of view, as long as it looks acceptable, is easy on the eyes and fun to play.

A 3DS screen worn on the head will also solve the 3D 'head tracking' stability issue as there wont be any instability.

Re: Editorial: Nintendo and Virtual Reality Aren't a Good Fit in 2016

kenzo

What planet are you guys on.

Some of the best virtual reality gaming experiences can be found using Nintendo games.

These games were not designed for VR, but some actually work quite well, and a few so far may even be the definitive version of the game.

DolphinVR by Carl Kenner is a fantastic hack of Dolphin - the Wii and Gamecube emulator - to make Nintendo games compatible with Virtual Reality such as the Oculus Rift.

Its been an incredible effort by a small group of gaming and VR enthusiasts.

Nintendo are definitely missing an opportunity here.

Re: Oculus Founder Palmer Luckey Believes Virtual Boy "Hurt" the VR Industry, But It's Not All Bad

kenzo

Perhaps Palmer Luckey should just jump back into his time machine and see if he could have done a better job than Gunpei Yokoi.

Nintendo have a different strategy than Oculus.

Nintendo have a cultural policy of "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology". They did well considering the primitive technology used with Virtual Boy, and that it was released before it was fully developed..

On the other hand the Oculus Rift is using expensive cutting edge technology which has still not been commercially released and has no track record of success.

And Oculus Rift is 20 years later Virtual Boy.

Palmer, try getting Oculus Rift to run on a Win 95 using a PC from that era.