I was just thinking about the possability of the next Gameboy using Rev tech. It could possibly replace the need for an analog stick. Do you think Nintendo would use Rev tech in the next Gameboy? What about dual screens and a touch screen? Should the next Gameboy be backwards compatible with the DS?
nintendo has patentrs on handhelds that are builty with tilt technoogy that we though (stupid us) were going to be used in the DS remember the frying pan and the turtle?/ so i suspect that next gb is going to a mix of ds and gb like something that doesnt erquire a stylus and you can move the gb like the revo controller
thats my predfityion
I think you guys are still drunk!
No, not drunk anymore... just pain.
But yeah like I was trying to say... I think the next GB is going to be a revo controller with a screen. Ultimately, they could make a handheld with no d-pad or stick. The glaring problem here is; it's a portable. It's going to be in constant motion, played at different angles, etc. So the stylus becomes a better choice, however i'd like to see a GB without one that allows for the same type of gameplay.
It's going to be hard to implement Revolution functions in a handheld since your not only moving the system but the screen as well. We may see more of that type of thing in Nintendo's next handheld but I wouldn't count on it being used as much as the Revolution.
Maybe they could make a pressure sensitive touch screen?
that's a good idea, something that involves fingers instead of a stylus or even make the entire hand held pressure sensitive so everything you do to it effects it; squeezing, shaking, tilting, etc. There's even a Nintendo patent (that they thought about for DS) where you could flick the bottom of the handheld to make objects on the screen jump up - like holding a piece of paper with paper clips and flicking underneath the paper to make the paper clips move except in a video game.
As we saw with all the theories for the rev controller, technology exists to make something feel cold, or hot. Produce small electric shocks, use gyroids that cause you to lose control, all kinds of amazing gadgets that would produce unheard of gameplay.
Remember R-Zone? It was a tiger electronics POS that was basically an LCD game on a piece of clear plastic worn on a headband so that it's right up to your eye. The controller is a classic controller console shape, but the idea is that the LCD game is now huge and you can now play a fighting game with life-size fighters. There's no reason you couldn't do the same with higher-end graphics and keep it mass-market cheap. Add stereoscopic vision and a revolution type controller and you have virtual reality that people have been dreaming of. Pop a simple camera in front so the system can figure out distance and shape and suddenly you have the same tech that the Nintendo ON was talking about and it's all entirely do-able AND cost effective. We're looking at a 200 dollar portable with immersive VR technology and it can happen right now.
It would be an amazing portable and because everyting is translucent it wouldn't be annoying to play while on the go. There are already cell phones with this technology and pocket PC's, so why not handheld video games?
Realistically though, I picture the next GB to be highly integrated in to the Revolution maybe to the point of being a needed accesory. Nintendo has epxerimented with alot of cool ideas of how to use the GBA with GC adding twists to games or being an integral part of the game. The little added feature of playing with the tingle tuner in WW is amazing. Wife and I take turns running co-op through dungeons, it's awesome. And then of course having integration for added content like the highly underated E-Reader is another major step I think we'll see.
Nintendo had to release a peripheral with the idea of scanning cards because there was no way to get the content to people without making them pay for a new cart. Nut now with Nintendo wifi it's just a matter of downloading it and adding your new content to whatever console game you're playing. You beat the game congratulations, use this code to download a new dungeon as thanks from Nintendo! It's going to be amazing to say the least, especially when you start to consider the idea of people making their own home-brew stuff for people to download.
Entirely new genres are going to be invented over night from the imagination of kids hosting their home brew downloads on Nintendo wifi. But at first, I see a portable that is going to 'feel' more traditional to the GB and offer a ton of new elements. It's odd though; Nintendo says they're re-designing the DS... and making a new GB. Is the re-designed DS the new GB? The only reason Nintendo would put two handhelds on the market (like thy are now) is if the two handhelds offered significant difference in the types of games available.
When you look at a DS you see a system that is completely capable of running any type of 2-D or 3-D gameplay you can think of with the added bonuses of wifi, touch screen, and creative ways of using a mic (even if its just for communication over the wifi) So.... what could possibly offer an experience different enough to warrant two handhelds on the market from Nintendo? A repackage is nothing new, but we're talking about the possibility of two different name brands using different mediums of storage, generating different markets.
The only logical leap, from a business stand point or other wise, would be a handheld totally unlike anything we've seen before especially if the handhelds are going to be competing with themselves. Why would I buy this new GB? what does it offer I cant have with a DS? These are the questions people will want answers to as we get closer to its unveiling. A GB that simply has GC-like graphics would fail right now. Even if it was able to get some sales up, it would drop as soon as Nintendo releases the next IT game for DS that makes grandma, your 4 year old sister and you and all your friends want to play (I predict Nintenferrets).
Looking at the whole market and Nintendo's view of it (they own it so hard it's not even funny) I think they'll release a DS redesign, possibly a better graphical set up for longevity and mass interest (although i'm thinking it will come down to brighter and sharper screens) and a physical design that is more comfortable when playing games that require the player to switch between stylus and pad, or a way to hold it comfortably while traveling so you can use the stylus and access buttons easily. I've seen some vert designs that are pretty cool. And of course, a batch of killer games to set off its launch.
But I dont think we'll see a new GB anytime soon. The DS is the new GB, I think Nintendo was just worried it wouldn't fly in the market so if it failed, out comes the new GB (more traditional design, etc) in case people felt alienated... which they clearly dont, so I think the DS is just going to evolve here on out and absorb the GB market.
Unless, and this is a really big stab considering that Nintendo does NOT need to spend any money in to anything uber tech for this market, they create a radically different aproach to handhelds, and i'm talking something akin to my monicle set up I explained above which I just dont realistically see coming out from Nintendo. If Sony did it and PSP VR takes off Nintendo will definitely consider it but they like having complete domination over an entire market. They'd only do anything if that hold on the market slipped.
lazyfatbum Wrote:But I dont think we'll see a new GB anytime soon. The DS is the new GB, I think Nintendo was just worried it wouldn't fly in the market so if it failed, out comes the new GB (more traditional design, etc) in case people felt alienated... which they clearly dont, so I think the DS is just going to evolve here on out and absorb the GB market.
This is exactly what I've thought. I think all of Nintendo's talk about the "third pillar" was to save themselves if the DS was a failure. Then they could say, "Don't worry, the new Gameboy is here." Now that the DS has become a success they can put off releasing a new Gameboy, and perhaps not even release a new Gameboy at all.
Yeah, I don't think we'll see a new GB anytime soon, although the next revision of the DS may very well be called the Gameboy DS.
I hope we don't see another GB soon... at the bare minimum it should be another year and a half away (like how GBA was 2 1/2 years after GBC), and longer is probably good. It would just be stupid to hurt the DS like that when it's really picking up steam...
Right, but a completely different type of gameplay would leave the DS in its own market while the GB would invent a new one. But seeing how the DS can offer every type of 2-D and 3-D gameplay with added features exclusive to the handheld to add more complexity and ingenuity to the genres the new GB would have to be radically different offering a totally different flavor to the market.... which I dont see happening any time soon, as that's what the DS is doing now and quite good at it too.
I think Nintendo's GBM is the last we'll see of GBA aside from backwards compatibility with newer handhelds. I think right now the DS is Nintendo's handheld market and we'll probably see many re-designs and upgrades to follow it. Like i said, the new redesigned DS could even be a more powerful system capable of GC-like graphics (a DS Advance) but it's highly unlikely given the success of the current DS, there's just no need to upgrade the hardware graphically speaking.
And I think grumbler hit it on the nose, i'm willing to bet the DS redesign will be called the Gameboy DS too, that would also solidify the market absorbtion from 'GB' to 'DS' as one continuous market, atleast officially.