Nintendo’s New DS Originally Lacked 3D

The latest issue of Famitsu features an interview with Hideki Konno, Nintendo’s group manager of the 3DS hardware project, that discusses his involvement with the upcoming console. He talks of the “piece of hardware” that he was originally shown and its lack of 3D supporting software, and explains what encouraged Nintendo to add 3D support.

“They showed me this piece of hardware which later became the 3DS and said, ‘Here’s what we’re working on right now.’ I became involved with development starting in 2008, but at that time, [the handheld] didn’t have 3D visuals.” Konno also revealed that accelerometer sensors and gyroscopes were added late, right before E3, where the handheld was first unveiled. The concept of running a 3D device was only considered after Nintendo caught eye of some “impressive” glasses-free 3D software in 2009: “We began to think that it was time to bring it to games,” he said.

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