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[Fourth Storm]

On any type of mobile device, battery life tanks once you boot up 3D games. For a games system, the system is going to be stressed almost all of the time.

I think we'll be looking at a system w/ 128 GCN shaders and something like 300-400 Mhz. So capable of better-than-Wii U effects, but less overall oomph. That's very much in line w/ the historical trend. A 540p screen would fit these specs nicely.

 

[Newline]

I think Ipod is a pretty good comparison. The pixel density is around 300 which is actually pretty solid, internals are decent,far greater build quality and sells for around $200. When talking in terms of battery life, I think people forget how thin and small these devices are and how they're more multimedia orientated. It's roughly 5 times smaller than the 3DS. It would be pretty saddening if the successor can't even get to it's level and have better battery life given how it's probably going to release in 2016/17 and probably be far larger.

Yeah the iPod is probably the best comparison to use if you need to have one. The battery pack in those devices are tiny, it's a minuscule device compared to the 3DS.

 

[nampad]

While people argue about the bill of materials of phones, they also miss that those phones need to make a considerable margin for the manufacturer while Nintendo also earns royalties from games.

Maybe it helps with the naysayers who have to argue that a certain example is not exactly under $200 or to abstract.

 

[autoduelist]

The 3DS was estimated to cost $100 to manufacture while it retailed at what? $250? Nintendo is in the cheapo Chinese manufacturing business lmfao. Oh and it's battery life was always abysmal... just like the Vita.

I have a launch Vita and have always been perfectly fine with it's battery life. Lasts for many hours gaming -- I only ever noticed issues when playing top of the line games like Killzone Mercs, but for most games I get full sessions in easy. I have a battery backup thing that cost me $20 and will get me from the US to Europe.

And the suspend/resume is amazing; it'll hold a charge for a long, long time in suspend. Oh, and even if you run out of charge, and the screen goes black, it suspends your gamestate for next time, which is straight up awesome.

On the flipside, the 3ds XL I had could barely hold a charge, regardless of whether I was gaming or in suspend mode.

Swap the library of the Vita and the 3DS and the Vita would be doing great and 3DS would be struggling.

You're probably right, but I'm definitely glad the games I prefer are on the Vita's hardware.

 

[TheXfactor]

Let me just say the lead up to this console is going to be hilarious because literally no one knows what it is going to be like. The rumors will be amazing

 

[ArchedThunder]

In the year 2016, 540p to 720p is already ancient 5-year old tech.

We'll see if they go 3D again. I'd like them to, sure, but I'd want 540p 3D. Matching their hardware rivals previous handheld should be a like... bare minimum threshold. Not even squeaking past the PSP's with 3DS was already fairly ridiculous, but it got something of a free pass for the "new tech" of glassesless 3D. Not new anymore, expectations march ever onwards.

Welcome to Nintendo handhelds. The point is to get good hardware that developers know how to use out at a low cost. Nintendo is always going to cut lots of costs on the handheld space, especially now that it is shrinking. I wouldn't be surprised if they are shooting for $150 at launch to try and maximize sales potential.
And like I said, they would pass the Vita's PPi at 4inches/480p, that would make the games look cleaner than Vita games without even having to be a higher res.

 

[Steel]

On any type of mobile device, battery life tanks once you boot up 3D games. For a games system, the system is going to be stressed almost all of the time.

I think we'll be looking at a system w/ 128 GCN shaders and something like 300-400 Mhz. So capable of better-than-Wii U effects, but less overall oomph. That's very much in line w/ the historical trend. A 540p screen would fit these specs nicely.

Nvidia shield portable has about the same battery life as a 3ds when playing 3d games.

 

[LeleSocho]

Me? Pedantic?

Hang on didn't you say all my examples were abstract?

Pardon i've read pathetic, as in even when clearly and directly asked you only can produce answers that are kind of, partially and never completely supporting your statements.
The best thing you've managed to do is to link 3 different products where one only kind of had the power, the other only kind of had the battery and the last one only kind of had the price to support your statement.

 

[Matt]

It's higher than you think, but lower than some hope for.

 

[ArchedThunder]

Nvidia shield portable has about the same battery life as a 3ds when playing 3d games.

Then that's still shitty. The 3DS's battery life is terrible.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Take a look at the HP Stream 7 for comparison.
7-inch IPS touchscreen 800x1280
Intel Atom processor Z3735G (Quad Core)
1GB memory/32GB SSD
Runs Windows 8.1

Price: $75 plus you get a free $25 giftcard

 

[Newline]

Take a look at the HP Stream 7 for comparison.
7-inch IPS touchscreen 800x1280
Intel Atom processor Z3735G (Quad Core)
1GB memory/32GB SSD
Runs Windows 8.1

Price: $75 plus you get a free $25 giftcard

They will still try and say that these devices can't hold up to the 3DS's measly 3.5 hour battery life... which they obviously can.

 

[Vena]

Take a look at the HP Stream 7 for comparison.
7-inch IPS touchscreen 800x1280
Intel Atom processor Z3735G (Quad Core)
1GB memory/32GB SSD
Runs Windows 8.1

Price: $75 plus you get a free $25 giftcard

Bad example, its subsidized by Intel.

 

[StevieP]

It's higher than you think, but lower than some hope for.

This is a real answer, by the way, for those still reading the thread and not engaging in product comparisons with iPods and cheap Chinese phones. Edit: and devices literally paid for by Intel. Lmao

 

[Y2Kev]

It's higher than you think, but lower than some hope for.

Uh...640p?

Interesting.

 

[Vena]

This is a real answer, by the way, for those still reading the thread and not engaging in product comparisons with iPods and cheap Chinese phones.

Is he someone in the know?

 

[LeleSocho]

They will still try and say that these devices can't hold up to the 3DS's measly 3.5 hour battery life... which they obviously can.

Give me a call when you can prove that.

 

[……forgetit]

Then that's still shitty. The 3DS's battery life is terrible.

We'll never get a handheld with high battery again. It's just not a priority anymore.

 

[ArchedThunder]

Uh...640p?

Interesting.

500p

 

[Newline]

Bad example, its subsidized by Intel.

How much would it be subsidised by?

 

[QaaQer]

like tablets?

You bet. Have you seen some of the junk kids haul around and are transfixed by?

 

[StevieP]

Is he someone in the know?

Yes.

 

[Firedemon2370]

The new 3DS is to the 3DS as the DSi was to the DS Lite. I just want a new handheld from them with some real changes instead of just some negligible changes packed together on top of a new CPU hardly any games will use.

 

[Newline]

Give me a call when you can prove that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDvuvPbQks

Can be purchased for the price the 3DS retailed at. The quality of this device is above and beyond Nintendo manufacturing too.

specs: http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-5000.html

 

[Vena]

How much would it be subsidised by?

20-30$ per unit. Here, costing them about 7 billion $ per year. It's also subsidized by Microsoft.

The Stream 7 isn't very impressive, either. Isn't this discussion about being able to play games at high resolutions for long times?

Yes.

Got it.

So I guess now it depends on who's expectations are being overshot and undercut. 480/1080? So 720?

 

[Bony Manifesto]

Bad example, its subsidized by Intel.

Really, are you sure? There's no mention of it in a Google search, and I'm not exactly sure what Intel's interest in subsidising such a device would be. There's more of an argument that it's subsidised by Microsoft considering they're letting tablet manufacturers use Windows 8.1 for free, but even that seems a stretch.

 

[……forgetit]

20-30$ per unit. Here, costing them about 7 billion $ per year.

The Stream 7 isn't very impressive, either. Isn't this discussion about being able to play games at high resolutions for long times?



Got it.

So I guess now it depends on who's expectations are being overshot and undercut. 480/1080? So 720?

20-30 per unit still only puts it at $105

 

[Vena]

20-30 per unit still only puts it at $105

Microsoft also subsidizes these to push Windows 8.1 into the market. I only have numbers on Intel's share.

Really, are you sure? There's no mention of it in a Google search, and I'm not exactly sure what Intel's interest in subsidising such a device would be. There's more of an argument that it's subsidised by Microsoft considering they're letting tablet manufacturers use Windows 8.1 for free, but even that seems a stretch.

Yes, I am quite sure.

 

[StevieP]

Really, are you sure? There's no mention of it in a Google search, and I'm not exactly sure what Intel's interest in subsidising such a device would be. There's more of an argument that it's subsidised by Microsoft considering they're letting tablet manufacturers use Windows 8.1 for free, but even that seems a stretch.

Their new mobile processors are being subsidized, as is its OS

 

[Noirulus]

The next Nintendo handheld will have a 480p display. Nintendo is all about affordable hardware.

$220 for barely an upgrade from XL sure is affordable.

 

[Y2Kev]

This is a real answer, by the way, for those still reading the thread and not engaging in product comparisons with iPods and cheap Chinese phones. Edit: and devices literally paid for by Intel. Lmao

I don't know why you edited to include the iPod. It's not clear to me why the iPod is not a good comparable. It would seem to me to be a device that has somewhat similar manufacturing goals, conservative hardware design, and price profile.

 

[Coriolanus]

on the topic of smartphones.

Moto G 2013 was 720p quad core. 2000mah battery, tho.
Moto G 2014 is a slight improvement, and bumps the price up to 250.

Then you can go with less usual global brands, like the Huaweys, ZTE's and HiMaxes or MicroMaxes, and you'll see some fascinating things. Heck, the Canvas Nitro A310 is 720p, 2gb ram, octa core, 2500mah, has a 13mp camera and retails for under 200 off contract. We know that nintendo being nintendo, they'd never put a good camera on the device (or an octacore chip >__>) so yeah, there's a lot of wiggle room there, especially if you release something 1-2 years from now.

Asia has some absolutely killer products at that price range.

 

[shouamabane]

$220 for barely an upgrade from XL sure is affordable.

It is less affordable than $200, which is the price of N3DS XL.

 

[LeleSocho]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDvuvPbQks

Can be purchased for the price the 3DS retailed at. The quality of this device is above and beyond Nintendo manufacturing too.

specs: http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-5000.html

Oh what do we have here? A Cortex A7 octacore (which is worse at graphics than the Tegra4) with a 5000 mah (which is 2350mah short of the device that runs HL2 for around 2 hours at 720p) that costs ~260$ (which is 60$ more than what i asked).
Well you really showed me.

 

[Fourth Storm]

It's higher than you think, but lower than some hope for.

I'm listening. A bit early for this to be set, no?

 

[StevieP]

I don't know why you edited to include the iPod. It's not clear to me why the iPod is not a good comparable. It would seem to me to be a device that has somewhat similar manufacturing goals, conservative hardware design, and price profile.

The issue comparing to stuff like iPods and cheap Chinese smartphones is that they tend not to worry about stuff like GPU speed and memory bandwidth in that type of consumer product. That notebookcheck review of that Chinese phone new line posted earlier is a great example if you scroll down and look at the benchmark comparisons between it and ollldddd stuff like the nexus 4.

 

[ArtHands]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMDvuvPbQks

Can be purchased for the price the 3DS retailed at. The quality of this device is above and beyond Nintendo manufacturing too.

specs: http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-5000.html

Good point. Still need to factor in the R&D cost to make the components of that device smaller , just so you can fit in the hardware internal & external components for the buttons/d-pads/analog pads.

And of cause, don't forget to add in the cost to manufacture the buttons/d-pads/analog pads themselves.

 

[Newline]

Oh what do we have here? A Cortex A7 octacore (which is worse at graphics than the Tegra4) with a 5000 mah (which is 2350mah short of the device that runs HL2 for around 2 hours at 720p) that costs ~260$ (which is 60$ more than what i asked).
Well you really showed me.

Now I know you're being stupid... I'm out.

 

[StevieP]

I'm listening. A bit early for this to be set, no?

Not if the device is further along than many would believe. The ps4 specs were on paper (minus the ram upgrade) in 2011.

 

[Vena]

Not if the device is further along than many would believe

Early 2016 rather than late 2016?

 

[Matt]

I'm listening. A bit early for this to be set, no?

To be set? Yeah, but not to be projected.

 

[Bony Manifesto]

Yes, I am quite sure.

Their new mobile processors are being subsidized, as is its OS

Fair enough. But then Nintendo hardware is subsidised by them making money off every single piece of software people buy for it, so I think there's still room for Nintendo to take a similar sort of hit on the hardware at launch.

 

[Vena]

Fair enough. But then Nintendo hardware is subsidised by them making money off every single piece of software people buy for it, so I think there's still room for Nintendo to take a similar sort of hit on the hardware at launch.

That's not how Nintendo operates, and they're not exactly in a financial position to lose money.

 

[StevieP]

Early 2016 rather than late 2016?

See my edit lol. Companies need to have stuff in planning/projection long before going into production. The only major things that changed from the ps4's paperwork was its memory and I almost forgot its CPU (they originally wrote in 4 steamroller cores from amd). The Xbox 360 documents from 2004 have a different CPU than what it ended up with among some other changes. Etc.

 

[Newline]

Good point. Still need to factor in the R&D cost to make the components of that device smaller , just so you can fit in the hardware internal & external components for the buttons/d-pads/analog pads.

And of cause, don't forget to add in the cost to manufacture the buttons/d-pads/analog pads themselves.

As an example though that phone uses gorilla glass... while Nintendo would use cheap plastic.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

It's higher than you think, but lower than some hope for.

Are the sticks clickable though???

Oh wait, wrong dude...

 

[Vena]

See my edit lol. Companies need to have stuff in planning/projection long before going into production. The only major thing that changed from the ps4's projection was its memory. The Xbox 360 documents from 2004 have a different CPU than what it ended up with among some other changes. Etc.

Ya, fair enough.

They can definitely have projected hardware specs by now. Hopefully we see a decent screen (and it seems that decent has been confirmed) with a good amount of RAM and bandwidths.

 

[Coriolanus]

As an example though that phone uses gorilla glass... while Nintendo would use cheap plastic.

Then there is the camera, which would most likely be worse, and the phone tech itself, which would be completely ditched.

 

[Instro]

Presumably it will be a resolution the games can actually output at.

 

[Prisoner]

That's not how Nintendo operates, and they're not exactly in a financial position to lose money.

Really? I thought they had billions of dollars in the bank.