How about Nintendo's next handheld after the 3DS uses a mini-projector?

I've thought about this for a while now and I would love to see Nintendo implement this as the main feature of their next handheld after the 3DS (or heck, even a 3DS redesign) in 2015 or 2016 whenever that device comes out. Mini-Projectors have been featured in recent cell phones and aren't as expensive as you might think to produce.

For example, the Samsung Beam has a mini-projector that doesn't add all that much bulk to the device, projects a 640x360 video for up to four hours on one charge with the image being projected by to 50 inches on a wall that is six feet away from you.

Surely Nintendo could wait for the costs of these things to go down even further, slap one in the next-gen 3DS in a few years. They could even cut some costs by making the projector slightly less high tech by limiting it to 640x360 resolution or limiting it to 20-30 inches. What do you think? I would love this feature and I do think if marketed right it could take off. Though it could also flop like 3D.

I am not too fond of this idea.

No offense mate but this is a horrible idea.

Didn't really expect people to dislike this idea so much. People generally like the idea of hooking up their PSPs via TV cables (well, the people that had PSPs)

I don't get the problem with moving the device and moving the projected image. It can't be worse than breaking the 3D effect on the 3DS after all and that's a constant hinderance of the platform. I mean, are you really going to move the image around THAT much? Sure, in motion control games for sure but the game could always have particular parts where you must keep looking at the handheld's actual screens.

I can't imagine it would hurt my eyes or be hard to follow the image as it occassionally moves a few inches to the side but that's just me I suppose. Thanks for your feedback guys, guess this would never happen anyway.

I was thinking it's a pretty interesting idea, but Haziq latched right onto the fatal flaw before I could think of any interesting applications.

The problem is when you're watching a movie the mobile device is going to stay still. When you're playing a game on a handheld you're going to move around the whole unit when you press buttons and the entire image is going to move as a result.Haziqonfire

I imagine even the tiniest hand movements would be greatly exaggerated.

It's hard to imagine from Nintendo's perspective, what gimick they could do next (if that's how they want to approach it).  The 3DS is already one of the most tricked-out consoles ever.

If they were just to upgrade the hardware, I think it'd really open things up so much more that people would actually want to use them, and developers would take notice of the potential.  On the current version, the way most of the gimmicks are implemented is a bit clunky.  It's like a prototype without all the issues ironed out.  With better cameras front and back and a better screen, the augmented reality could be truly like looking through a window, and with better graphics, the 3d effect could be so much more tangable. 

The problem is when you're watching a movie the mobile device is going to stay still. When you're playing a game on a handheld you're going to move around the whole unit when you press buttons and the entire image is going to move as a result.Haziqonfire

Didn't really expect people to dislike this idea so much. People generally like the idea of hooking up their PSPs via TV cables (well, the people that had PSPs)

I don't get the problem with moving the device and moving the projected image. It can't be worse than breaking the 3D effect on the 3DS after all and that's a constant hinderance of the platform. I mean, are you really going to move the image around THAT much? Sure, in motion control games for sure but the game could always have particular parts where you must keep looking at the handheld's actual screens.

I can't imagine it would hurt my eyes or be hard to follow the image as it occassionally moves a few inches to the side but that's just me I suppose. Thanks for your feedback guys, guess this would never happen anyway.

bonesawisready5

Or how about the next Nintendo device focus on raw processing power and a larger number of games to play instead of wasting R&D on gimmicks that only change the way we play on an aesthetic level?JustPlainLucas

That... could work. o.o

Right?

I can't help but think people might be underestimating this idea. The system shaking when you press buttons is a good point though. But actually, the projected image can be secondary, you'd still look at the system for the main game. Also, maybe the projecter could be placed with shock absorbers to minimize its movements. And so when it does move, it would bob instead of jitter.

Also, this idea gets bonus plausibility points for being consistent with WiiU's blurring the lines between handhelds and console. Imagine, WiiU, a console with handheld capability, and 3DS 2, a handheld that can project a TV screen in your home.

Also, this idea gets bonus plausibility points for being consistent with WiiU's blurring the lines between handhelds and console. Imagine, WiiU, a console with handheld capability, and 3DS 2, a handheld that can project a TV screen in your home.

final_lap

Obviously the next one is the 4DS. Time travel built in.

Nah. I want it to do a reverse Wii U and stream an image to a TV. 

Or how about the next Nintendo device focus on raw processing power and a larger number of games to play instead of wasting R&D on gimmicks that only change the way we play on an aesthetic level?JustPlainLucas

Yea, no. I mean, I'd love the power upgrade but I'd rather see what the next crazy innovation Nintendo has in store for us. I enjoy the 3D screen, Wiimote, and Wii U Game Pad. Once Nintendo starts playing by everyone else's rules and starts simply pumping hardware whose only real strength is 'more power'.

I'd be fine with their next handheld in 2015/2016/2017 having a dual or quad-core CPU @1Ghz and 512MB-1GB RAM. Of course by that point I'm sure phones will be rocking 4GB-8GB RAM and have 8-Core 2Ghz CPUs so it will look outdated by that time but I don't care. So long as the screen is 800x480 I'll be happy personally.

Also, I'd rather the battery life be fantastic. If that means a slower CPU and a screen @ 480p instead of the likely 2000x1000 screens phones will be using in 2016 then I'm fine with that too.

Or how about it don't, and totally uses a hologram instead. O.O

I don't know if I'd be up for that. The PSP TV out was a neat feature but in reality all it did was blow up an already low resolution image and make it look horrible. Given Nintendo's track record of handheld resolution (the 3DS is lower res than the original PSP, accounting for 3D) a projector would only highlight its flaws. That and even the 3DS XL's battery life is bad enough as it is, I can only imagine what a more powerful next gen Nintendo handheld would be if it had to perform CPU and GPU functions as well as project an image.DJ_Lae

Like I said, that Samsung Beam phone can  play games and stream video for up to 4 hours at much higher resolutions than the 3DS screen up to 50 inches with this mini-projector.

If that can get 4 hours with Android gaming and video I imagine Nintendo could figure out a way to get 5-7 hours of mini-projector use on a 800x480 image up to 20-25 inches.

On the subject of resolution: We'll be lucky if Nintendo's next handheld is 800x480. I'd guess it would be 640x360 most likely, if not 480x320 sadly

A cooler thing would be if they made something like the GBA player for GameCube only for playing 3DS games on the Wii U. I use my GBA player a lot but never really use the TV out on my PSP though, even though I was really excited to get it. I couldn't see myself finding a chair four to six feet from a white wall to play games on but I guess it could be a neat feature for multimedia.

Or how about it don't, and totally uses a hologram instead. O.O

Litchie

YES!  A hologram.  I don't know if I'm correct but I seem to remember an odd wizard game in the year 1994 playing in a hologram setting in the arcade correct me if I'm wrong but I do remember this I'mma look it up on google now!  :D

I found it!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-8hnyDPCU

there wont be any other handhelds(unfortunately).the tablet/smartphone market will kill them eventually

there wont be any other handhelds(unfortunately).the tablet/smartphone market will kill them eventually

Hate_Squad

No, handhelds will still be around. Maybe only Nintendo handhelds. You see people act like tablets/smartphones are going to burst the dedicated gaming handheld bubble (which with 3DS selling 15 million per year this is clearly not happening) but no one seems to look at when and how the smartphone gaming bubble will burst.

We're already seeing a bunch of studios close because of taking gambles on trying to be the next Angry Birds, etc. Even Epic closed the studio that was making Infinity Blade. The phone gaming trend will decline too, no matter how many phones are out there. All of these types of gaming will co-exist. Consoles didn't kill PC gaming, PC gaming has never hurt console gaming, flash games and facebook games didn't hurt anything either. They all co-exist after a few years of people thinking something will give out when in the ended nothing really changes IMO

there wont be any other handhelds(unfortunately).the tablet/smartphone market will kill them eventually

Hate_Squad

shush! Handhelds are the future. If something has to die, let it be consoles.