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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Will the next Nintendo handheld have a HD screen?

 

Do you think it will?

Yes 201 63.21%
 
No 117 36.79%
 
Total:318
blessedswine on 05 March 2015
curl-6 said:

I'm starting to suspect it won't.

They seem to always select low resolution screens for their portables; the DS was 256x192, (main screen only) and even the 3DS, at 400x240 (not counting 3D, main screen only) actually has a lower resolution than the PSP; if this trend continues, their next one may likewise be below that of the Vita, which boasts a sub-HD 960x540.

I know 720p screens aren't exactly an expensive rarity these days, but given the cost-cutting measures Nintendo has adopted for the last two generations, I can see them equipping their next portable with a 480p screen or thereabouts, which would also mean they'd need a less expensive and power-hungry GPU to render at that resolution, thus not only lowering production costs but extending battery life, which in a portable is crucial.

But enough of my jibberish, what do you think?


if you havent noticed NONE of nintendos handhelds have ever been as high tech as thier compeition,  if you hardware is solid and the games are good the resolution of the screen on a portable doesnt mean a whole lot,  

 

gameboy was hardware wise worse then the gamegear, hell the gameboy color was worse and i would go as far to say the gameboy advance and advance sp were just barely catching up to the likes of hte gamegear and atari lynx the ds handily outsold the psp even if the psp was probably better hardware wise then maybe even the 3ds   hardware doesnt make games better all the time maybe prettier but not better.



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Mnementh on 05 March 2015

Define HD. Many here seem to assume it means 720p and up, but I saw different interpretations of HD before.



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Mr.GameCrazy on 05 March 2015

OP: I honestly don't know if that will be the case or not. It would be cool though.



sc94597 on 05 March 2015
nomad said:

 Because that doesn't make sense to me, if that is so, then 720p displays should cost more than 1080p of the same size.  

Are you talking about televisions here? This is a false conclusion, if so. A television is much more than its screen, and has other features involved. Furthermore, since total demand is less for 720p televisions, regardless of whether production costs are higher or less the sale price will be less (see: Microeconomics demand curve shifts downward, decreasing equillibrium price.) That is why fewer 720p displays are being produced than say in 2006. The opportunity cost exceeds any manufacturing costs involved. 

Anyway, 720p screens are still quite popular in the mobile market, so their prices won't increase. 480p is an entirely different matter. If Nintendo wants a certain type of screen, with a certain size, at a certain DPI they're going to have to find a manufacturer who will produce it. And if the manufacturer isn't already producing screens similar to this, the costs will be higher than if Nintendo chose to work with the screens that are being produced. 

 



sc94597 on 05 March 2015
blessedswine said:

 if the psp was probably better hardware wise then maybe even the 3ds 

No.

Also, we can have this discussion using an internal measuring stick. No need to talk about competitors. 



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nomad on 05 March 2015
sc94597 said:
nomad said:

 Because that doesn't make sense to me, if that is so, then 720p displays should cost more than 1080p of the same size.  

Are you talking about televisions here? This is a false conclusion, if so. A television is much more than its screen, and has other features involved. Furthermore, since total demand is less for 720p televisions, regardless of whether production costs are higher or less the sale price will be less (see: Microeconomics demand curve shifts downward, decreasing equillibrium price.) That is why fewer 720p displays are being produced than say in 2006. The opportunity cost exceeds any manufacturing costs involved. 

Anyway, 720p screens are still quite popular in the mobile market, so their prices won't increase. 480p is an entirely different matter. If Nintendo wants a certain type of screen, with a certain size, at a certain DPI they're going to have to find a manufacturer who will produce it. And if the manufacturer isn't already producing screens similar to this, the costs will be higher than if Nintendo chose to work with the screens that are being produced. 

 


No, 720p vs 1080p in general, TV, tablets, smartphones, etc. But Ok, yes, there are more factors to consider.

Still, I think it shouldn't be that difficult to find a manufacture to produce low res screens. I don't see how 480p is anything special, atleast right now and the near future. Larger low dpi/ppi panels are still being mass produce and will likely continue to be produced at large quantities for laptop, TV, etc. Those will be good source for Nintendo to get their panels. Even ones used for 1080p tablets can be a good source, just cut them smaller.



UncleScrooge on 05 March 2015

I expect 480p but not simply because of cheaper hardware. The software is what really counts: HD development is way more expensive and Nintendo is having trouble with the Wii U's software development. They'll use a lower resolution screen because it will give their next handheld a lot of benefits:
- Lower software development costs
- No need for powerful hardware to run HD games
- Better battery life
- A handheld that is easier to build

There's a lot of advantages to a lower resolution screen.



Eddie_Raja on 05 March 2015

Honestly? Who cares? Handheld gaming is mostly on phones now anyways and you can get HD screens there.



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sc94597 on 05 March 2015
nomad said:

Still, I think it shouldn't be that difficult to find a manufacture to produce low res screens. I don't see how 480p is anything special, atleast right now and the near future. Larger low dpi/ppi panels are still being mass produce and will likely continue to be produced at large quantities for laptop, TV, etc. Those will be good source for Nintendo to get their panels. Even ones used for 1080p tablets can be a good source, just cut them smaller.

Alright, let's analyze this a bit. 

Let's say Nintendo makes a hanheld with a 5 inch screen at 800 x 480. That's a PPI of 186.59. Televisions have PPI's anywhere between 50-70, so that would be way too low (less than 3DS) and computer monitors have PPI between 80-120 (about the same as 3ds.) 

Phones have PPI's above 250 these days, and tablets have PPI's 200-250. 

There is no device, other than Nintendo's current devices that really use a PPI between 150-200 today. Smartphones did when the 3DS released, and the Wii U's gamepad isn't very cost effective even with its WVGA screen. Even the cheapest of Chinese Android phones ($70-80) have 200 ppi screens. 

If we are going to assume that such device will have a touch screen as well, and they want to keep the ppi of both screens similar, that would mean they'd have to go with a resistive screen (nintendo doesn't want finger touch.) That would also limit them. 

Also screen resizing has additional manufacturing costs involved. And Nintendo needs to predict cost/time. Will the costs increase or decrease in price over time? 



nomad on 05 March 2015
sc94597 said:
nomad said:

Still, I think it shouldn't be that difficult to find a manufacture to produce low res screens. I don't see how 480p is anything special, atleast right now and the near future. Larger low dpi/ppi panels are still being mass produce and will likely continue to be produced at large quantities for laptop, TV, etc. Those will be good source for Nintendo to get their panels. Even ones used for 1080p tablets can be a good source, just cut them smaller.

Alright, let's analyze this a bit. 

Let's say Nintendo makes a hanheld with a 5 inch screen at 800 x 480. That's a PPI of 186.59. Televisions have PPI's anywhere between 50-70, so that would be way too low (less than 3DS) and computer monitors have PPI between 80-120 (about the same as 3ds.) 

Phones have PPI's above 250 these days, and tablets have PPI's 200-250. 

There is no device, other than Nintendo's current devices that really use a PPI between 150-200 today. Smartphones did when the 3DS released, and the Wii U's gamepad isn't very cost effective even with its WVGA screen. Even the cheapest of Chinese Android phones ($70-80) have 200 ppi screens. 

If we are going to assume that such device will have a touch screen as well, and they want to keep the ppi of both screens similar, that would mean they'd have to go with a resistive screen (nintendo doesn't want finger touch.) That would also limit them. 

Also screen resizing has additional manufacturing costs involved. And Nintendo needs to predict cost/time. Will the costs increase or decrease in price over time? 

Ok, I understand now how low res could be more expensive. But there are device that fit within that range. Dell XPS 13.3 1080p, Acer 11.6 1080p tablet, Samsung tab 4 1280x800. Also, isn't capacitive or resistive just a layer in front of the actual display panel?