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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo To Unlock Additional Power For Nintendo 3DS Developers?

zarx said:
DrZoidberg said:
Roma said:

how much better do you think games will look with this extra power?


25% better?

this is good but you just wonder why this wasn't the case from the beginning- there have been so many changes from the launch


My guess is that they had a dual core CPU but kept one exclusively for the OS to stop any potential conflicts but the OS probably never used more than half the core's cycles. They have probably since managed to sandbox the OS so the spare CPU cycles can be used for games hence the 25% increase as the OS is still using half the core.

As for why not from the start who knows ...

This sounds reasonable.



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Nothing to do with confusion. I believe the 3DS came out when it did because (the way Nintendo saw it) the DS was on its way down in Japan, the market (again, the way Nintendo saw it) was really looking forward to it and would grab it even at a high price, and as far as Nintendo were concerned it was "ready enough".

What we are seeing here and in other matters may be the result of it having been "ready enough" as far as Nintendo, but having actually come 6-9 months too early from a product readiness point of view.

Specifically OT, Nintendo may have actually decided on this due to developer feedback (e.g. many developers would maybe prefer their game use the second core rather than having the OS do this or that in the background while their game is running (?)).

Not that I complain, I don't - I have the 3DS from Day 1, I am very happy with it and playing it daily, and doing this can only be a good thing.



Currently Playing: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Anticipating: Xenoblade, The Last Story, Mario Kart 7, Rayman Origins, Zelda SS, Crush3D, Tales of the Abyss 3DS, MGS:Snake Eater 3DS, RE:Revelations, Time Travellers, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, Luigi's Mansion 2, MH TriG, DQ Monsters, Heroes of Ruin

Silver-Tiger said:
DrZoidberg said:
Roma said:

how much better do you think games will look with this extra power?


25% better?

this is good but you just wonder why this wasn't the case from the beginning- there have been so many changes from the launch

Given the already short battery life, it's probably to save energy. The PSP came with a 333 MHz CPU, yet devs could only use 222 MHz for whole two years after the release. Sony allowed the full use of the CPU in 2007:

"The hardware was originally forced to run more slowly than it was capable of and most games ran at 222 MHz. However, with firmware update 3.50 on May 31, 2007, Sony removed this limit and allowed new games to run at a full 333 MHz."

From Wikipedia.


i was going to mention the same thing. so many short memories.



 

 

Silver-Tiger said:
DrZoidberg said:
Roma said:

how much better do you think games will look with this extra power?


25% better?

this is good but you just wonder why this wasn't the case from the beginning- there have been so many changes from the launch

Given the already short battery life, it's probably to save energy. The PSP came with a 333 MHz CPU, yet devs could only use 222 MHz for whole two years after the release. Sony allowed the full use of the CPU in 2007:

"The hardware was originally forced to run more slowly than it was capable of and most games ran at 222 MHz. However, with firmware update 3.50 on May 31, 2007, Sony removed this limit and allowed new games to run at a full 333 MHz."

From Wikipedia.

This is probably the main reason.  The battery life already wasn't something to write home about, with devs using more power it will cause it to die out much quicker.  This may improve graphics some (no, not by 25%), but most likely it will be used with games that use more of the HW to run them more quickly and smoothly.



At Gonintendo they posted this about the unlock of additional power:

- firmware update with Super Mario 3D Land unlocks this extra power for devs
- devs won't get access to the RAM reserved for the OS
- only allowed to use the other core in a partial fashion
- if you use that option, it has some detrimental impact on the wireless options

It seems they could "stop" wireless communications to use that processor for games.
I'm glad it doesn't take RAM for the OS, it's a nice OS but still have a long road to grow: messaging friends



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bmmb1 said:
Nothing to do with confusion. I believe the 3DS came out when it did because (the way Nintendo saw it) the DS was on its way down in Japan, the market (again, the way Nintendo saw it) was really looking forward to it and would grab it even at a high price, and as far as Nintendo were concerned it was "ready enough".

What we are seeing here and in other matters may be the result of it having been "ready enough" as far as Nintendo, but having actually come 6-9 months too early from a product readiness point of view.

Specifically OT, Nintendo may have actually decided on this due to developer feedback (e.g. many developers would maybe prefer their game use the second core rather than having the OS do this or that in the background while their game is running (?)).

Not that I complain, I don't - I have the 3DS from Day 1, I am very happy with it and playing it daily, and doing this can only be a good thing.

Didn't they release it without their own hard hitters because they wanted to leave the launch window empty for 3rd parties, which 3rd parties complained about how they can't compete against Nintendo's own titles?



>Didn't they release it without their own hard hitters because they wanted to leave the launch window empty for 3rd parties, which 3rd parties complained about how they can't compete against Nintendo's own titles?


possibly one of the worst excuses I've ever heard. Has Wii been doing the same for last 2 years also?

Nintendo released 3DS per-maturely and just didn't have the games ready for it.the whole "intentionally let 3rd party put more games out" is nothing more than BSing.



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KylieDog said:
...but they need add so many basic features missing from the OS.


like what?



kingofwale said:
>Didn't they release it without their own hard hitters because they wanted to leave the launch window empty for 3rd parties, which 3rd parties complained about how they can't compete against Nintendo's own titles?


possibly one of the worst excuses I've ever heard. Has Wii been doing the same for last 2 years also?

Nintendo released 3DS per-maturely and just didn't have the games ready for it.the whole "intentionally let 3rd party put more games out" is nothing more than BSing.

Well, BS or not, this was said by Nintendo themselves, and not after the fact but long before the launch.



Currently Playing: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Anticipating: Xenoblade, The Last Story, Mario Kart 7, Rayman Origins, Zelda SS, Crush3D, Tales of the Abyss 3DS, MGS:Snake Eater 3DS, RE:Revelations, Time Travellers, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, Luigi's Mansion 2, MH TriG, DQ Monsters, Heroes of Ruin

Galaki said:
bmmb1 said:
Nothing to do with confusion. I believe the 3DS came out when it did because (the way Nintendo saw it) the DS was on its way down in Japan, the market (again, the way Nintendo saw it) was really looking forward to it and would grab it even at a high price, and as far as Nintendo were concerned it was "ready enough".

What we are seeing here and in other matters may be the result of it having been "ready enough" as far as Nintendo, but having actually come 6-9 months too early from a product readiness point of view.

Specifically OT, Nintendo may have actually decided on this due to developer feedback (e.g. many developers would maybe prefer their game use the second core rather than having the OS do this or that in the background while their game is running (?)).

Not that I complain, I don't - I have the 3DS from Day 1, I am very happy with it and playing it daily, and doing this can only be a good thing.

Didn't they release it without their own hard hitters because they wanted to leave the launch window empty for 3rd parties, which 3rd parties complained about how they can't compete against Nintendo's own titles?

Yes you're right but I was not referring to the games when I said they released 6-9 months too early, I was referring to various developer and testers' feedback they skimmed on. The 3DS was technically ready to be produced, but I think quality testing, and certainly developer feedback + the various  eshop and online features were not ready.



Currently Playing: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Anticipating: Xenoblade, The Last Story, Mario Kart 7, Rayman Origins, Zelda SS, Crush3D, Tales of the Abyss 3DS, MGS:Snake Eater 3DS, RE:Revelations, Time Travellers, Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, Luigi's Mansion 2, MH TriG, DQ Monsters, Heroes of Ruin