Nintendo 3DS may have 3D camera, only one 3D screen
updated 01:15 pm EDT, Fri June 11, 2010
Nintendo 3DS mockup and leaks may spoil E3
Nintendo's 3DS handheld has come its closest ever to a full leak today with a mockup and description of the gaming machine. Contrary to expectations, only one screen would have the large, likely Sharp-made glasses-free 3D output, as the second would be the same size as on a DSi and would help with backwards compatibility for DS games. In return, it wouldn't be much different in size and would have a 3D camera, presumably to ensure that photos and video taken with the 3DS appear in 3D onscreen.
Few other changes have been made obvious, but a better media player with hardware AAC and MP3 decoding may be one of them. Some tips have suggested an NVIDIA Tegra core may be a built-in, but a more recent tip has hinted it may use a Japanese-designed chip for its advanced graphics.
Mockups of the sort often have the room for inaccuracy, but Kotaku claims that it lines up with rumors they've heard about the 3DS' design. It indirectly corroborates a prototype circuit board that showed just one wide screen. Nintendo should confirm its feature set at E3 next week and may ship the 3DS in October.
