Rumors back Nintendo Project Cafe gamepad having camera
updated 01:30 pm EDT, Fri May 20, 2011
Insider speaks on Nintendo Project Cafe gamepad
The controller for Nintendo's next-generation home gaming console will indeed have a front-facing camera, a source told Develop. Supporting details of Nintendo's upcoming Project Cafe console, it has reportedly been a central feature and tightly guarded. Nintendo has been careful to keep leaks on the controller from spreading by not showing it to all developer partners.
The gamepad's camera was previously thought to be used for in-game images and will also house a touchscreen sized at about six inches. It may also use a stylus and get a standard button layout.
It was also speculated by the source that the Nintendo 3DS could be used a controller for Project Cafe, though the large differences in screen sizes and button layouts would cast doubt on that unless it was used only for specific purposes.
"The functions are the same," the source said. "It is a standard wireless controller added with a front-facing camera and touch screen. That sounds far too much like a 3DS to me. But I can’t confirm this, Nintendo is being very cautious about the details."
While no new specs on Project Cafe itself were gleaned, it was already rumored to get a customized version of AMD's R700 architecture behind newer Radeon HD chips. The main processor may be a customized version of IBM's three-core PowerPC designs.
