Its ramtastic!!

check the wii out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii#Technical_specifications

*looks at number, looks back @ 3ds. Finishes morning shit with ssf

Well, since the DSi had 16mb and the original DS had 4mb, its a massive upgrade.

Typhonic most people who build and upgrade computers do it as a hobby and for fun...
As for the ram its not bad when the people developing the software for one piece of hardware they can make it work allot better.

@Typhonic

Well, yeah, RAM is kind of important.

FCRAM might be as fast as DDR3, but 128MB is still a surprisingly low amount for a next gen device. The iPhone has, what, like 512MB of RAM, doesn't it? Not that the 3DS has to perform the same functions as a smart-phone.

I wonder if this might be the bottleneck the Unreal Engine 3 can't get past? I also wonder what kind of overhead parallax barrier 3D technology brings to the equation. It will be interesting to see just how far programmers can stretch the rather thin resources of the 3DS.

Knowing that the 3D screen is the most expensive part of the 3DS, I wonder what kind of performance upgrade it would have gotten if it was just a "DS2".

Who cares?

Why can't hardware junkies stick to PCs? Where the tech is, you know...

Darn it. I was afraid of this.

I meant "^ This" to killias2's comment, not CAP's.

I mean, I don't think hardware is everything. However, it's hard to argue that hardware and price, together, aren't everything. Typically, hardware inflates price, which keeps it from being universally adopted. This prevents the device from getting much software support. The reverse is that you have cheap hardware, which leads to a cheap price and universal software support.

I'm just worried that the 3DS doesn't have either.. especially when the clear new kids on the blocks (smartphones, tablets, etc.) are taking new territory.

Still, I basically assume the 3DS will be a mega huge success, so, at the end of the day, it probably doesn't matter. Probably.

@Victor Augusto

Deep breaths, man. I'm sure Nintendo's feelings were unhurt simply because people are speculating about the specs of the 3DS or using the specs of another device as reference. And has anyone not trolling even brought the NGP up, or said that smart phone gaming is better? Regain control of your fanboy gland and reread the comments with an unclouded mind.

I'm only commenting because the ram made me chuckle.

"and smart phone "gamers" can stick with their flash browser based like shitty games because they are obviously not better than any dedicated gaming device."

Two things:

1. I'm partially emphasizing this because, when Epic was all like "I can't squeeze into the 3DS" people were all like, "But you squeezed onto an iPhone, lawlz, there's no way an IPHONE is more powerful than the great 3DS!!" Which was entirely wrong, as I tried to argue at the time. I think people should know a thing or two before -acting- like they know a thing or two.

2. I agree that the iPhone isn't as well setup for games as the 3DS, but I think a lot of gamers are unfairly dismissive to the iPhone. Here's some food for thought: you know that 3DS killer app? Street Fighter IV? Yeah, I've had it on my iPhone for quite a while now. It cost me like 7 bucks or something, and, despite the lack of physical buttons, it actually plays really really well.

Don't believe me?
http://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/street-fighter-iv
http://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/super-street-fighter-iv-3d-edition
The iPhone has virtually the same review score as the 3DS edition.

Obviously, these reviews aren't strictly comparable, but I think it's at least some proof for those who haven't played it that SF4 made the transition to iPhone quite well. I've actually beaten it a number of times...

To get back on track: there are a number of great, great games on the iPhone: Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, Infinity Blade, Civilization Revolution, Game Developer Story, etc. etc. etc. I really think gamers need to grow up and realize that this is a burgeoning new platform, not a bunch of "shit flash games."

However, I still agree that the lack of physical buttons hurts the iPhone. Honestly, if Apple would get its shit together and release something like this: http://www.22moo.com.au/GameBone.html it could well be a game changer for mobile gaming. However, until that happens, I don't think the 3DS and the NGP have -a lot- to worry about.

The PS3 has 256 MB of RAM, so I guess that means it too is less powerful than the iPhone 4.

Oh good, sofik is here. We can all calm down and learn something.

@Tony: Yeah it only has 256 mb of RAM, and you better believe it's a serious limitation. That's the main reason it can't output games at 1080p. However, yeah, CPU is also important.

However, from the info we've had previously, most believe that the 3DS CPU/GPU doesn't really compare with the iPhone CPU/GPU.
http://digitalgravitas.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/3ds-hardware-specs-fully-revealed-an-in-depth-analysis/ - Here is an in-depth analysis. Please note that, back then, we thought the 3DS had 64mb of RAM instead of 128. Still, the comparison points between the CPU and GPU should be relatively accurate.

"Unfortunately for Nintendo, the 3DS is now at the lower end of handheld device specs. Most high-end phones today come equipped with much more powerful ARM Cortex-A8 chips, which have more modern features and faster speeds. Their RAM usually floats at around 256MB as a start, with many exceeding 512MB. As for graphics, many phones and handhelds now use very powerful mobile cores like the PowerVR SGX, like Apple’s A4; or graphics cores from AMD like the Adreno 200-series (used in any Snapdragon-equipped phone). The Pica200 is no slouch (indeed it is in many ways more powerful and modern than the Wii’s GPU) but it doesn’t stand against SGXs or Adrenos. Obviously Nintendo isn’t in the power-game anymore, the Wii is evidence of that. But seeing as how the 3DS has to render 3D images, I wonder if the hardware can keep up."

But, yeah, just to reiterate: I'm -not- arguing that the iPhone is better than the 3DS at gaming. I am arguing that the iPhone is more powerful and is better at gaming than the fanboys let on. I still think the 3DS will be better for dedicated gaming, and I don't doubt that it will be a huge success.

The NGP will probably have FOUR TIMES this.

TheGoToGamer - Freaking Dark Tower man!

"I wonder how much of that RAM is working RAM. How much of it is OS?"
You can assume that almost all of it is working RAM, seeing as how the 3DS probably works like the DS, completely separating the home screens from gameplay.

Also 128mb is enough to emulate N64, which is pretty sweet.

I have DDR5 RAM in my PC. It puts this shit to shame. This is weak, Nintendo. How about 128 of DDR3, at least? Whatever, the system is still impressive.

You know what? Fuck EVERYONE'S comments on how more ram = better machine. I play all my game on my old nokia, and it only has 12mb of MOOSE.


But for real, who really cares? Yeah the iPhone has more RAM than the 3DS. But trying to explain that to a fanboy is like trying to explain the principles of good writing to a hardcore twilight fan.


It won't get through.

Oh god, did someone just say SF4 for iPhone was good? Biggest waste of money I've ever made on a Street Fighter game.

And I had both SF1 and SF2 on the C64.

even if the iphone or any other smartphone was the most powerful handheld , point stands it has shit controls for most genres and gameplay mechanics.

also better specs mean better games right .....

that's good and all.

let's just hope many developers take advantage this(though more is good obviously)

To everyone coming in here bitching about specs: leave. u obviously don't understand or care to understand what's going on in this article.

" The Top 3 games in the App Store currently are Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and a suspiciously named "Tiny Wings" with an annoyed bird on the image. "

The top three 360 games are Halo 3, CoD MW 2, and Gears of War. Such variety!