July 8th, 2011

Clarified: 3D on the Wii U

23 Comments

Just in case you were unclear on the issue, both Reggie Fils-Aime and Satoru Iwata have clarified the role that 3D will play in the Wii U. So, as explained by Reggie:

3D gaming without glasses is a key part of the proposition. There may come a time when 3D without glasses becomes appropriate for console, but we don’t see that in the near future.

In a separate instance Iwata expanded on this, saying that:

If you are going to connect Wii U with a home TV capable of displaying 3-D images, technologically, yes, it is going to be possible, but that’s not the area we are focusing on.

He also notes that “rather than pouring a lot of energy into that kind of area, with the Wii U we’d like to focus more on each Wii U owner being able to have an equal opportunity to enjoy it.”

None of this is too surprising, but 3D is technically possible in the sense that if you hook it up to a 3D-enabled television and a developer has designed a game with 3D in mind, then it’ll work as intended. Just don’t expect any attention from Nintendo.

  • Max

    I guess Nintendo is dealing with 3D on TV’s like it did with HD with the original Wii.

    If 3D becomes commonplace like HD did, then sure, they’ll support it, but in the mean time, it’s better to concentrate on other common areas, like HD (now) and the new controller.

  • WiiUMiiNI

    Not too interested in 3D gaming on the wii u. Meh

  • blaxalb

    Guess a 3D Pikmin or Mario or Zelda or anything 3D from Nintendo is unlikely on the Wii U, at least for a while. Maybe if 3D TVs become more common in the next few years or so. Oh well, I don’t have a 3DTV and probably won’t have one for a while, anyway.

  • Lene

    A bit surprising, as in the past, Nintendo worked a lot for 3D. It seems they changed their mind. But I would be surprised if the U was unable to display in 3D. N will do like they did with the DS, Wii and 3DS, they will offer a lot of tools to developers, and let them choose to use them or not.

  • D2K

    Starfox in 3D. That’s all I want.

  • Szayel

    3ds???

  • Tails the Foxhound

    That’s about what I expected. Even the 360 can do that much though the PS3 could do it first. Isn’t it technically possible to add 3D support to a game after it released though? I think there are PS3 games that have done this.

  • Lene

    To add 3D to a 2D game is impossible (except if you remake or update it, but I think this is a lot of work). For the same reason a black and white movie won’t be in color if you watch it on a color display >.>

  • vito16

    Thats cool, anything 3D I will leave it to my 3ds, and the HD and controller fun stuff I will leave it to U.

  • Omegaplib

    Heh, 3D Tvs sucks, Holographic Tvs are the future!

  • Hoodlum

    Pick up a 3DTV and you’re good to go.

  • blaxalb

    You can’t really compare movies to games in that sense. To add 3D to a 2D movie is definitely impossible without redoing the whole thing, but to add 3D viewing functionality to a 2D game that’s already rendered in 3D probably wouldn’t take much work. Basically all you need is to add a second perspective (in-game camera) next to the first for a different viewing angle, so couldn’t that be added in the form of a patch? As for the color example,nit wouldn’t work for movies because the cameras used to make them never registered any color, but there are gameboy games that have some color to them if played on a gameboy color. It really just depends on the developers putting it into the game.

  • D2K

    As far as I know the Wii is not capable of HD graphics even if completely maxed out. The in contrast the Wii U will have full 3D capabilities, it just won’t be the focus. That’s the way it should be. Nintendo is basically just making 3D another peripheral. It’s there to be used if they or a developer chooses to.

  • SegaNintendofan2006

    So its going to be a 3DS? Uh dont get it really many systems are doing thats. so the Wii U is a 3D HD?

  • Alex Atkin UK

    But it would be considerably better than on PS3/Xbox 360.

    On current consoles they have to fit both eyes into 720p, that is 640×720 per eye which the TV then has to upscale to 1920×1080. However if Wii U is indeed able to handle modern games at 1080p then it can output 960×1080 per eye, which means the TV only has to upscale horizontally which means a MUCH sharper picture as the TV is doing less processing.

    A lot of complaints about 3D gaming right now is due to the above limitations.

  • Alex Atkin UK

    Which is EXACTLY what you can do on the PC with special drivers.

    The Dolphin Gamecube/Wii emulator even has native support now for converting games into stereoscopic 3D, there is a link somewhere on 3dsforum for screenshots taken from it.

  • test

    i would like to see metriod on the wiiu but that has multiplayer and online that will be cool

  • Erik

    Oh I truly wish they will add 3D support for all games on the Wii U shouldn’t be to hard either considering the tech allready exist. If they don’t I will actually consider skipping a Nintendo generation for the first time since Nintendo 8bit I want 3d support which at least the PS3 got. Hate PS3 controllers but damn Nintendo if they don’t give me 3D!

  • Kinvara

    I don’t think anyone finds this surprising. After all aren’t a lot of 3D TV’s made by Sony?

    I’ve had it with 3D glasses. Eventually, glasses-free 3D TVs will hit the market and once they become affordable- I’ll get one and by that time it will be worth it for Nintendo to support 3D gaming.

  • The One Who Wrote This

    Sounds good!!

  • The One Who Wrote This

    Right now, 3d tvs are like experiments to me. I like my regular HD tv instead.

  • The One Who Wrote This

    I don’t have a 3d tv.

  • http://3dsforums.com/nintendo-3ds-games-31/assassins-creed-lost-legacy-%3D-assassins-creed-revelations-15247/index2.html#post356005 Assassin’s Creed: Lost Legacy

    [...] Yeah it's kind of a shame though we're getting an Assassin's Creed on the Wii U which will likely be much than the 3DS one could have been. Much better graphics, 1080p HD, interactive database and maps on the controller, Eagle Vision on the controller. And the Wii U supports 3D so it could have that too and since Brotherhood on PC supports 3D I reckon they'll do it. ‪E3 2011 UBISOFT – Developer roundtable‬‏ – YouTube Clarified: 3D on the Wii U | Nintendo Wii U Blog [...]