Hasta La Gadget!

If your pocket or purse makes room for a smartphone there’s a good chance you’ve started managing your shopping lists digitally. Nintendo, however, is trying to make an ever-greater case for taking your DS with you instead, and if instant trading of content with strangers isn’t enough incentive, maybe tracking groceries is. Nintendo of America has applied for a patent describing an “in-store wireless shopping network using hand-held devices.” Those devices are, of course, game systems, and the images with the patent app all show a DS being used to track needed quantities of such exciting items as milk, eggs, and salsa. The picture below gives an idea of what the interface might look like, talking to a database of items and their locations to give shoppers an idea of where to find things in the store. Net result? Planning your route becomes a thrilling strategy game — or at least keeps you from getting lost in the supermarket, ensuring you can continue to shop happily.

Continue reading Nintendo patent application describes a grocery list app, takes the DS shopping

Nintendo patent application describes a grocery list app, takes the DS shopping originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Oct 2010 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the wake Nintendo’s stock price-dropping 3DS release delay news, the company late last week announced the names of titles that will be available when the 3D portable console is released in Japan on February 26.

The list, predictably, features a number of familiar franchises, including the latest entries in the Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Nintendogs, Monkey Ball, and Pilotwings lines.

The full list, according to Softpedia, is,

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Nintendogs + Cats, Pilotwings Resort (working title), Pro Baseball Spirits from Konami, Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle, Ridge Racer 3D, Samurai Warriors Chronicle, Steel Diver, Super Monkey Ball (working title), and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition.

That Kid Icarus title that we saw previewed when Nintendo debuted the 3DS at E3 is due out some time in 2011–as is Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. Also slated for next year is Chocobo Racing 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Animal Crossing, Dead or Alive: Dimensions, Paper Mario (working title), Mario Kart (working title), Resident Evil: Revelations, and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.

Looks like a solidly familiar lineup.

Ouch. There are times when the market behaves like a disappointed child on Christmas morning. No one expected Nintendo to fare well from yesterday’s announcement that the company’s much-hyped 3DS portable gaming console would miss the holiday season in Japan, but a drop of 9.34 percent in the Osaka Securities Exchange–ouch.

Nintendo first announced the 3DS back in June at E3 in Los Angeles, touting the player’s ability to simulate 3D gaming without the aid of glasses. The device was met with raves from the tech community after a series of short demos. A week later, Nintendo announced that the portable console would be released in the US in March 2011. Most still expected it to see a holiday release in its native Japan.

During a earnings call yesterday, Nintendo told the press that the device would not see a Japanese release until February, cutting its profit estimates by 55 percent, leaving the company without a blockbuster device during a holiday season that will no doubt be dominated by Sony’s PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect–motion controllers that took center stage at their companies’ respective E3 presentations.

Wondering how wireless “tag mode” will work on Nintendo’s new 3DS? You’re not alone. Fortunately, a trailer for Super Street Fighter IV has been loosed upon the internets giving us a pretty decent overview of what serendipitous game play will be like. To start with, a minigame feature lets you automatically fight your nearby rival’s collectable action figures even while the 3DS is tucked away in your bag. The more you fight the more figures you collect. Then there’s the more obvious wireless battle mode for active multiplayer gameplay with nearby 3DS owners. Should make for some interesting chance encounters on public transportation. You do live in a densely populated area don’t you squirt?

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS ‘tag mode’ demonstrated in Super Street Fighter IV trailer (video)

Nintendo 3DS ‘tag mode’ demonstrated in Super Street Fighter IV trailer (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Enough with the rumored prices and launch dates for the 3DS already, let’s get official. Nintendo just announced a February 26 ship date in Japan for ¥25,000 (about $298). It’ll then land in the US and Europe in March for an undisclosed amount. Launch colors are aqua blue or cosmo black. At a press event in Japan, Nintendo demonstrated the ability to take your picture using the 3DS’ front-facing camera and then automatically converting the image into a Mii — you can edit it too using Mii Studio on the 3DS. You can even merge two photos into a single image if you choose. Images can then be exported as QR codes in wireless “tag mode” or as a file to the bundled 2GB SD card.

Ninty also announced a special edition Super Mario DSi LL (no hardware changes) set to launch for ¥18,000 in Japan on October 28th. It also confirmed that a Wii Remote Plus is in development (it’ll be announced at a date some time in the future) and a partnership with Fuji TV that will trial 3D video streaming to Nintendo’s new handheld. Finally, a virtual console-style store was show serving up downloadable Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the 3DS.

Update: Nintendo just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan with a bit more product detail including new feature overview and software lineup videos found after the break. There you’ll see a built-in pedometer with activity graph and what looks like background multitasking (or at least a state save) letting you launch other apps and then return to a game at the exact same point you left it. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day (even when the 3DS is sleeping); Augmented Reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box; a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, WiFi toggle, and more; a Book app; and note writing / diary software.

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!)

Nintendo 3DS ships in Japan February 26, US and Europe in March, auto-generates Mii from camera (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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