The Nintendo DSi, now with camera, went on sale in Japan on November 1st; next year in the rest of the world.
We were excited when it was announced in September, and thought it could energize the augmented reality games scene. So, here it is, not just with one camera – but two!
Eurogames shares their hands on experience with the newcomer. If you have a fetish for unboxing new products, get your fix with 1Up.
Aaah, but here’s the rub: the cameras boast a mere 0.3 MP each…
Nintendo’s strategy of taking advantage of inexpensive technology and creating new and compelling game experiences has been wildly successful in the past with the DS and the Wii.
Will developers’ ingenuity be able to beat the DSi constraints (cpu power, resolution) and make it play cool AR games?
Still remains to be seen. Until then, take a look at this basic augmented reality software loaded on the DSi:
- change the color of your shirt – virtually – with the touch of a stylus
- face recognition that makes you look happy, angry or sad,
- or if you are more into felines, why not grow cat-ears-and-whiskers?
Filed under: AR Devices | Tagged: AR Demos, AR Games, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi |
Games Alfresco 
Probably the processing power wouldnt deal with real time images from a higher rest camera, thats my guess.
Still an odd choice.
You would have thought a higher-res camera that could be flipped around would be the better option.
(allthough, the way manufactoring works, its probably cheaper to have two without the flipping bit….)
Still, looking at the videos it seems able to do basic AR.
I mean, its clearly tracking faces which is a form of markerless tracking even if it is jerky. So I guess some basic AR games probably will show up.
The shirt changing feature is basicaly what I suggested for google Andriod, so I’m pleased about that :p
[…] my post about the new Nintendo DSi, I highlight the innovation and track record that has characterized Nintendo over the years. They […]
Nintendo have come a long way with their new DSi release really . I appreciate their innovations.
The images and the character realsed by Nintendo are wonderful.
The NDSi is the best handheld ever imo, I don’t care what those PSP fanboys say….