If you think about it Nintendo must have been working on the 3DS for a pretty long time now, long before 3D came in vogue. It takes at least a couple years to even get a gaming system up to spec, let alone to a place where you want the press to get their mitts all over it on the show floor. So how did Nintendo know that 3D was going to be all the rage? Dumb luck, evidently.
We all know this 3D craze really kicked off with a little movie called Avatar, and Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata isn’t afraid to admit that its release and subsequent success was a stroke of immense luck for Nintendo. “What was great luck for us was that the movie Avatar became a big hit a year after we decided to work on the 3DS,” admitted Iwata.
“The TV manufacturers also decided to make 3D a big part of their newest TVs, just as we were preparing to launch at E3. It was great luck because two years ago, when we made the decision, it was just impossible to predict these things. Looking back, all of our work paid off.
“You have trial and error. But we were able to track the progress and predict when the technology would be mature.”
The 3DS has certainly landed at the peak of the 3D frenzy. The real question is will it stick around long enough to matter. My guess is that the 3DS itself will be the thing that makes 3D a truly permanent feature throughout media.
Nintendo CEO reveals how company toiled for years on 3DS concept [Venture Beat, via CVG]
