3DS Merely Latest of Nintendo's Attempts at 3D in Video Games

[Fillfall]

In yet another point mentioned in the latest Iwata Asks column about the 3DS console, it seems another long rumoured thing has been shown to be true, that the 3DS is only Nintendo's latest attempt at experimenting with 3D, and that the idea was planned for various consoles long before the current one was even thought of.

Indeed, after a brief discussion of the failed Virtual Boy (everyone always brings this up nowadays, don't they?), they talk about how Miyamoto had always gone on about how Nintendo should make a system utilising the traditional (aka with glasses, Playstation style) of 3D. There's a bit of discussion about what could have happened if the Nintendo 64 and Virtual Boy had shared technology (would this have made the latter better or the former worse?), and how the Virtual Boy only failed because it tried to be a new system in it's own right.

But the interesting part was later, where they talked about how the Game Boy Advance SP could have been a 3D utilising system, and that they planned to put the technology for such into the console. It apparently failed because of the low resolution, but it's interesting to know none the less that the handheld could have done the job of the 3DS about ten years earlier.

The Gamecube was apparently also a system that could be made capable with 3D imagery, with a certain accessory:

Iwata: To go back a little further, the Nintendo GameCube12 system actually had 3D-compatible circuitry built in.
Iwata: It had the potential for such functions.

Itoi: Nintendo GameCube did? And all the Nintendo GameCubes systems around the world?

Iwata: Yeah. If you fit it with a certain accessory, it could display 3D images.

Is this a possible future project for people hacking the Gamecube, to display 3D somehow? Still, it should also be found interesting that they planned to have Luigi's Mansion in 3D, and that the game could have been scarier by utilising this functionality.

Unfortunately, the idea was scrapped because of cost (and maybe because the only thing that could have hurt Nintendo worse than the Gamecube could be a 3D capable one costing twice as much?). There's also mention of a Famicom (read, NES era) game utilising 3D. That's interesting I guess (the game mentioned is Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally)

And this isn't wrote by me either.
So do you think the older gaming consoles could have 3d with or without glasses? Or do you think it's impossible?

 

[[Nook]]

lolvirtualboy

 

[Psychonaut]

i don't think it would have been as refined as it's being presented in the 3ds, or else it would have already been here.

i think cheap 3d would be a major turn off. those red and blue glasses would have killed a large audience, imo. think about watching all those zany commercials you see on youtube, except imagine some old school 3d glasses on the face of whoevers in awe at the 8 bit grpahics. and probably mario himself jumping out of the screen. and bowser flaming the kid, turning him all black and charred.

i think 3d's always been in the back of people's heads, it's just been slightly out of reach. gamecube/wii probably had a good chance of being the first system, but it really wasn't the time to be springing shaky functionality on people when the system itself wasn't doing so hot.

however, you could argue that having that bleeding-edge functionality might have helped the gamecube/wii launch, but if nintendo didn't release it/follow up, there was obviously a problem somewhere down the line.

glad it's here now, at least.