14 DAY TRIAL // Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo video game creator responsible for some of the most important franchises in the company's history, has confirmed that the company is working on a new Mario video game for the upcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld that will use three dimensional graphics to add a new dimension to gameplay and the characters.
The game creators stated, “One of the things we have looked at, you know when you are in a 3D world but on a 2D screen it is difficult sometimes to tell distance, whether an object you are looking at is in the foreground, in the background, is the object above you? Sometimes it's a little bit harder.”
He added, “So it's going to be really exciting for us to make that easier for the player to understand using the Nintendo 3DS technology. And for the first time ever Mario will be on a handheld system with an analog stick for controls. That's new.”
The current shift to three dimensional gaming is equal, in terms of impact, with the move from 2D to 3D that happened when Super Mario 64 was released.
Nintendo is interested in pushing gaming technology ahead, making sure that its devices have a unique selling point that all rivals lack, but the company is also cautious when changing the mechanics for important franchise characters like Mario.
The Nintendo 3DS is currently set for release on February 26, 2011 on the Japanese market, with a price tag which is close to 300 dollars.
North America and Europe will get the device about one month later, before the end of the fiscal year for Nintendo.
At the moment publishers like Take Two, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, THQ and Konami have announced video games for the Nintendo 3DS and as the launch date approaches more titles are set to be announced.