News Stories

Nintendo sells 400,000 3DS units in first week in U.S.

4.15.2011

 

[by Dean takahashi, venturebeat.com]

Nintendo said today that it sold just shy of 400,000 3DS handheld gaming system units in its first seven days of sales in the U.S.

That’s not bad, but the high sticker price of $249 for the 3DS may have held consumers back. It’s a sign that the new 3DS may not be as big a blockbuster as the original Nintendo DS, particularly in an age of smartphone and tablet competition.

Meanwhile, Nintendo said it sold almost 2.5 million Pokemon games in March. Overall, sales of Nintendo portable hardware and software hit a record in the U.S. for March. Market researcher NPD said the older DS outsold (460,000 units) the 3DS, which can display stereoscopic 3D without the need for glasses. In other words, sales of Nintendo’s older devices also provided a lot of competition for Nintendo’s newest device.

Nintendo said it sold 1.3 million Pokemon White handheld games and 1.1 million Pokemon Black games.

“Both Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo DS family had a strong month, indicating that Nintendo has something for everyone,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of corporate communications.

The Nintendo Wii sold more than 290,000 units in the U.S., compared to 433,000 Xbox 360s sold during the month. Overall, Nintendo U.S. hardware sales amounted to 1.1 million units. Nintendo is planning to launch its Wii Play Motion game on June 13, packaging it with a free Wii Remote Plus controller.

Nintendo says it will offer a free update for the 3DS in the future to enable internet access and access to Nintendo’s eShop, which will let users download software, game trailers, screen shots and other information. On June 19, Nintendo will launch a 3DS version of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, a re-mastered version of one of Nintendo’s biggest console hits. Movies will come to the 3DS this summer via Netflix, for those with an unlimited Netflix membership.

See the original post here: http://venturebeat.com/2011/04/14/nintendo-sells-400000-3ds-units-in-first-week-in-u-s/

ETC 3D Lab has Nintendo 3DS

4.5.2011

[by Philip Lelyveld]

The ETC Consumer 3D Experience Lab has acquired a Nintendo 3DS.  ETC member company employees and their guests are invited to stop by to experience the autostereo screen, learn how to make a 3D dog sit and shake hands, take 3D photos, and play augmented reality games.

The 3DS has been added to our updated Consumer 3D Experience presentation and tour, which covers current 3D trends, technologies, and marketing issues.

 

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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