Earlier today, we reported that Nintendo chief Satoru Iwata told a Japanese newspaper that a motion sensor in the successor to the DS would be “necessary.” That reminded me of something Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto told me in 2004.
https://lastchance.cc/report-new-zelda-out-by-end-of-2010-first-ds-successo-5441242%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
As I wrote in The New York Times back then:
To keep costs down, Mr. Miyamoto said, some features were left out of the DS. Maybe next time, he said, he will be able to include a tilt sensor for gyroscopic control. For now, he is focused on double screens.
Nintendo had experimented with tilt controls previously, including a motion sensor in the cartridge for the Game Boy’s 2000 game Kirby Tilt ‘N Tumble. In 2004 Nintendo would release Wario Ware Twisted, a Game Boy Advance game with a cartridge containing a rotation sensor.
Iwata told the Asahi Shinbun this week that a DS successor would need motion detection: “[It will have] highly detailed graphics, and it will be necessary to have a sensor with the ability to read the movements of people playing.”
Current Sony and Nintendo handhelds do not detect motion. The Apple iPhone does.
Just as some other long-discussed Nintendo projects such as Miis have come to fruition in recent years, now it seems that a motion-controlled Nintendo handheld may be upon us.
Kotaku has requested clarification on plans for a new motion-sensitive handheld and will update you if we find out more.
[PIC: Cropped photo of the DS, as it looked when it debuted at E3 2004 via Wired… The DS was redesigned prior to release]
