Nintendo's 3DS Specs Too Low for Epic's Unreal Engine

[Greg Tito]

Nintendo's 3DS Specs Too Low for Epic's Unreal Engine

Mark Rein from Epic says that the technical capabilities of Nintendo's 3DS handheld cannot handle the Unreal Engine.

Epic Games is trying to break into the handheld market but it is largely ignoring Nintendo's buzz-worthy device. Mark Rein, VP at Epic, said in an interview that he hasn't seen a 3DS yet but, based on the information that he's read, the company's Unreal engine wouldn't be able to run on Nintendo's 3DS.

"It's below our [minimum specifications], from what we can tell. We don't have a 3DS, so there's no way for us to verify that," Rein said. "Everything we've been led to believe is that it's below our min-spec. You couldn't do a game that looks like [Epic Citadel] on it, for example."

more than a million downloads [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103181-Update-Incredible-Looking-RPG-Coming-to-iPhone-et-al-from-Epic] in just under two weeks.

It seems that Epic is betting on Apple for its handheld strategy and that's partly because Nintendo hasn't approached Epic to try to get its software to run on the 3DS. "We really don't know enough about it to make a formal comment, but I think if they considered that our engine would be good on it, they would have probably talked to us about it," Rein said.

Of course, this could all change if and when Epic gets its hand on a demo 3DS device, but the fact that Ninetendo didn't reach out to them seems to point to no games using Unreal on the new handheld.

Source: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/06/rein-3ds-likely-below-minimum-specifications-for-unreal-engine/]

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[ChromeAlchemist]

That's a shame. I'm sure they could modify it, but they wouldn't bother unless it was going to give them enough return on it. I don't think it's a huge loss to be frank, but let's see what happens.

I guess they'll save it for the PSP2 then.

 

[Lost In The Void]

That slightly confuses me, shouldn't a console be able to outpreform a glorified MP3 player

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Does that mean an iPhone is more powerful than a 3DS? Has the 3DS' final specs been revealed yet?

That tech demo only worked on the 3GS and iPhone 4 so I didn't get a chance to play it, but I hear it's amazing.

 

[Buizel91]

That's a shame. I'm sure they could modify it, but they wouldn't bother unless it was going to give them enough return on it. I don't think it's a huge loss to be frank, but let's see what happens.

I guess they'll save it for the PSP2 then.

Unreal Engine Light? hehe

And this is a shame, many games use the Unreal Engine...

Wonder how they will work around it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

You want Unreal? YOU CAN'T HANDLE UNREAL!

Seriously, the Unreal Engine is the mutts nuts.

 

[Dioxide20]

That slightly confuses me, shouldn't a console be able to outpreform a glorified MP3 player

Same...

An iPod can play it, but a dedicated, nextgen gaming platform cannot?

 

[Covarr]

Alas, no Arkham Asylum on the 3DS. Damn.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Guy32]

I doubt it.

 

[mjc0961]

Maybe we couldn't do a game that looks like Epic Citadel on the 3DS, but I bet you can do games that are a lot more fun to play. Mark Rein, please take this opportunity to point your nearest web browser to "www.yaybuttons.com". Thank you.

Also, at least he admits that he could be wrong since he doesn't actually have a 3DS in his hands yet.

 

[Mr. Fister]

Bullcrap. Epic got the damn thing to run on the Iphone 3G, and we know the 3DS has more horsepower than that. Mark Rein is notorious for his anti-Nintendo comments, so I wouldn't put too much weight on his words.

 

[Danzaivar]

The only way I could imagine the iDevices being higher spec is if you assume the 3DS can ONLY do 3D. I read somewhere that working in 3D mode effectively halves the power of the machine; if that's true then surely theirs a way to disable it for high-spec games?

Otherwise it's just baffling that a GAMES CONSOLE coming out in 5 months time can't match a PHONE that's been out for aaaaages.

 

[mjc0961]

Bullcrap. Epic got the damn thing to run on the Iphone 3G, and we know the 3DS has more horsepower than that. Mark Rein is notorious for his anti-Nintendo comments, so I wouldn't put too much weight on his words.

Oh. In that case, instead of going to your nearest web browser, please locate the nearest fire and jump in, Mark. Thank you.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Does that mean an iPhone is more powerful than a 3DS? Has the 3DS' final specs been revealed yet?

That tech demo only worked on the 3GS and iPhone 4 so I didn't get a chance to play it, but I hear it's amazing.

Well the iPhone has to run an OS in the background, so it was bound to be powerful. We've seen some powerful looking stuff from the 3DS though so we'll have to wait and see.

You want Unreal? YOU CAN'T HANDLE UNREAL!

Seriously, the Unreal Engine is the mutts nuts.

It gets whored out on every other title on the market so I guess it is.

Heh, mutts nuts...

 

[-|-]

who plays things like fps's on a hand held anyway? ffs - handhelds is for puzzlers, 2d platformers, strategy games and RPG's. Things like proffessor layton... jeez.

Personally, I cgaff if apple come out with an iphone that has better graphics than a PS3, it's control system will suck ass.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

Oh no, my handheld gaming system isn't godly enough? What ever shall I do /monotone voice

Just make the games fun, that's all that matters to me =D

 

[Delusibeta]

I also call bullshit. Frankly, the 3DS should be more than capable of topping an iPhone, it's just that Epic don't give a damn.

 

[Zeromaeus]

Aw, is Epic sad that the big N passed them by?

 

[aaaaaDisregard]

That slightly confuses me, shouldn't a console be able to outpreform a glorified MP3 player

Same...

An iPod can play it, but a dedicated, nextgen gaming platform cannot?

You seem so in love with a term "next-gen" without actually understanding what it means. Next generation doesn't really have to be more powerful than competitors - it just has to be more powerful than previous iteration (like Nintendo DS).
The thing is DS's hardware was horribly outdated to begin with, and now 3DS contains something not much faster than PSP. It's probably on par with iPhone 3GS, but with no programmable shading support and 4 times less RAM. This means less memory for textures and geometry and also simple lighting (in comparison with what can be achieved on iPhone 3GS).

Of course, a gaming console like 3DS has an advantage of fixed hardware (not like iPhone/iPod with a crapload of generations and different specs) and very little overhead due to simple OS and thin APIs, so it'll have games like nothing on the iPhone 3GS in terms of visuals. And of course these games will be much more advanced, "big" and proper due to big budgets (and higher price of "real" games, unlike iPhone's cheap apps) and other factors.
But still, hardware is weak in comparison with iPhone 4, and nothing can be done about it - there's simply no point in porting Unreal Engine 3 to 3DS, because there won't be direct game ports from home consoles there (I damned hope so).

 

[V8 Ninja]

I'll wait two years after launch. Someone will eventually get the Unreal Engine to run on it, whether that be Epic themselves or some middle-of-nowhere mod team.