Nintendo Working with 3D Long Before 3DS

It turns out the 3DS isn’t Nintendo’s first foray into the realm of 3D gaming. Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata recently discussed details about previous plans with 3D involving the GameCube, Nintendo 64, and even the Virtual Boy. Years before any of these ideas, however, Nintendo had ambitions of 3D gaming for the Famicom Disk System. A title called Grand Prix II 3D Hot Rally was set to feature stereoscopic 3D visuals through the use of goggles.

3D goggles were also brought up when the Virtual Boy was in development. Though that platform failed miserably, Miyamoto says it was erroneously seen as a console rather than a toy, which is what Shiggy believes it really was in hindsight. Nintendo’s efforts didn’t end there. Plans for a special 3D Game Boy Advance SP were also in the works. Like the 3DS, this Game Boy Advance would feature a special screen that doesn’t require glasses or goggles. The last attempt before the 3DS came with the GameCube. The console had 3D compatible tech in it, and a 3D version of Luigi’s Mansion was in the works. That project was never finalized, though.

It’s definitely interesting discovering how far back Nintendo’s attempts at 3D date. It looks like they’re finally going to fulfill their ambitious dreams of creating a working 3D system when the Nintendo 3DS launches in just about one month in Japan and in March here in the states.

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