Should Nintendo's Next Handheld Include or Abandon Dual Screen

I like dual screen and dig the 3D, keep them both.

Come at me GAF!
 
Yeah! I love dual screens on a handheld, since you are watching both of them right in front of you (unlike the Wii U xD, not to say I do not like that, but it just doesn't work as well)

For instance, I LOVE what they're doing with DQ XI. I am so buying that!
 
3D should go, dual screens should still be in. Would make great sense if it was possible to untether the second screen and make it a single-screen portable.
 
I like the dual screen setup. For a lot of game, like Super Pokemon Mystery Dungeon really benefit from having a screen dedicated to the map rather than hiding it in the corner like they used to. I also think the touchscreen makes going through menus like a million times more streamlined and convenient.

I do think the touchscreen needs to be utilized better though. Like often the touch controls can be downright clunky and when they aren't optional they will make me put down a game if they don't feel good. Like some of the DS Harvest Moon games would force you to use the touch screen to move your character. It was absolutely unnecessary and for me just feels wrong.

All I can say is that the next system better have dual analogue sticks.
 
I'm ready for them to remove it and try something new.

Also, kill the 3D.
Ironically since using the N3DS I say keep 3D. N3DSXL screen is glorious and with tracking it never breaks.

VR is 3D anyway. I think it will be disadvantageous for any non-VR applications that can do glassless 3D perfectly to not do it.

As for two screens. I mean we almost all use multiple screens anyway. Even if using a TV or handheld we often have a tablet, phone, laptop etc still open and displayed.
 
It's definitely time to move on.

Pros for moving to a single screen:
-Cheaper (in terms of parts - you're buying one screen per system rather than two)
-Cheaper (in terms of hardware needed to drive the screen, less pixels to drive)
-Can buy standard phone screens in bulk at cheap prices
-Is a form factor people are familiar with an expect from consumer electronics
-Developers are used to designing games for single screens, easier to port games or 'gameplay paradigms'
-Does not look like a child's toy
-Removes all confusion with the last 10 years of DS / 3DS products.

Cons:
-Touch-screen games now require you to obscure the screen (this is the biggest one, imo)
-No simple backwards compatibility solution (though the Wii U shows that it can be done on one screen)
-Less child-friendly and scratch proof
-You'd actually have to press pause to check the map (seriously though I don't get this one, it's so minor)
 
If they go dual screen, I hope they return to the screen size parity standard of the DS. I blame focusing on the top screen as the "main screen" on the 3DS for some of the lack of creativity on that system compared to the DS, where the main action could be on either or both screens.
 
I'd hope they won't remove it. Don't want to go back to single screen pokemon.

Wouldn't care if 3D didn't come back.
 
They'll have to include just for DS/3DS BC I think

They don't need two separate screens to make DS/ 3DS backwards compatibility work. This is what the Nintendo 2DS screen looks like:

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It is one large screen that is separated by plastic bevels. This is why the 2DS does not have a clamshell design. They could easily do this for their next handheld and still have backwards compatibility with DS/ 3DS games. Just drop the bevel and make use of the full screen.

Personally I think one higher resolution screen would be much more flexible for developers. The only downside I can see might be the form factor and the possible lack of a 3D effect for 3DS backwards compatibility. But even then, they may be able to solve that through some sort of software solution.
 
I wish they'd drop it, but given how deeply ingrained BC is to the nintendo handheld mentality, I don't see it happening.

Can't port Xenoblade X without dual screens. Even if it was QHD there's not enough visual surface area.

It supports off-tv, not well, but it does. It also doesn't really need a port.
 
The dual screens on either 3DS and the screen on the WiiU gamepad should be removed since they didnt add anything in 99% of the cases.

And more cpu-power to one single screen means better graphics =)
 
I hope they abandon it. I can't tell you how disappointed when the 3DS was first announced.

Well you shouldn't have been. The 3ds has had basically the best lineup of titles in console/handheld gaming over its lifespan, and at the end of the day it's all about the games!
 
It seems like they've slowly phased out the second screen as a necessity as time went on. I can't think of the last game that used it for anything major outside of maps and menu functions.

But NDS/3DS games on the eShop are out of the question if the next handheld doesn't have a second screen, so there's that to consider.
 
3D should go, dual screens should still be in. Would make great sense if it was possible to untether the second screen and make it a single-screen portable.

I'd be happy if the 3D stayed, BUT letting you have the option to either use 3D or use the screen as one with it's full resolution (twice the res of 3D)

If that's even technically possible, that'd be the way to go.
 
It supports off-tv, not well, but it does. It also doesn't really need a port.

Not saying it does but it's a thought that occurs, especially since people have this idea that you can do the same thing on one screen. XCX is a more extreme example of a game that needs surface area to display visual information because it's very busy with systems and subsystems and tiny text.

I think dual screen has very few drawbacks in that it's simply a compact way to present a handheld but still offer maximized surface area. Especially at the point we're getting to, we can't really display more information on 4"-5" devices anyway, only marginally increase IQ for exponentially more pixels.
 
Hope they will keep it, still have a clamshell design but do more with it and to do it possibly in conjunction with the home console.
 
Dual screen setup does seem useful in some cases, but it does seem to be a waste for many games.I haven't played on a vita but nintendo could look at it in order to make a single screen setup work.So either do that or make the second screen actually secondary meaning lower resolution-> less power needed, or even give the player the option to disable it in games where it's not necessary, giving the first one all the power (if one black screen doesn't look weird)
 
I love the 3D effect but that won't remain. The backlash it received of potential damage to kids eyes put an end to that.

I do want one big screen for the next iteration. Perhaps to appease the DS crowd with maps etc, allow for snapscreen on a landscape view. Lowers the playing area but still can have items on screen at all times.

Also maybe akin to the PSGo idea model but have the screen appear from the back of the controls to protect the screen from scratching.
 
If NX is a hybrid, doesn't that imply that they could still do some kind of dual screen work when the system is hooked to a TV?

If they're separate, eh... I really like the dual screen aspect of the DS, but the 3DS hasn't made much creative use for it. It's handy functionality but not outright necessary at this point.
 
I think they will abandon it, otherwise people will think it's a new 3DS despite it having a new name. Start fresh and introduce dual screen in the next 10 years or so. Rinse and repeat
 
Kneejerk reaction is "include" just for backwards compatibility's sake, but I never sell my old consoles so in truth I'd be fine if they went with one screen or some other new screen type.
 
Abandon, unless they get rid of the clamshell design. Something more like PSP Go's slide-out mechanism could work.

The clamshell design will forever be associated with the DS, and Nintendo needs to move away from that perception. Every time someone's talked to me when I'm playing my 3DS in public, they've asked what game I'm playing on my "DS." They still haven't learned or realized that the 3DS is a completely different, newer system. These are casual non-gamers, mind you, who probably bought a DS for their kids 10 years ago. Those are who Nintendo needs to win over.
 
I really hope they keep it, it's great for RPG, but they NEED to improve the resolution of the upper screen (and abandon 3D)
 
They should drop it and have touch support on their main screen like everyone would expect these days. Add something like eye tracking, finger tracking or the like.

If NX is a hybrid, doesn't that imply that they could still do some kind of dual screen work when the system is hooked to a TV?

Well it's not supposed to be this time around. What I expect is hooking the new handheld to the new console will do that, but with a much smaller performance gap than the gba/gamecube combo.
 
If it's the next handheld successor, I wouldn't mind just a 3ds with specs and screen quality you would expect in 2016. Playing through bravely default, the game was designed with 3d in mind and it looks beautiful. I think it still has potential if it had a much higher resolution with much less ghosting. I wouldn't mind tossing the bottom screen for dual analog and a touch pad like a DS4.
 
There is no way they will abandon it. Even if it just used for UI stuff for most games it still makes a ton of difference with those games and would be a huge step back to take awaythe second screen.

Same with 3D.especially after they invested in the new 3DS tech.
 
The only responses for keeping it seem to be "backwards compatibility" or "I like it for maps".

If I'm Nintendo and those are the only reasons to keep it, then it's an easy argument.

The pros for losing the second screen are better use of graphical power, lower cost, better price to consumers, better battery life, and ease of software portability. These are far more important than maps and BC.
 
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