http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?action=item&id=5444
I didn't think DS carts would be cheaper than GBA carts...
I didn't think DS carts would be cheaper than GBA carts...
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Nintendo DS memory company revealed?
- Thread starter cvxfreak
- Start date
Nice story. Yeah, Matrix memory is supposed to be about as cheap as disc based memory. You've got the same advantages as disc too (quick turnaround, and the ability to press any number of wafers you need so as to eliminate excess inventory) and of course it's got the advantages of a cart medium (such as no access time, and it's sturdiness)
It truely seems like the best of both worlds. Looks like Nintendo bought em, too (they've been investing in them for quite a while now)
It truely seems like the best of both worlds. Looks like Nintendo bought em, too (they've been investing in them for quite a while now)
Nice to see confirmation of them going to ship this in large quantities, I was starting to get worried about this delaying the DS release. Darn, there were some good threads about this technology on the old board :\ .
I'd love for Matrix/Nintendo to get this to work and use it in revolution also. The benefits of disc media without the disadvantages of that intrinsically 19th century tech.
I'd love for Matrix/Nintendo to get this to work and use it in revolution also. The benefits of disc media without the disadvantages of that intrinsically 19th century tech.
I see planetgamecube speculating on the possibility of this memory being used for internal storage in revolution, but how feasible would it be to use it as its primary medium? How large are the DS carts? How much would multiple gigabytes of this stuff in one cart cost?
$3 is the presumed, by those analysts, price for an 8MB/64Mbit GBA cartridge to the 3rd parties. So while the unit price is quite comparable the amount of storage isn't. I'd like to know if the 250 Yen price for UMD Sony mentioned was for a 1.8GB dual layered unit or for a 900MB single layer. I'd be surprised if many UMD games initially use the full capacity, there are very few dual layer PS2 games.apujanata said:
Nintendo have stated 128MB/1Gigabit in the spec sheets but at E3 said the storage capacity could be more (it was Reggie mind and he was hyperbolic on playing across time-zones during the same spiel). Should be enough to compete with UMD, N64 games were compressed at 4:1 on the cartridge so you're up to 512MB already.gofreak said:
Nintendo would probably be too frightened of the possible piracy possibilities for PGCs idea of a large amount of rewritable storage in Revolution. The DS looks like being the first, mass-produced, implementation of the write-once matrix technology so it may take too long for the technology to mature for revolution. As a read only media though it could work.
Deg said:
I think we all know that, but how much does one need in practice? Video and sound are still the big memory eaters, for general game content I doubt that the DS is going to be at a huge disadvantage. Have people forgotten what could be done with the N64, whose cartridges had a mere fraction of the capacity of CDs?
ravingloon
Member
Deg said:
True. But given the technical specs and the fact Nintendo discourages long-winded interactive movies by wanna-be film-makers, that's not really an issue.
Myoclonic Jerk
Member
niceee ..
aperfectt00l
Member
fuck just info i want the DS itself...Jacobi said:
Crazymoogle
Member
jarrod said:
Probably $5 for 16MB. That number doesn't include S-RAM or EEPROM though, which can easily add another 1-2 bucks depending on size and speed.
The cost also doesn't include licensing fees.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
You realise that the voices were actually incredible considering the compression ratio, and that it was the best looking version bar none of RE2? The FMV was blurry (and not even that bad, I've compared), oh teh nos. The actual gameplay-graphics were phenomenal. The backgrounds (as long as you had the RAM pak) were actually higher res than the PSX counterparts.
So don't even bring Angel's Miracle into the conversation.
So don't even bring Angel's Miracle into the conversation.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Oh yes the N64 was much more powerful than the PSX, which is why everything looked so much better. The models, remember? The game also runs slightly faster than its PSX counterpart. The RAM pack was merely for the decompression program that was running constantly, so there would be no loadtimes with the unpacking of the JPG files into the N64 RAM.
And yes, the voices ARE incredible, I forget exactly what the number is, but I do remember, that at that ratio the voices should be static. No more, no less.
I've played every version of RE2, and sadly enough, the "tinny" "blurry FMV" edition on the N64 is simply the best.
The fact it was made on a cartridge over twenty times smaller than the original CDs, just makes it that much more amazing.
Best compression job ever? I think so.
And yes, the voices ARE incredible, I forget exactly what the number is, but I do remember, that at that ratio the voices should be static. No more, no less.
I've played every version of RE2, and sadly enough, the "tinny" "blurry FMV" edition on the N64 is simply the best.
The fact it was made on a cartridge over twenty times smaller than the original CDs, just makes it that much more amazing.
Best compression job ever? I think so.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Oh it's understandable, but the quality isn't that much worse. Which is why I'm questioning you in the first place. 
But hey, your life. Just don't bring in RE2 for a "bad example" for what can be done in terms of compression. I'm sure if it was done today, there'd be even less to complain about.
But hey, your life. Just don't bring in RE2 for a "bad example" for what can be done in terms of compression. I'm sure if it was done today, there'd be even less to complain about.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
I disagree CVX. JPG backgrounds, faster framerate (DC was slow slow slow) and the Analog option make me pick RE2 64.
Oh, and I haven't played the GC version. I actually forgot about that one. But I've played all of the other ones.
Oh, and I haven't played the GC version. I actually forgot about that one. But I've played all of the other ones.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
jarrod: The ones that want to make quick'n'dirty cell phone port cash-ins did.
Dragona Akehi said:I disagree CVX. JPG backgrounds, faster framerate (DC was slow slow slow) and the Analog option make me pick RE2 64.
That's cool. I like the port a lot, but for me, the Dreamcast's extras like the movie viewer and full screen, uncompressed FMV plus the GC's skippable cut-scenes make those versions a plus for me. I bet we can agree that all three shit all over the PSone game though.
Only one caveat i see thus far: this memory is WORM (write once, read many). i remember reading about this tech a year or so ago, thinking it would be great for use in an upcoming portable, but that's an issue i'd like to see resolved. i'd really like to get away from battery backup, with non-volatile RAM being as prevalent as it is. Using a GBA cart with a Flash RAM chip is a solution, especially if it'd allow you to save GBA games (like the ones you download in PSO) to it, but i doubt that'll happen.
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Skippable cutscenes? Hrm... Perhaps if I find it ultra cheap I'll indulge. Maybe RE3 too, so I can have them all on GC. I'm also a RE whore.
And yes, we can very well agree that they shit on the PSX version.
And yes, we can very well agree that they shit on the PSX version.
I was disappointed in the RE3 port on the GC. The Dreamcast version had higher res backgrounds and extra costumes, and the minigame from the beginning but Capcom opted for porting the PSone game instead which was L-A-M-E. Don't pay more than $20 for RE3 on GC. RE2's fine pickings since it's $30 these days.
D
Deleted member 284
Unconfirmed Member
CVX: give it a minute. I am sure wellbe able to find $15 prices for both games soon.
Crazymoogle
Member
wazoo said:
aoi tsuki has it right.
Current GBA game sizes:
32/64/128/256 mbit = 4/8/16/32 MBYTES
SNES game sizes:
4/8/16/24/32/48/64 mbit = 0.5/1/2/3/4/6/8 MBYTES
N64 game sizes:
32/64/96/128/256/320/512 mbit = 4/8/12/16/32/40/64 MBYTES
Crazymoogle
Member
maharg said:
Past a certain size limit, it's SRAM, actually. EEPROM is great but I don't think it goes past 64kilobit right now.
I imagine the only problem that would possibly happen with EEPROM is the same as flash - at some point the chip is going to fail - although given the size it probably still has battery back up beat.
krypt0nian
Banned
I'm at the point where I'm happy that there are any scraps of info about DS or PSP....
I need November to get here!
I need November to get here!