3. 3D Videos via SpotPass
Now I'd like to ask some questions to Imai-san. The video download service you are working on won't be available when Nintendo eShop opens, but this service will become possible via software distributed through the shop in the near future, so I'd like to ask you about it here today. The world has never seen anything like this service. How did you begin thinking about this?
This service allows your Nintendo 3DS system to use the SpotPass4 feature to download 3D videos, so users can view new 3D videos each day. Until now, people have only been able to see 3D images in movies. That experience will now become much closer to them. And what's more, if SpotPass is activated, the videos come in automatically. So first of all, I wanted users to feel that increased accessibility. They don't have to wear any special glasses to use it in the first place, and I want to make it so that people can use it without feeling any obstacles at all! 4SpotPass: A feature in the Nintendo 3DS system that when activated receives various information and content just by being near a wireless LAN access point.
They come in before you know it, so you open your Nintendo 3DS system, and even if you're somewhere unconnected to the Internet, you can watch new 3D videos every day. Editor’s note: the daily availability of new 3D video content may vary per country.
Right. If you have a wireless environment at home and put your Nintendo 3DS system in Sleep Mode, it will download content overnight. And if you pass through Nintendo 3DS access points such as NTTBP's Wi-Fine areas while commuting to work or school, content will download before you know it. You can watch it on the train or while having lunch on the go. Editor's note: NTTBP's Wi-Fine service is only available in Japan.
The videos swap in and out on their own, so each encounter with the videos is unique.
That's right. You can't save the videos. They come in each day, so the next day there are different videos. It's something you can look forward to and enjoy every day.
What was your reason for designing it like that?
It was partially because of video rights issues, but if the videos just kept piling up, the users would have to actively choose the videos they watch. I thought having them simply check out a short video and then look forward to the next day was more appropriate for this service.
Most network services out there involve active choice. That's comfortable for people who are good at choosing from among limitless possibilities, but those who aren't sure what they want may never find something of value to them.
Right. We can provide stereoscopic videos for people like that, too, so they can watch them without any burden whatsoever.
What was it like when you first tried a working version?
The staff says that it's mysterious how what you look at one day has changed the next. Every day when the videos change, I am able to watch with a refreshed feeling.
With video services to date, you basically had to access the Internet to watch something. But with the SpotPass feature, the videos download automatically - as if to say, "Here, take these today!" - and you can view them even somewhere without access to the Internet. It's a rare approach among Internet services.
Yeah. I think delivering recommended 3D videos to Nintendo 3DS users before they know it is really amazing. I hope all kinds of people will check them out.
What kind of videos have impressed you so far?
Among the sample videos I've seen, the sports ones were most pleasing. Especially when there's something like a sports competition, I think it would be great each day to see a digest of highlights. And when it comes to the daily news, stereoscopic images would lend it an increased sense of reality, so you would feel closer to events occurring far away. I want to see videos like that.
Until now, Nintendo 3DS users have mostly only seen their notification LED show green when they passed by someone with the StreetPass feature activated, but from now on, I hope they will see it shine blue as content comes in via the SpotPass feature. By the way, something that doesn't seem to be well known is that when it shines orange, that means a friend has come online. I don't think many people have seen blue or orange yet, but I hope they will enjoy that soon!