Ubisoft: 3DS Can Handle Unreal Engine 2

5:30 PM - March 25, 2011 - By Kevin Parrish - Source : Gamespot UK

Ubisoft is reportedly using Epic's Unreal Engine 2 for Splinter Cell 3DS.

So just how powerful is Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld gaming system? According to Epic Games' Mark Rein, there aren't enough horses under the hood to run the company’s more recent Unreal Engine 3. In fact, the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch 3 and 4, and a number of recent Android smartpohnes can run the engine without a hitch. Nintendo's new 3DS system apparently cannot.

"There's nothing against Nintendo," he said during GDC 2011. "I hate that people somehow think that's the case. If we felt it could run [Unreal Engine] and deliver the kind of experience people license our technology to build, we'd be on [the 3DS]. There's only so much time in the day; our engine requires a certain level of hardware capabilities to make our pipeline, our tools work -- and we work on the ones that do. The second Nintendo releases a piece of hardware that can run our engine well, we'll be on it like water on fish."

However in an interview with Gamepot UK, Ubisoft's Fabrice Cuny claims that Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3DS is running on the Nintendo 3DS via Epic's Unreal Engine 2. "The 3DS is powerful, and we are able to run the Unreal Engine on this console, which is pretty impressive for a handheld machine, and the 3D doesn’t affect the performance (thanks to my amazing programmers)," he told the site. "The architecture is different compared to a Wii or some other platforms that we had to work with here at Ubisoft Montreal."

Fabrice added that the 3DS can be much more comparable to a platform between a DSi and a Wii. "We are able to create games anywhere from a puzzle game to very high-end game such as Splinter Cell 3DS," he said. "The tools on the 3DS were brand new, and with every development phase, we had some tools with bugs and crashes. But with version after version, Nintendo provided us a set of tools and the support to help us debug and optimize the game."

So if the 3DS can't run games using the Unreal Engine 3, but can do so with the previous engine, what does that mean for gamers? Look at it this way: if Epic were to bring the Unreal Tournament franchise to Nintendo's handheld, the device may have the ability to support the original Unreal Tournament, Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004. It wouldn't be able to handle Unreal Tournament 3.

Of course, that's just an example, and doesn't mean any Unreal Tournament title will be ported to the 3DS. It's also currently unknown if the 3DS can handle the Unreal Engine in a first-person perspective (running at an acceptable frame rate). Even more, Epic has also tweaked its Unreal Engine 3 to work on iOS and Android platforms, so it's likely Ubisoft did the same for Unreal Engine 2.

The Nintendo 3DS launches here in the States this Sunday at 12 am EST. Various Best Buy locations will host a launch party starting Saturday at 9pm EST. Check your local store for details.

Comments

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Comments

jsheridan 03/26/2011 12:27 PM

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Good graphics in 3D sounds great. Can't wait to check these out at Best Buy

eddieroolz 03/26/2011 4:58 AM

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Well to be fair, all of the devices listed either cost much more than the 3DS upfront or they require lengthy contracts that will set you back a total of few thousand dollars...

xerroz 03/26/2011 6:37 AM

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eddieroolz :
Well to be fair, all of the devices listed either cost much more than the 3DS upfront or they require lengthy contracts that will set you back a total of few thousand dollars...

and the games are crap which is the major point...and the 3DS wins since the games tend to be better

Anonymous 03/26/2011 8:05 AM

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Don't quote me on this but I recall hearing that the major reason for UE3 not working on the 3DS has to do with programmable shaders. The GPU on the 3DS uses fixed function shaders, which if memory serves, Nintendo chose due to battery concerns regarding more powerful GPUs that use programmable shaders. I believe this is also true for the Wii.

gnookergi 03/26/2011 9:57 AM

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-1

So what? Nintendo has never been about power, and all about innovation. Innovation > power, any day.

Anonymous 03/26/2011 12:00 PM

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lol what a piece. Now I know I will stick with my iPod touch.

shihabyooo 03/26/2011 2:42 PM

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gnookergi :
So what? Nintendo has never been about power, and all about innovation. Innovation > power, any day.

If they want to keep up with the current market, they'll have to change that strategy.

tonewheelmonster 03/26/2011 3:32 PM

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Quote :if they want to keep up with the current market, they'll have to change that strategy.

Really? Isn't that apples big push this time? post pc market, specs don't matter and all that jazz. All you have to do is go back and look at how nintendo always dominates with sales in most every market they enter to realize how wrong you are. Really they are a software company if you think about it and they have an uncanny ability to optimize the software they make to run on their sometimes lower hardware.

gto127 03/26/2011 8:52 PM

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On a screen this small I doubt the difference between UR 2 & 3 engines would make a big difference.

gnookergi 03/26/2011 9:46 PM

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tonewheelmonster :
Really? Isn't that apples big push this time? post pc market, specs don't matter and all that jazz. All you have to do is go back and look at how nintendo always dominates with sales in most every market they enter to realize how wrong you are. Really they are a software company if you think about it and they have an uncanny ability to optimize the software they make to run on their sometimes lower hardware.

I think the Wii sales speak otherwise...

gnookergi 03/26/2011 9:49 PM

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gnookergi :
I think the Wii sales speak otherwise...

Sorry tonewheel, I meant to reply that too Shihabyooo.

Hindesite 03/26/2011 10:31 PM

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Unreal Engine 2, while no where near as impressive as UE3, is quite a versatile graphics engine. With clever artists, developers should be able to make some good looking games, especially when viewed on a screen that small. Chaos Theory was UE2 and that Splinter Cell game looked beautiful.

mayankleoboy1 03/27/2011 5:23 AM

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but can it run......... UE 3.954 ?

dark_lord69 03/27/2011 6:05 AM

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"In fact, the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch 3 and 4, and a number of recent Android smartpohnes can run the engine without a hitch. Nintendo's new 3DS system apparently cannot."
And once again Nintendo releases crappy hardware.

iam2thecrowe 03/27/2011 8:10 AM

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nintendo dont just have kiddie games now???

hajila 03/27/2011 4:05 PM

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Pokemon snap isn't a kiddie game! ... is it?

jestern 03/27/2011 9:47 PM

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I am beyond tired of portable handhelds being compared to the smart phone gaming market segment. What in the h*ll is wrong with these smart phone owners?!? I really really think there's some segment of the brain's physiology damaged or inpaired by the radio waves from the device that the scientists and doctors aren't aware of which is seriously crippling their brain functions.

Do they think everyone can afford to or wants to plop down $400+ dollars for a device (Or pay $200 and a $50+ recurring monthly fee under contract, to play shallow and repetitive games without physical controls and lackluster developer support?!

Anyone else miss the 80's and 90's when games were targeted towards and made by the gaming geeks who actually loved playing them and not the mass of casual-playing air-heads who think everyone should listen to whatever dross falls from their mouths?

Something needs to be done about the cult of Apple is all I'm saying. I wouldn't be surprised if in 20-30 years it becomes a semi-official religion along the lines of Scientology. All they need is for Steve Jobs' body to spontaneously disappear from the morgue and then all hell is going to break lose.

If you're a smart phone owner/Apple 'enthusiast' and you think it's the greatest invention since the wheel, then I'm sorry, you have a problem as not everyone believes or shares your 'enthusiam'.

mchuf 03/28/2011 2:40 PM

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UE2 is getting pretty old. Can't the PSP already do this? Some of the games available on it are graphically impressive.

So yah, I would hope that the 3DS could handle UE2. And like others have said, there are already mobile devices that can handle UE3. So, the fact that the 3DS can handel the UE2 engine isn't all that earth shattering.

techhedz 03/28/2011 3:53 PM

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3DS cost $101 USD to manufacture. They are turning a huge profit compared to most systems who make most their money on games. That's the reason the reason the hardware sucks so much. They are out there to make money and yes they are more innovative in their game design so far but apple may bite them in their ass eventually.

shihabyooo 03/28/2011 4:41 PM

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gnookergi :
I think the Wii sales speak otherwise...

The Wii has gotten old. And you are speaking about sales from ages ago (considering how fast time goes on the gaming market). But now, with a consumer market that want's everything "Next Gen". This Wii of yours won't stand a chance. Nintendo realized that. That's why they came up with this glasses-free 3D. Not a half bad idea. But with their strategy of keeping their hardware as much low-end as possible, it won't work. Even for the best equipped hardcore gaming PCs out there 3D gaming isn't good enough. And now, with Sony and MS entering the area where Nintendo dominated in the past with the PS move and the Kinect. I think Nintendo's going to have a hard time in the near future.

All I'm saying is that unless Nintendo wants to keep selling only Pokemon and Mario. They'll have to consider upping their game a little.

Sorry for any punctuation or grammatical mistakes. English isn't my language.