DS Future speculation
I thought it might be fun to save some of my speculation on what's next, to look back and compare to the reality in the future; or even as the speculation changes over the years. Â I've certainly done such things in the past, but as they're not saved on the wiki they're either lost to time or horribly buried in old directories. Â For what it's worth, I think my favorite speculated screen resolution for a post-DS machine was something like 384x240 or 384x256. Â Did not see the 3D or mismatched screen ratios coming.
---
Post-3DS screen resolution speculation, 2012-02-19. Â Ignoring whatever the norms of displays are in ~2017, what if we just take the DS->3DS shift and extrapolate an additional step?
Extrapolating individually:
Bottom screen went from 256x192 to 320x240, a 25% increase in both dimensions. Â Another increase of that size would lead to 400x300.
Top screen went from 256x192 to 400x240x2, a 290% increase. Â Assuming it remains 3D and sees a similar increase, perhaps 768x480x2? Â That would be slightly narrower (1.6:1). Â Or perhaps they wouldn't go with a screen that's twice as dense horizontally as vertically, in which case maybe something like 576x640x2, which would filter aside be an 1152x640 screen, which would be even wider (1.8:1).
Extrapolating together:
From DS to 3DS was a total jump from 98,304 pixels to 268,800 pixels; an increase of about 173%.
For bottom screen, this might mean something like 512x384. Â For top screen, it could mean something like 640x384x2 (1.67:1), or if not going with a vertically doubled pixel layout, maybe 480x576x2 (1.67:1).
Overall the Bottom: 512x384 and Top: 640x384x2 seems like the best extrapolation, I think. Â Maintains 3DS aspect ratio for both top and bottom screen and keeps both screens using the same vertical resolution. Â Just a simple 60% increase in all X and Y values. Â This would be a 156% pixel increase, smaller than that seen from DS to 3DS. Â It would be exactly the increase seen from GBA to DS, though. Â The PPI of these screens (ignoring the 3D element) would be about 213. Â For comparison, DS: 107, 3DS: 133, PSP: 140, iPhone: 163, Vita: 220, iPhone 4: 326.
---