In 2015 the happy news was confirmed that support for the Unity middleware development platform was coming to New 3DS; that was pleasing news in consideration of the large number of Unity-developed titles on the Wii U eShop. It's a very common tool for smaller developers, in particular, so supporting it - and offering free licenses, as Nintendo does on Wii U - is a sure-fire way to attract releases that would otherwise skip the hardware.
We heard from developers last Autumn / Fall that the New 3DS support was making progress, and now Unity has formally launched the tools to all developers. In a detailed blog post outlining core details there's information on version numbers implemented, improvements still to come and more.
For one thing, it highlights that Wind-up Knight 2 has already shown what Unity can do on New 3DS in Japan. It's also explained that Unity can technically be used on the older models, but its limited capabilities mean that acceptable performance is difficult to achieve; it seems likely - also based on what we've heard - that most Unity titles will be New 3DS-only.
The first question people usually ask is "do you support the original 3DS too?" To which the answer is a qualified "yes". We can generate ROM images which are compatible with the original 3DS, and there are certainly some types of game which will run perfectly well on it, but for the majority of games we strongly recommend targeting the New Nintendo 3DS for maximum gorgeousness.
Below is an excerpt explaining the current progress of the Unity for New 3DS tools and what they can do.
So far, we've been in development with a 3DS-specific version of the Unity editor, but now we've switched our focus towards upgrading to the latest version, with a view to shipping as a plug-in extension to the regular editor. We have a 5.3 based version running internally, and we're working hard to get it merged into our mainline code-base.
It should be mentioned that some features are not yet implemented in this first public release, notably UNet and Shadow Maps (although Light-Maps are supported). We're prioritising new features according to customer demand, but right now our main goal is to get into the regular editor.
In common with other mobile platforms, there are some limitations as to what can be achieved with the hardware. For instance, Unity's Standard Shader requires desktop-class graphics hardware so it's not something we can support on 3DS. However, as with other platforms, if you try to use a shader which is unsupported then Unity will fall-back to a less complex shader that gives the best possible results.
Developers that want to work on New 3DS games using Unity can download the relevant tools through the Nintendo Developer Portal.
Unity has already been working with "select developers" on bringing games to the New 3DS, so it shouldn't be long before some early arrivals land. For other developers the porting process is only just beginning, but it'll be interesting to see what Unity support will bring to the portable's eShop.
[source blogs.unity3d.com]
Comments 39
I hope we get some games like on the Wii u on the new 3ds. There are some indie titles that looks great on the Wii u would also be nice for those who don't own a Wii u. Plus if UNITY help with ports/ remake's I'd like old games from GCN or N64 on new 3ds as it has more power and extra buttons.
That's a interesting news O.O
Too bad my actual Unity project is still in pre-pre-pre Alpha phase, I doubt I'll even get something ready before the end of the life cycle of the New 3DS if I don't speed up the development XD;
Great stuff. Lets have some more reasons to explain why I bought a New 3DS please.
i've been working in unity, but by the time I can get a decent product worth producing on real consoles or handhelds, the NX Will definatrly be out. I hope it'll support unity as well.
Nice, a new wave of small indie games should be coming in then.
I'm not buying a New 3DS - the NX is going to come out soon and make all of those New 3DS purchases obsolete.
I'm pretty sure whatever form the NX will take, it'll fully support Unity from the outset.
I'm thinking this move is as much about building Unity knowledge among Nintendo's established army of handheld devs, as to prepare them for what's to come, as it is a way of keeping the 3DS alive a few more years in a world where every other mobile device is full of Unity games.
I just released my first game in Unity for OUYA! It's exciting to think that my next project might be available on my two favorite platforms, Wii U and 3DS.
It probably won't matter much seeing as how the 3DS is coming to its end....you know, the NX reveal?
But its good to get more support though. Kinda like the DS actually.
I still don't see many games coming out using this unless there a quick turn around. If this had been available when the new 3ds launched then maybe we would see more games but why would a developer make one now unless it's an indie one.
This is awesome... does there exist a list of Unity games that are on Wii U? Are we likely to get them on 3DS now?
Finally some New 3DS exclusives!
Well, it is complicated to make Unity games compatible with 3DS hardware. I know an indie company which managed -somehow- to create an engine with Unity 4 for 3DS and it was successful. The company is Behaviour Chile and I was amazed because they had to use too many tricks to simulate functions not available because of the lack of hardware capabilities on that console.
If the NX isn't backwards compatible, or not quite the handheld hybrid of talk and rumor, I can see a lot of interesting stuff being done on the N3DS well into the next couple of years.
I wish Unreal Engine 4 runs on 3DS, it is much better than crappy Unity. It's also easier to develop on Unreal than Unity, not to mention much better graphics...
UnitZ ahoy you mean?
So any game made on the Unity engine can be easily ported to New 3DS'? Unleash the 'new' 3DS games.
Not sure whether it's worth buying a 3DS devkit. As others have said, 3DS is near the end of its life cycle and might be better to wait at least till NX details are announced before making a firm decision. If NX is not coming this year for example, then may just be worth it. Otherwise, as a one-man-band indie, probably better to concentrate my limited resources on WiiU, where I already have experience.
Yes, the NX is coming out, but didn't Nintendo say that it would be a third pillar of their business model? Then again...last time they said something like that, the GBA was all but discontinued less than a year after the Nintendo DS came out.
To the people saying buying a new 3ds isn't worth it, I don't completely agree with that. If you already have a 3ds, yes it is questionable on whether to upgrade or not, although the new 3D is AMAZING. If you do not currently own a 3DS, then you should totally still buy one. Yes, the life cycle may be coming to an end, but the catalog of older 3DS games is 1) Enormous 2) Totally Amazing. There are enough games in there to keep you occupied for a year or two.
Can't wait to play The Letter on 3DS.
Wait, I thought unity has been available for New 3DS since its launch?!
@manu0 nope
Meh. I'm not expecting much from this, especially seeing how development of new games for 3DS -both 1st and 3rd party- us winding down fast. It's clear priorities are shifting big time towards NX and alternative platforms (mobile and PS4/X1).
Great! Let 3DS legacy support commence!
New 3ds should have had unity support from day 1.
I'm excited to see what gets ported to the New 3DS in the future. New, N3DS exclusive games using Unity however, I'm not as optimistic about.
@RCMADIAX Good idea to test it with a friend's devkit first. At the moment, concentrating on porting other devs' games to WiiU rather than my own games. Don't want to get too distracted by adding another platform, unless lots of people start asking for it. Plus just plain can't afford it right now
Good news with so much potential. I hope it works but like others have said it might a little too late and should have been like a year ago. Let's see what comes of it. Could be very interesting
They're just putting this out now?
mehhhhh.. TOO LATE.
Yay!
If they let Xbox One run Unity as an app, I'd probably become a developer right then and there, and so would alot of people, probably. That's the only way we should care, anyway, at least from my perspective, because we already know Xbox One can run the whole Unity program.
3DS getting Unity 5 years after its original release won't do much to inspire more third party/indie developer support, but it will at least set up a good foundation for Nintendo's next gen handheld, which will more than likely have Unity (and hopefully Unreal as well) available at launch.
New 3DS only, eh? 2016 - they year of New 3DS exclusives.
Now we can get lazy Unity asset flips on the 3DS too!
...Hooray?
There's a lot of good games that run on Unity.
This is really good news.
A new age for nintendo is on the way, and I can't wait. I just hope they don't end up censoring stuff. Yeah, immature violence is annoying but the eshop doesn't even let kids look at mature titles anymore, as far as I'm concerned the floodgates should be open.
@SmaMan Yeah, they'll need to create a section for Unity stuff to keep them from flooding the market. -_-
This support is coming a year too late. Nintendo should have ensured Unity support immediately after the New 3DS released. Not nearly as many people are going to find it attractive now, with NX news just around the corner. At this point, this will mostly only yield mobile style titles and ports, not fully fledged New 3DS exclusives.
Hopefully, Nintendo has learned their lesson, and will ensure Unity support for NX right out of the gate, if they haven't already.
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