Nintendo DS VoIP Phone concept

Nintendo was demonstrating a new proof of concept system at the E3 2005 show. The DSpeak software turned a Nintendo DS console in to a voice over IP communication device using the built in WiFi and microphone.

The demo features a 3D Nintendo character on the upper screen, with a wavelength meter displayed on the lower screen. On my screen was Mario, on the other guy, Wario. Mario moved his mouth to the sound coming through on the other guy’s end, though the model couldn’t differentiate standard voice and surrounding noise…so Mario kept moving his mouth since there was ambient noise in the Nintendo booth. The delay between the two systems was extremely minimal, similar to what you’d get when two people on cellphones are trying to converse with each other. I could see the guy speak to me, and the delay was only a couple of milliseconds due to the compression and data transmission. Audio quality was perfectly fine, as good as a mobile phone.

Nintendo didn’t reveal any plans to actually launch the DSpeak software in the near future, so for now it will remain a proof of concept for all to dream of. At the very least, it worked.

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