In this morning’s Nintendo Direct Mini, company president Satoru Iwata confirmed—in spoken English—that Flipnote Studio 3D, the newest iteration of the DSiWare animation app Flipnote Studio, will be released in the West on the 3DS eShop this summer.
Flipnote Studio 3D will be much more powerful than its predecessor. Iwata explains the app will include 3D stereoscopic features, more utilities, and strong online support.
You can watch the Nintendo Direct Mini below:
Flipnote Studio 3D will have three layers on the canvas for depth control. It appears in theory that an image on the uppermost layer will be projected closest to the eye, while the lowermost layer will be presented as the most distant. In addition, Flipnote Studio 3D will use 6 colors, as opposed to 2 colors in the original app. With stereoscopy and additional colors at their disposal, users will have more flexibility to convey their animations. Users will also be able to export their works as .GIF and .AVI files.
Those who have a 3DS XL will have a greater advantage with this app, as the larger screen will serve as a more convenient tool for making animations.
Iwata also reveals that Flipnote Studio 3D will have two online features called Flipnote Gallery: Friends and Flipnote Gallery: World. Flipnote Gallery: Friends will let users share animations with others whose Friend Codes are registered on their 3DSes. Flipnote Gallery: World is a community-based service where users can share their works, then rate, comment on, and download them, much like Colors! 3D.
While Friends will be a free service, World will not. World will require a small monthly fee, which will go toward server maintenance. There will be a free 30-day trial for users to experiment with it. Though it is unfortunate to have to pay to use this service, the Flipnote Studio 3D app by itself will be free, and the online components will be optional. Plus, users can simply export files to their SD cards and post them online to avoid paying for extra services outside their Internet bills.
Owners of 3DSes who have a thirst to animate or simply love experimenting with art will soon have an accessible tool to play with and for presenting works of their own. As someone who personally wanted this app to happen, I am incredibly excited to get my hands on Flipnote Studio 3D.
Flipnote Studio 3D will be available worldwide on the Nintendo 3DS eShop in summer 2013.
