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Nintendo Project Iris
Nintendo DS Prototype NTR-CPU-X4
Sooner or later, while studying the history of Nintendo, you will come across a project codenamed "Iris". By this point, you have probably already heard the codenames of other projects: "Project Atlantis", "Project Dolphin", "Project Revolution", "Project Nitro", and others. But Project Iris is the least known of all. Although in our opinion, it should be the most famous, because it was during the work on Project Iris that the dual-screen console design was born, which became the mainstay of Nintendo for a long time.
Project Iris
For a long time, all information about Project Iris was limited to what Satoru Iwata mentioned in his interview about WarioWare D.I.Y., published on the website of Nintendo's UK division. Satoru Iwata revealed that Project Iris was the codename for the next-generation console that was supposed to replace the Game Boy Advance. However, Project Iris was never realized and instead became the foundation for the Nintendo DS.
But all secrets eventually come to light, and so did Iris.
In 2017, issue 163 of RetroGamer magazine was released, featuring an interview with Satoru Okada, the former CEO of Nintendo Research & Engineering, the very division of Nintendo that worked on consoles like the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, and Nintendo DS.
Satoru Okada
Satoru Okada talked about the development of many consoles, but more importantly, shed light on Project Iris.
You can download issue 163 of the magazine and read it.
What is Project IRIS?
Project IRIS began immediately after the completion of the Game Boy Advance SP, around early 2003.
The name Iris comes from the Hanafuda card deck.
Hanafuda is a type of Japanese playing card deck. Literally, it means "flower cards." The deck consists of 48 cards and has 12 suits of 4 cards each. Each suit corresponds to one month of the year and a specific plant.
Iris was supposed to be the fifth generation of Nintendo consoles. And the fifth month of the year in Hanafuda cards corresponds to the Iris flower.
These are the four May cards:
This is how Project Iris got its name.
Until recently, one could only guess what the system parameters of this console were, but in 2020, there was a massive data leak from Nintendo. This leak included the SDK (software development kit) for Iris, from which we can gather the main technical information:
First, the number of buttons in Iris did not change:
Second, Iris was planned to have full 3D (not pseudo-3D like in the Game Boy Advance). There was even a demo with two rotating cubes:
And third, it was supposed to have two processors: ARM7 and ARM9.
Prototype
On June 23, 2021, a user under the nickname @ConsoleMystery posted a video of the Iris developer prototype online!
We invite you to check out the photos of Project Iris and watch the unboxing video.
Console Development
According to Satoru Okada, the development of Project Iris was progressing very successfully, but an event occurred that changed the project: Satoru Iwata approached Okada and informed him of a call from Yamauchi, saying that the new console should have two screens like the Game & Watch.
Now we know this was a monumental step that led to the creation of the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, but at the time, both Satorus hated the idea, but they couldn't refuse it.
From this point on, Project Iris gradually transitioned into Project Nitro, which eventually led to the creation of the Nintendo DS.
This is where we could end this article, but we have a surprise for you.
Project Iris Patent
It's hard to say when Project Iris finally turned into Project Nitro. But this patent was filed precisely when active work on the project was underway (early 2004). Notice the number of buttons:
Thus, Project Iris absorbed all the best from the Game Boy Advance and set the course for Nintendo's console development for many years to come.
