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"Revolution controller revealed"

[URL]http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/09/15/news_6133335.html[/URL]

Ummmm...


Picture of the controller:

[URL]http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/09/15/screens_6133335.html?page=3[/URL]


Analogue stick expansion (phew):

[URL]http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/09/15/screens_6133335.html?page=4[/URL]


More pictures:

[URL]http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/09/15/screenindex_6133335.html[/URL]



Controller game demos:

[URL]http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-15143-2567-x-x-x[/URL]




1st Article for the lazy people:

"Though the Nintendo Revolution was partially unveiled at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, its controller is the final piece of the venerable hardware manufacturer's next-generation puzzle. Speculation about the device has run rampant, because its manufacturer has made a point of keeping it well hidden. Nintendo has chosen only to drop hints that it would be an integral part of the Revolution's unique gameplay experience.


Today, in his keynote address at this year's Tokyo Game Show, Satoru Iwata touched on those themes again, giving further clues about Nintendo's vision for the future. But while Iwata's speech offered a bit more clarity on what Nintendo is aiming to offer gamers with the Revolution, he was vague about exactly how its controller will fit into the company's grand plan.

Thankfully, GameSpot had the chance to gain a better understanding of what Nintendo is going for with the benefit of a visual and tactile aid--a working prototype of the Revolution controller. Yes, we touched it. Yes, we used it. But is it a "revolution"? It just might be.

Our guided tour of the Revolution controller was led by none other than Shigeru Miyamoto, the industry legend whose talent has been one of the driving forces behind Nintendo's success. But, as always, he was his humble self, emphasizing that the day's presentation was about the possibilities of the controller and not his own upcoming projects. With that disclaimer, Miyamoto and the assembled Nintendo Japan reps unveiled the long-awaited controller, a modest-looking device that is low on flash, but big on functionality.

Miyamoto noted that the impetus for the controller design came from Nintendo's desire to do something "different" after hearing user feedback on consoles. The company felt the current generation of machines was coming close to overwhelming players by taking up too much space in their living rooms and creating briar patches of cables that must be navigated. As a result, Nintendo wanted to offer a solution that starts simple but supports expansion and that offers accessible experiences for casual players and more intricate experiences for hardcore gamers.

The form factor on display wasn't the absolute final design for the Revolution controller, and Nintendo reps noted that it is still a work in progress. That said, it was enough to give us an idea of where the company is headed. The controller itself bears no resemblance to the myriad fan-generated renderings purporting to be the real deal. The unit basically looks like a slim, ergonomic television remote that's about as long as your hand.

As can be seen in the images released today, the controller features core elements along with some you wouldn't expect. A power button at the top left of the unit appears to let you power the Revolution console on or off. An old-school digital D pad rests just below the power button. A large GameCube-controller-style A button is prominently placed below the D pad. Its counterpart B button is located on the opposite side of the remote, like the Z button on the Nintendo 64 controller. Directly below the A button is a series of three buttons: select, home, and start. While it's easy to guess what they do, Nintendo reps offered no details on their exact function.

Below the select, home, and start buttons is another set of vertically aligned buttons labeled X and Y. On some of the prototype controllers we looked at, the X button had a small "B" next to it and the Y button had a small "A" next to it, indicating that the controller can be held sideways to approximate a classic NES controller. Directly beneath those buttons is a horizontal row of colored lights that indicate which controller slot the owner is using--1 to 4 are planned at the moment. The plan is for the controllers to include built-in rumble packs and to run off of batteries, à la the Wavebird for the GameCube.

Finally, the base of the controller features a unique plug that lets you make use of a wide variety of peripherals. One such peripheral is an analog stick attachment with two shoulder buttons. Though it gives the combined items an odd, nunchaku-like appearance (which is actually Nintendo's tongue-in-cheek nickname for it), the add-on demonstrates the controller's versatility. While Miyamoto didn't say much else about what other attachments were in the works, he did note that it's theoretically possible to have entirely different configurations plug into the port--which got us thinking about SNES and N64 controller attachments.

One of the most interesting features of the peripheral is tied to its functionality as a "pointing device." A glossy section of the top of the controller houses a transmitter--much like any remote would have--that was used extensively in the demos we saw. The signal from the unit is picked up by sensors you'll place near your television, which will then reflect your actions on the screen. Based on the responsiveness of the demos that we tried, this feature has the potential to turn the entire base controller unit into a new kind of pointing device. It also has great potential applications for sports games, such as laser-pointer-style play calling.

Overall, despite its unorthodox appearance, the Revolution controller has a comfortable feel. The assorted demos on hand also indicated that playing Revolution games will be a more active, physical experience than playing current-generation games. Whether you're using the pointer mechanic to actively control onscreen action or using two hands to take advantage of attachments, the Revolution controller will likely change how games are played.

Will the change the Revolution heralds be successful? It's too early to say for sure. But given Nintendo's well-documented history of breaking new ground in gaming (such as the DS) we're game to see just how this all pans out. The potential for a revolution is there; Nintendo just has to lead the way with software."

Meka Dragon wrote:
> You could be looking at the world's first car, and asking where you
> attach the horses.

Clapclapclapclap.

I'm sure there was resitance to the mouse when it was first introduced [URL]http://sloan.stanford.edu/MouseSite/Archive/patent/Mouse.html[/URL] and even apple's wasn't a hit until Microsoft hijacked the idea.

Now, I'm not saying the revolution controller will be as much as a step forward, but they have the stones to try something a little different and for that reason alone, they deserve huge kudos.

If it works, it works, if it doesn't it doesnt', but no other hardware manufacturer is willing to take the rest, and in the safe gaming industry we have now, that shouldn't be ignored.

Strafio wrote:

> The best pad ever for FPS, that's for sure.


I see the FPS genre returning to Nintendo. Apparently Metroid becomes far more action packed. It'll be difficult to get to grips with but I cannot wait to get used to it.

I'm actually excited... really.

Rumpadodosnitzle wrote:
> Rumpadodosnitzle wrote:
>
> Question:
> Another problem - How do you run and jump at the same time?
>
> Awnser:
> The analouge stick.
>
> Problem:
> Which means there isnt a revolution. At all.

So there isn't much revolution when it comes to running and jumping...

Of course by holding the controller forward you could be running and press the A button to jump.

But that doesn't work... does it?

All they need now is an attachable crosshair on the pad so you can line it up wioth your eye to aim it! :-)

Wow Dringo! I guess you faith wasn't misplaced after all!
That controller is genius.
I guess the Gamecube controller can still be used for Gamecube/traditional games, the new one mimmicks the Nes controller and the N64 with the analogue attachment (d-pad = C-stick, B-button missing but second shoulder button on analogue makes up for it). My only concern is batteries being eaten up.
If it has an inbuilt battery that you can charge by putting it on a slot on the machine (like a rechargable toothbrush) then it'll be perfect.

The best pad ever for FPS, that's for sure.
It even handles like a startrek style phasor! ;-)

Okay I have just seen the video, I can see how with some games it might be useful and great to use but watching all those people using them, they looked so stupid. You'd feel like a right idiot waving and flipping a remote control up and down, I can see how people are really going to start hurting their wrists waving this control around. I would be very suprised if most of you guys looked at the video and saw all those people using it and though "wow those people are so cool I wish I was doing that" especially the 4 girls trying to play together. Well just my opinion and I'm usually wrong anyway :)

I'll admit when I first saw it, I had no idea how the hell Nintendo would utilise it, but with the control stick addition, it makes more sense.

Lookin' good, Ninty!

Well, it's like a different sport on the same field. Football needs a football to kick, frisbee needs a frisbee to throw. The field stays the same.

I think that analogy works.

What I was saying to Snuggly earlier was that if you play 10 FPS's on Xbox, the controls will be the same - you have an identical game, just with different graphics, levels and physics. Esentially they're based on the same principles, limited by what the user can do with the control pad. This seems to be expanding what the hands can do with what's on the screen.

Personally I didn't think the concept was that difficult, but I can see it's going way over a lot of heads here.

You're asking how you're going to play games the way we do now on it. But the idea of it is that we won't want to play games the old way - hence the concept 'Revolution'.

You could be looking at the world's first car, and asking where you attach the horses.

Yes you can plug in a standard controller, and play the old games if you want to, but the idea of the new controller is not that you'll be performing actions only by pressing buttons, with the idea being that you'll be doing something more imersive.

Now I'm not saying I'm going to queue up at midnight ot buy one, Nintendo will live or die with this idea by the games they deliver on it. It will be easy for Nintendo to deliver gimmicks. You could play Super Mario Bros, running through the level and jumping through only the movement of the controller, but that's not enough, we don't just need new ways to play old games, or even the same old ways to play new games, what Nintendo want to deliver is new game ideas, played in new ways. Until we see some software we have no idea if they'll be able to deliver.

But obviously, that isn't all I want.

Sod the Revolution, I can play Tom and Jerry with my Sky remote...for free!!