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Nintendo's Next Console Revolution Will Have WiFi
nparasu writes "Nintendo released fresh details about its upcoming games console, codenamed Revolution, at a game developers conference.
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president, confirmed that the new console will be able to run games originally made for the GameCube.
Despite the hardware announcements, most of Mr Iwata's speech, entitled "The Heart of the Gamer", was a call for more imaginative game design.
Game creators cannot rely on better graphics and more powerful games machines to attract new audiences, Mr Iwata said.
He also revealed that Revolution will come with wi-fi connectivity built-in."
is release more than 2 online games.
"Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
Considering how poorly most people secure their WiFi, does this mean that I'll be able to hack together something and play other people's video games without their knowledge? Or, more realistically, does this mean that I'll be able to join multi-player WiFi games without being explicitly asked to join? Will gamers start driving around looking for open Nintendo WiFis to satisfy their gaming needs?
Or will Nintendo provide idiot-proof WiFi security (which could then be transplanted to other WiFi solutions...) ?
Who says they have to be mediocre-looking? All signs point to the Revolution using the same graphics chip as the X-Box 2. I always thought that Nintendo games had a knack for playing well, and looking good.
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I'd rather be flamed than ignored.
"Despite the hardware announcements, most of Mr Iwata's speech, entitled "The Heart of the Gamer", was a call for more imaginative game design. Game creators cannot rely on better graphics and more powerful games machines to attract new audiences, Mr Iwata said. He also revealed that Revolution will come with wi-fi connectivity built-in."
I have played almost virtually every single version of the Nintendo since the original unit was introduced in the mid-80's. Many, many fun-filled nights were had on that system (Baseball All-Stars, Super Mario, Zelda, Techmo Football), yet it seems lately that the leadership at Nintendo is just trying to re-hash old titles. Metroid was a great initial title and completely original. That was what made it great.
That rant aside, I just wanted to put in my opinion on the above statement. Developers cannot rely on the latest graphics and more powerful machines? Correct me if I am wrong, but Half-Life 2, EverQuest 2, Doom 3, Far Cry and a few upcoming games (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. etc) rely almost completely on the latest technology. While it might not make for the best games it is a tried and true method to attract new gamers.
Now, Wi-Fi? Serously, why on Earth would a Nintendo home console need Wi-Fi? Sure it sounds really, really cool to add but it also opens up the floodgates to a host of other problems. One of those recent problems was talked about here with Bluetooth and cell phones.
Putting great technology into a console is one thing, but taking advantage of what already exists is another. How can this gentleman sit there and call for a more imaginitive game design and in the same speech announce one of the latest technological advances in home consoles into the next-generation Nintendo system?
Just one man's opinion...
Finally, Nintendo releases a backwards compatable console. This way, even people who were too snooty to get a Gamecube will have a chance to play its greatest hits on the Revolution.
...Now that they've changed their minds, maybe I won't have to dig through old systems (and sacrifice a chicken to the god of dust mites in hopes that they'll still work) whenever I get the urge to play a classic game.
This sets a new precedent for Nintendo. I remember working as a "Nintendo Demonstrator" in high school when the SNES came out, and asking the local rep. why it wouldn't play NES games. "Why would we charge somebody for features they already own?" came the marketing-speak reply.
This was one thing definitely missing from the GC (to play N64 games), as compared to the PS2. This will make it a lot easier to sell people a new console. (And it will be one thing that Microsoft (probably) hasn't got!)
I really don't understand how can this factor be neglected so often. For me, backwards compatibility with the original PSX was the key reason to buy PS2 instead of XBox. I have already had a huge library of PSX games, some of which happen to be among my favorite (Syphon Filter, for example), and - more important - also among my kids favorites (Crash Bandicoot series). Choice of PS2 was a no-brainer for me. If XBox 2 won't have backwards compatibility with XBox (and right now it seems unlikely for it to have, since they chosen entirely different hardware), MS will prove that they are not just evil, they are plain nuts.
and what is up with that freaky controller?
The controller reflects a strong game design philosophy, namely that games should have a single action button that you use most of the time. So there is a big, comfortable button, and the others are arranged around it. And since the other buttons have very different shapes/angles, it is virtually impossible to hit the wrong button by mistake. I'd consider it the best currently available controller.
Because innovation directly implies creating new intellectual property. No, no, my friend. It implies creating new styles of gameplay. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat is innovative because of the gameplay, and the fact that it's Donkey Kong doesn't detract from how innovative (and fun) the game is.