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Nintendo Revolution Details Reaffirmed
Nintendo President Iwata has reaffirmed details already released about the upcoming Revolution console. Gamsutra has details from his talk, where Iwata touches on the wireless capability of the Revolution, the designer friendly attitude of the console, and the secretive nature of the console's controllers. From the article: "For the next-generation console, we plan to introduce a friendly user interface so that, for example, a mother who's watching her child playing a game might say, 'Oh, I'd like to try that too.' However, user interfaces are devices that can be easily imitated by other companies, so I can't reveal any details right now." GamesIndustry.biz also has coverage on this topic.
"Sounds like he said absolutely nothing. "
What he said was really clear: The Revolution system won't be a generic controller like the XBOX or PS2 controllers.
He also mentioned built in wi-fi, but I guess it's easy to overlook that when you're needlessly criticizing a press-release.
"Derp de derp."
I remember back when the N64 was still in development, there were stories that Nintendo's testers were all required to keep the controllers in boxes on their desks at all times. To play, they had to reach into the boxes. This was to keep anyone who smuggled a camera into the building from being able to take pictures for the press. Of course, back then I would have read that in Nintendo Power, so take that as you will.
Thats because after Sony copied the SNES controller design to make the original PS1 controller, Nintendo one-upped them by blowing people away with the thumbstick AND a Z-trigger. Suddenly people could play FPSs on their consoles and not get bashed on by their PC playing brethen (at least, not as much). Soon after, Sony releases the 'analog' sticks and after Starfox64 is released with a free packaged rumble pack, the 'dualshock' is created. Fast forward to today and Sony is still basicly using the same controller design they basicly ripped off of Nintendo. Course other game companies aren't innocent of this either. The Dreamcast took the Z-trigger a step farther removing the shoulder buttons in exchange for a second trigger and the X-Box simply added a second thumbstick and the black and white buttons.
What I want to see... nay, hear... is voice recognition. It might not work for any online games, but most of the kid- and family-oriented games, i.e. Mario Party, would rock with voice commands only. Then the adults could get something from Rockstar Games with obscene voice commands. Fun for everyone.