Slashdot Mirror
Rumour Control on the Revolution Controller
Gamespot's excellent Rumor Control column this week has some weighty topics to consider. Specifically, they take on the rumor floating around that the revolution in the Revolution's controller will be 'tilt resistance'. From the article: "When Nintendo intimated that the truly revolutionary aspect of its next-generation consoles was in its controller, rumors began to fly fast and furiously. One of the very first was that it would incorporate gyroscopes, which would allow players to control games via physical movement of the controller. Later rumors said the controller would sport everything from a touch screen, which would allow for configurable virtual buttons, to there not being any controller at all--just a visor and floor-mounted motion sensor." Their verdict? We're going to have to wait and see what Iwata has to say at the TGS. Other topics covered this week include Nintencats and Killzone 2.
well it's not like rumor control seldom carries an article on the revolution controller..
you know, just every week
but i'd love to get my hands on nintencats
I think the second that Nintendo mentioned that there was going to be a revolution people went way to far with their imagination; I think that after looking at previous controllers the following are safe bets:
1) The Revolution controler will have an analog stick on the left side of the controller to be used for navigation.
2) The Revolution controler will have two shoulder buttons, both will probably be analog with digital clicks underneith.
3) The Revolution controler will have four face butons, probably in an unconventional configuration; they could possibly be analog with digital clicks underneith.
4) The Revolution Controler will probably not have either a microphone nor speakers in it; it will probably have a headset for online play (which may be used to handle voice control in certain games though)
5) Touch screens, Magnetic thingimagigs, and whatnot are probably too expensive to add to a controller (Nintendo, unlike Microsoft, will probably still try to sell it in the $30 range)
6) The z button is probably history.
The reasoning behind these assumptions is that Nintendo will be providing a controller which is still capable of playing the majority of games and comes at a reasonably low price point.
If you noticed I excluded both the D-Pad and the C-Stick in my list; of all existing features of a controler I think that these two are the most likely to be overhauled. I suspect that a track ball or some other 'mouse replacement' could be used in place of the c-stick because Nintendo believes that it's primary purpose is camera control and a mouse is far superior to a joystick in this aspect.
Giroscopes may still be a feature of the controller, but I suspect that they would not be the main feature.
That'll be the GBA2. Nintendo specifically said they are planning on a new GBA and that the DS wasn't it. I'm hoping for something like what you described... a 3" LCD with standard NTSC resolution and a N64 on a chip inside. Give it some extra RAM (or at least what the N64 had with the expansion pack), a better audio subsystem, and a decent control layout with an analog stick (I'd like to see them use the GC layout personally) along with a built in SNES, GBA, and NES emulator and wireless integration with either the Revolution or just with PCs and an online store to purchase older games for download. I know that the N64 is pretty unimpressive in terms of graphics nowadays, but really it all a portable needs and by now the hardware required for this should be so cheap and well understood that 1) the console would be very low cost, 2) great on battery life, and 3) be cheap to develop for. Aside from all the great "ports" they could do, the Isn't some company making a N64 on a chip for a system-in-the-controller game system in China? Isn't it like $30 with a game, too? SUre you have to add a nice LCD and a battery, but should be doable for $100 or so. It would be awesome to see a NEW system launch for under $100, with all the talk of the 360 and PS3 being $400. They could probably make some cash selling an add-on that let you play old N64 carts, too, in addition to just copying old ROMs onto new, smaller carts and selling them. Talk about a cash-cow.
There has been a lot of blablabla over the Revolution controller. There have also been a TON of fake images floating around of it. Here's a list of a few things that should be considered:
1.) The price of controllers cannot skyrocket, so doodads like the touch screen are incredibly unlikely.
2.) This controller will have to play most of Nintendo's library of games, so it's unlikely that the physical resemblance of this controller will be that different from previous incarnations. (i.e. screw the rumor that it's only a helmet.)
3.) We've gotten hints that the revolutionary aspect is simple and has been done before, but hasn't really been used in games. I expect that the revolution won't be in the technology, but rather they mean that the way games are played will be different. (Much like the N64's analog stick really changed the playing field.)
4.) Nintendo's really turned net friendly this time around. It is likely they want the Rev to have an interface that is net friendly so something like an OSK is possible.
5.) Whatever it is, it's simple enough that Sony or Microsoft could throw it in at the last minute. So Nintendo's staying mum on it.
With these details in mind, here are the rumors I think we should be paying attention to:
- Somebody suggested once that the Rev controller would have an eye kinda like the light gun. Although I have reservations about this, it would be interesting to use your controller like a pointer. This would be fairly cheap to do and it would work. Though I do worry that these controllers would only work on CRT TVs. It wouldn't be a death blow, but this would be the last generation Nintendo would be able to pull this off.
- There has been a LOT of talk about gyros. I've also read a few comments already suggesting that gyros/tilt sensors/etc are a gimmick. To that I say: Bullshit. A couple of years ago I got to work with a gyro sensor. (I think it was from Intersense, but unfortunately I do not recall too clearly.) It was very good at detecting the orientation of the sensor. It would have been very possible to play a game like Quake with this sensor. My only reservation about this rumor is that I was under the impression these sensors were expensive. But, since I do not know that for sure, it still remains (in my mind) within the realm of possibility. I'd say this one's pretty likely. This fits the 'Revolutionary' bit as well as the 'not used much in games' bit.
- Gyro inhibitor: This is a fairly new rumor, and sadly I haven't kept up on it. I do remember a supposed 'leaked source' that claimed this device would cause the controlller to provide resistance if you tried to move it. I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it seems to fit Nintendo's fancy. Afterall, it's like a fancier version of the Rumble Pak. On the other hand, can they really fit something like this into a controller, power it, and make it useful? If anybody has any info on this sort of technology, I'd be really intrigued to hear it. If it works,though, it'd be a neat addition to the gyro.
- Touch interface. Note, I did not say touch SCREEN interface. Rather, like those glide point pads used commonly on laptops. There have been rumors that the handles on the controller are touch sensitive. You can squeeze or rub them somehow to interact with the game. I have to admit, I have trouble picturing this. On the other hand, imagine a small one of these things taking the place of the smaller analog stick on the GameCube controller. That would be a simple mouse-like interface that would make the OSK idea work and it could potentially even control the camera. It fits with the 'been done before, but not really for games' bit, but I would scratch my head if Nintendo called that revolutionary. But if they do manage to make the handles work like I read... well maybe.
- I read somewhere that the controller can get hot. That's right, it heats up. Intentionally, not like a Toshiba laptop heats up. Maybe my imaginat
"Derp de derp."