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Nintendo Revolution Controller Revealed
kakos writes "At the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed what the Nintendo Revolution controller looks like. The new controller is a radical departure from traditional controller types. Has Nintendo struck gold with their new controller design? The reviewers seem to think so. It should be interesting to see how gamers react to Nintendo's new innovation."
I can see why they wanted to keep this thing under wraps for so long. This is going to either be the savior of Nintendo or a miserable failure. Though I think it will be the former.
The very act of being able to control things on screen with precision 'ala mouse will finally let First Person Shooters and Strategy games be played unencumbered.
Even if this controller for some reason doesn't pan out it's 100% wireless so theres no reason they couldn't always fall back on a more "traditional" controller if need be.
You are about to see what may be the fiercest wave of criticism toward a console we have ever seen.
Don't flame. Sit back, relax, and laugh.
Damn this machine is going to be fun.
Isn't this going to really help people who are left handed when it comes to playing video games? I'm looking at the picture, and it's difficult to tell if it can work.
Some (*edit* Most!) people haven't spent years developing highly co-ordinated thumbs, but every person on the planet knows how to move their hands in free space.
Intuitive controls + fun gameplay = A sure bet.
Anyone remember when the neighborhood spaz would get über-pissed because he sucked at videogames and so he'd make a run to turn off the console, and a fight would ensue?
There really needs to be a way to prevent the console from being turned off remotely, or else there's going to be lots of bruises and bloody noses in homes that house both children and Revolutions.
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I've been seeing this kind of reaction to it all night. Oh Noes!!!! Nintendo changed the controller. They just dug their grave!!!11!1One!!
Stop and think for one minute. Why do we even have game pads today? Because Nintendo bucked the trend of everyone and their dog with joysticks and made a gamepad for the Famicom/NES. What about analog sticks? Nintendo again with the N64.
Nintendo has made dramatic changes to the way we play our games twice now, and both times the industry fell right in step behind them imitating at their first opportunity. Who's to say they aren't doing it a third time here?
I'd tend to give a game company who's been around longer than half the population of this website the benefit of a doubt.
This is a GREAT idea, but I have two worries.
One is that the main controller looks like carpal tunnel city. Admittedly, I haven't used it yet, but it looks awkward. The wrist will be under exactly opposing strains, from the thumb pushing down and the other fingers pushing up. My knowledge about wrists is mostly limited to just HAVING two of them, but when I'm holding a standard two-handed controller, it doesn't feel like the support strain is hitting my wrists too badly. It feels like it's radiated down my arm to my elbows. And the load is shared between both hands. With the new Revolution controller, the pressure is all on one hand and comes at the top of the controller. I can't help but think that the wrist will take the entire load... possibly like a lever using the wrist as a fulcrum... against itself.
It may be perfectly fine -- remember, I'm no expert here -- but I still wonder.
My other concern is how precise and repeatable the hand-gesture controls will be. It's a really superb idea, but it's going to require deployment of sensors on either side of the TV. I wonder how well Nintendo is going to handle the gamut of televisions, from 13" B&W up to 100" projection models. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but doing it right, and giving it the kind of sensitivity you have with mice and analog thumbsticks, will be very hard.
If they can get it working reliably, but it's a bit sloppy (which is my expectation), they'll need to adjust game designs quite a bit to accommodate it. But it'll give a degree of immersiveness that we will love. Practically everyone instinctively moves the controller around, trying to give their character or car an extra 'push' when they're in a tight spot... making that into an actual control mechanic is brilliant.
Upshot: I'm so there. I'll buy one when it ships. Even if it fails, at least they're really doing something NEW.
Going back in time, it can't possibly be as uncomftorable as holding onto the base of an atari 2600 controller....
Of course it's only been a couple hours since I last played a game on that system. The quality of the games still plays a huge role in it's acceptance.
This is going to either be the savior of Nintendo or a miserable failure.
I agree, and I think the thing that will make or break them is the question: Is it easy for 3rd parties to develop for? The article seems to say that, in practice, the idea doesn't inherently suck. Okay, so that's the first hurdle cleared. Now it's time to see if it's just as natural to develop for.
An believe you me, I sincerely hope it is.
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Seriously though, this seems good for left-handers. Having the analog stick on a wire means it can be held in either hand.
The article suggests that maybe the button is for menu navigation, but I figure if the controller is sensitive to where it is in space with relation to the TV/console/whatever, then the "home" button obviously tells the console what the controller's home position in that space is. Not some menu's home, the controller's.
I agree. Nintendo has always had the best controller in the industry. Even now, IMO, the GameCube controller is one level above those of PS or XBox. The new controller actually makes sense. These types of "controllers" have been available at game arcades that are specific to a particular game - i.e. swinging, slashing, or otherwise moving it around to simulate specific actions tracked by the sensors. However, it seems like it will be the first for general gaming use. I could easily see players jumping around and swinging their swords, and throwing objects in Zelda, fighting against each other in many other games. At the very least, it may get people off the couches and involve some physical activity when playing most games - it's a step in the right direction.
Yes, developers are on board. On board to make games that take specific advantage of this controller (as you quoted), because that'll be the only practical reason to make games for the console at all. What does this mean? Puzzle and party games, as I've said. Things like MonkeyBall and stuff like that. AND, because making games specifically designed for this controller means that they'll ONLY work on this console, the game will be impossible (or at least VERY hard) to port to the other consoles, which means the developer will not give the game as big a budget since the profits are limited to one console only.
Likewise, games NOT designed specifically for this controller (most games on PlayStations and Xboxes) will likely not be ported to the Nintendo console. Why would they be? They need a completely different way for the gamer to interact with it now.
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The reason FPS games are so good with a mouse is that you are using very small precise movements with your wrist and fingers, with your palm and arm at rest.
Your fine motor skills can be trained to a much higher degree of acumen than your whole arm/shoulder/hand.
This controller may end up being worse for FPS games than even a traditional gamepad/thumbstick, but I guess we'll find out in a year or so.
After reading the commentary on 1UP, Gamespy, and elsewhere, it seems like the controller's orientation detection system is actually very robust, responsive, and accurate. The reaction to the tech demos seems to be generally positive, and the use of regular hand motions that translate directly into equivalent movements on the screen is probably the most intuitive game control scheme yet. Two actual action buttons (one for thumb and one for trigger finger) are a bit sparse by modern standards... but then again, the controller, right out of the box, can detect both translational & rotational movement in 3 dimensions, for a total of 6 degrees of freedom (compare to 2 degrees of freedom per analog stick on conventional controllers, which are considerably more clumsy than just picking up an object and moving it through space).
The addition of the plug-in thumbstick controller with 2 additional triggers increases the control possibilities, and with enough polish it seems like using the analog stick with one's left hand for movement while simply pointing with the controller in one's right hand (or vice-versa for the lefties) could be an even more accurate and satisfying control method for first-person shooters than the mouse and keyboard or DS touch screen (and certainly light-years ahead of two analog sticks).
The key with this radically different controller really is, you guessed it, control schemes. If we didn't have the position and orientation sensors, then 2 action buttons would be paltry and anemic for anything but a turn-based strategy or RPG game, or a simple puzzler or platformer. Certainly a modern fighting, action, or sports game would suffer. BUT, using the revolution controller, motion becomes much more important than button mashing. Swinging the controller through the air like the hilt of a sword would reproduce than sword stroke in the game. Or, imagine playing a basketball game where you use just one of the revolution's buttons to hold onto the ball. You lift the controller up, move your hand to make the shot, put a little spin on it and release at just the right moment... how much would that kick the ass of any other sports game?
One issue that arises, however, is that it becomes very non-trivial to port titles from other platforms. The Revolution's controller doesn't just enable radically different control schemes... it basically necessitates them, as there aren't enough analog sticks and buttons to map a conventional control scheme on to (unless a newer Revolution game were to make use of an older gamecube controller). Nintendo will probably have to lead the way on the system with strong first-party titles.
Actually, one can look at the history of the DS as a good reference point for this: in the very beginning, we had some games that were built like glorified tech-demos. They showed off the possibilities of the new interface, but they were little more than software novelties, and there wasn't a whole lot of game underneath. Over time, however, the system built up a library of first-rate ports (Super Mario 64 DS), innovative and fun re-inventions of classic genres like the platformer (Kirby: Canvas Curse), widely appealing non-games (Nintendogs), and extremely solid games for hardcore gamers where the touchscreen and dual screens are a natural and organic part of the gaming experience (Advance Wars: Dual Strike). Now, there are dozens of great-looking DS titles on the horizon, and Internet gaming is set to take off on the system.
I think we might be looking at something similar on the Revolution. We start off with very gimmicky titles designed to get people comfortable with the new controller and wow passers-by at the local electronics store. After a while, a next-gen Mario and Zelda will start to show how old-school genres can be transformed into a new, fun experience with the new controls. Meanwhile, something like Metroid Prime 3 will hit and add a new and brilliant control scheme to the mechanics of the shooter and possibly impress a lot of hard core gamers. Seeing
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Actually, I'd more compare it to the even more bizarre U-Force. But still, if Nintendo can redefine wireless controllers, they can do this.
Maybe it's just the rabid (very, very rabid) Nintendo fanboy inside me speaking, but my God, it's beautiful. Even if I find myself mostly playing with the "nunchaku" setup the article was talking about, just the idea of having the controller split up into two, independent components (one for each hand) makes me wonder why it wasn't implemented so well before. It's as small or as big as you like it.
This is quite obviously the most adaptable input device ever created, and you think that makes it harder to port games to? If anything holds back portability on next-gen consoles it'll be the differences in programming for the different cpu/memory/graphics architectures of each.
And as far as game libraries go, I think having access to the entire back catolog of Nintendo games going back to the NES (quite possibly those from 3rd party developers as well) could just be considered an advantage.
They put more thought into their designs than their competitors. For example, Sony's buttons are neatly arranged, but it takes a while to memorize which one is square, or whether L2 is the top or bottom one. The Gamecube controller looks odd at first glance, but you never have to stop and think about which one is the little red "B" button, or which is the vertical bean-shaped "X" button. And that's exactly why Nintendo made it that way.
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I have so many questions that can only really be answered by testing one myself. Does it have to be pointed at the TV to work? (I have read there are sensors you must place on top your TV). That right there would eliminate good swordfighting. How good is the accuracy really? Does it drift? If you move the controller quickly, or hit a hard surface with it, does it lose tracking? Does the accuracy get worse as the controller suffers from wear and tear? Does it have a limited tracking space? For four players, you would need a very large tracking space, or you would be hitting each other all the time. A very large tracking space could enable some really cool single player games, too. Could you walk around and wave the controller all over, or are you restricted to sitting down while holding the controller steady in a small "zone" and pointing it at the TV? One of the reporters mentioned that if you moved out it of a certain box while playing the demos, you would have to move back before continuing.
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
Amazing how few people, including yourself, have seen that this controller can be turned to be oriented so that it is similar to a modern controller with the directional axis on the left, and the two buttons on the right. In fact, the listing of b before a, would keep true to the traditional Nintendo reversal of the two.
In fact, it seems as though the controller becomes more of a classic NES controller when this happens.
I wonder if, for this reason, they'll need to make games harder. It (hopefully) will be so intuitive that the separation between the user and the game will be gone, meaning that the controller won't trip people up anymore. And that seems to be where half the challenge actually is.
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And yet, none of your non-gamers people ever told you that it doesn't feel natural to hold a controler with both hands, and then press one of 10 buttons to swing a sword? While it may seem pretty natural for gamers to press buttons to have your characters perform actions, I would actually think that it is more "logical" to actually swing your arm if you want to swing a sword.
Try going to a medieval fair sometime, and in one of those fake duels, locate the appropriate buttons on your sword that will make you swing it...
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Listen: It's not a remote control. It only looks like one.
You control the game by swinging this thing (remote controls can't do that).
This functionality might be nice for games like Soul Calibur, Resident Evil (finally, the chainsaw controller could make sense).
The article also says you can fit this thing into another controller, to play more conventional games (or get a 3rd party "standard" controller for 10 bucks).
I don't need a signature.
"The video looked cool, but those actors weren't actually controlling anything,"
Uh... yes, they were. And then they handed the controllers to members of the press, who also controlled things.
"and those are game concepts, not actual games."
They weren't showing off games, they were showing off the controller. They were there to demonstrate that the controller worked and how well. According to first-hand press reports, they did the job.
"This type of technology has always been rather fiddly when you use it in real life."
So have wireless controllers. Then the WaveBird came out. Of course, non-Nintendo wireless controllers still have the habit of sucking...
"People's kids are going to be slamming these things,"
Ignoring for the moment the history of durability of Nintendo hardware, "so?" Peoples' kids won't be the only ones using these things.
"and it has to be reasonably cheap too."
Console + 1 controller will have a price point of $200, much like the GameCube was. An extra controller's price will probably resemble the WaveBird's.
FUD much?