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The Revolution Begins Now

Posted by Zonk on from the new-ways-to-play dept.

1up.com has a lengthy feature up today about everything that's currently known about Nintendo's next volley in the console wars. From the article: "Once again, Nintendo has single-handedly flipped the videogame market on its head. After a generation of mockery and snickering from Sony, Microsoft and even diehard fans, Nintendo's come out of left field with an idea that's more reminiscent of what the company stands for than anything they accomplished during the GameCube era. Let's break it down and see what it all means." Update: 10/17 22:08 GMT by Z : I'm getting over being sick. Link fixed.

43 comments

  1. Re:correct link? by mb10ofBATX · · Score: 0

    Since when did 1-up take over gamasutra anyways?

    And what does Halo 2 have to do with the Revolution?

    Could I possibly ask any more asinine questions?

  2. Wake up, Zonk! by kniLnamiJ-neB · · Score: 4, Informative

    Perhaps the story is actually about the social networking aspect of Halo games... and it's on gamasutra, not 1up... perhaps we should give Zonk some caffeine, or fire his lazy butt... 'cause that link had NOTHING to do with Revolution.

    --
    Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
    1. Re:Wake up, Zonk! by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Perhaps he had his 1up story quota to fill but didn't want to give them any more pageviews?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:Wake up, Zonk! by deervark · · Score: 0

      what do you know about grammer indiana?

    3. Re:Wake up, Zonk! by kniLnamiJ-neB · · Score: 1

      Nothing, really... it was listed on Dictionary.com when I typed in "Grammer". I went there to verify that "Grammer" had a meaning of some sort since the self-proclaimed "grammer nazis" around here really get on my nerves. I wonder if they're really nazis from Grammer...?

      --
      Windows isn't the answer... it's the question. NO is the answer!
  3. Article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FTSummary: "Let's break it down and see what it all means."

    Apparently, nothing, since the link points to Gamasutra, not 1up.

  4. try this link by manno · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think they meant to link this
    http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144666&did=1

  5. Re:correct link? by Tuna · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I think that he menat this link:
    http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144666&did=1

    --
    Just when it's idiot proof, someone builds a bigger idiot.
  6. some Revolution stuff from 1Up by Red+Flayer · · Score: 4, Informative

    So, here's a review of Time including the Revolution controller in its list of 5 things that'll blow your mind: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144800

    Here's a story about Peter Moore (of Microsoft) praising the Revolution: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144015&did=1

    And here's a story about J Allard on the Revolution: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144413&did=1

    And here's a lengthy piece on the arrival of the Revoultion: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144666

    I think this last one is the one that should have been linked to the summary.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
    1. Re:some Revolution stuff from 1Up by manno · · Score: 1

      Don't mod my post up mod this parent up. Great post.

  7. Link issue? by FuckTheModerators · · Score: 1, Funny

    So is Gamasutra the new goatse?

  8. Why I'll buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Fact 1. I now work 50-80+ hours a week, free time isn't exacltly what it was in college. So only one next gen console will make it into my house.

    Fact 2. I don't like to throw away my money, Revolution is going to be much less expensive than either the PS3 or Xbox 360. So if I can only play for a limited amount of time I want a high bang for my buck ratio.

    Fact 3. I have a PC that could handle just about any game out there and I can do work on it.

    Fact 4. I currently have a GC and a PS2, guess which gets more game time? I thought Pikmin was the stupidest looking thing around till I gave it a try. More of the same from Nintendo? More MarioCart/Metroid etc, yes please.

    Fact 5. I might actually be able to get my parents to play some games.

    1. Re:Why I'll buy by WaterBreath · · Score: 1
      I now work 50-80+ hours a week, free time isn't exacltly what it was in college. So only one next gen console will make it into my house.

      Yes, I know this is off-topic. I just thought it was odd... My situation is exactly the opposite. When I was in college I dedicated 50-80 hours each week to school, between classes, projects, and other homework. Plus about 20 hours of paid-internship work each week. And outside school, I was usually worrying about some aspect of school.

      Now that I'm working at my first "real" job, I put in 40-50 hours per week. And when I'm at home, I make it a point not to think about work at all. So not only do I have way more free time, but I enjoy it more too.

    2. Re:Why I'll buy by Darius+Jedburgh · · Score: 1

      If you're busy, like me, then the thing to get is a GBA Micro. Whether you have a few seconds between meetings, a quick coffee break, a moment waiting for someone to arrive at your desk, they're all good opportunities to sneak it out to make a little progress on that level you;re working on.

    3. Re:Why I'll buy by Seumas · · Score: 1

      Fact 1. I now work 50-80+ hours a week, free time isn't exacltly what it was in college.

      Yet here you are, posting on Slashdot with your free time. ;)

    4. Re:Why I'll buy by muyuubyou · · Score: 1
      Fact 1. I now work 50-80+ hours a week, free time isn't exacltly what it was in college. So only one next gen console will make it into my house.
      Fact 3. I have a PC that could handle just about any game out there and I can do work on it.

      If you work 50-80+ hours, you shouldn't mess with your computer installing and uninstalling games and every other driver iteration (needed to play "just about any game"). Just an idea. Also your GC and PS2 will still have good games released for quite a while.
    5. Re:Why I'll buy by phxbadash · · Score: 1

      psst...people who know how to use a computer generally don't need to do that, cause we keep our drivers up to day already.

    6. Re:Why I'll buy by jafuser · · Score: 1

      If you work 50-80+ hours, you shouldn't mess with your computer installing and uninstalling games and every other driver iteration (needed to play "just about any game").

      I'm guessing you have an ATI video card?

      --
      Please consider making an automatic monthly recurring donation to the EFF
    7. Re:Why I'll buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why post on your free time when you can post on your work/school time.

  9. Oh for crying out loud! by AzraelKans · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I dont know whats worse, Zonk being so uninterested in the article that he made the link to gamasutra instead (because probably that is what he was reading instead) or the incredibly ridiculous article he actually meant to link.



    Summary: The revolution will be great! all of the previous motion detector controllers were plain trash, but somehow this is not! for some reason we are unable to explain coherently! (expand that to 6 pages)

    Seriously 1up time to do research on your articles and getting interviews and facts OF THE NEW items instead of just speculating over the water dispenser and showing info about the 80's devices and movies you have in your garage (nobody cares!).

    And no, you are not supposed to be proud over the last article in which you expent like 10 pages trying to guess what the fuck the revolution controller was like and were WRONG by a landslide. (seriously they werent even close!)

    IMO: The revolution controller is great tech but only 10% (maybe less) of the games are going to use it properly, most of the time it will be used as an air joystick. (which defies the entire purpose of it) and even then is going to be a lot more tired to use that than an ordinary controller. Also third parties are probably going to be weary of porting to revolution due to it. (extra R&D and development costs)

    --
    Go ahead MOD my day!
    More opinions here
    1. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I think you over estimate the difficulty of porting games to the Revolution; in fact anyone who has ever modified or ported a game will tell you that the easiest and least time consuming task is porting the controls (regardless of how complicated the control scheme is). About all you have to do to see the revolution controller in a conventional light is to break it down into its smallest pieces.

      Almost every game engine supports analogue and digital inputs, as well as screen space mapping; the reason for this is that you have to consider analogue stick input, analogue button input, D-pad input, digital button input as well as mouse input. Now consider that the revolution controller is a six axis control (six analogue inputs) with several buttons (digital or analogue inputs) a D-pad and an optional analogue stick (2 more analogue inputs) and a screen mapped pointing device. Thus the engine support is built in.

      Now consider how games are currently controlled; for the most part you can brake existing games into 3 categories (with a handful of exceptions) single analogue control, dual analogue control and keyboard mouse control. With single analogue control you control movement with an analogue stick and use a lot of buttons, with dual analogue control you use 2 analogue sticks and sparsely use buttons and with mouse and keyboard control you use a screen mapped pointer with a digital (or analogue) movement and a sparse set of buttons. When using the revolution controller as a pointer with the analogue stick attachment you have the closest approximation of the keyboard mouse set up that a controller has ever had; if you use the revolution controller as a 'gyroscope' (bad word, can't think of a better one) you have a decent mapping of the dual analogue control setup. The only one which could potentially cause a problem is the single analogue lots of button setup; I personally suspect that Nintendo will release another attachment that has 4 face buttons on it to make this an easy porting situation.

    2. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by apoc06 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      please dont hate me for speaking up, but someone has to say this.

      im sure there are many amongst us that feel that nintendo can do no wrong. and i doubt they would mess up on something as major as their flagship console. that said, [developers excluded] NONE of us... not a single one has put their hands on a revolution controller. NONE of us, not a single person here has seen a single screenshot of a revolution game. hell, we havent even seen a screenshot nor at the very least a cinematic that the machine is capable of running.

      i have faith in the company that helped bring video games into the mainstream, but they havent shown us anything yet. for all the hate that was going around when sony revealed their possible ps3 controller, i havent heard anyone that loves the premise of the revolution controller ever doubt for a second the possibility that there could be shortcomings.

      the power glove setup required positioning a bar of sensors around your tv, and trying to calibrate it was not a simple affair. i trust that those kinks have been ironed out. and the gyroscope etc... will help alot. still, in games where control is everything, different people will need different setups. control in games where the analog range is predefined and hard coded into the controller standard go out the door. my range of motion will be alot different from say... my grandmother's. no more passing around the controller after your turn; it has to be recalibrated each time.

      not to mention possibly the most annoying aspect of it all: its one thing when you use your thumbs to push a button a couple thousand times during the course of a game. its a totally different monster when you have to shake and hold your arm out for an extended period of time. for instance, take the example from the video of making mario jump simply by flicking the controller... thats fine for a quick 30 minute session, but most games require much longer involvement. most people get tired of holding their arms out painting for a few hours, can you imagine trying to complete an rpg like zelda? have you any idea how many fliocks of the wrist a game like mario requires? nintendo has a good track record with hardware, but can at times neglect ergonomics. [see: powerglove and virtual boy. the terrible backlight of the original GBA, or ask a DS user with hand cramps from controlling the DS with his left hand and using the stylus in his right]

      i have faith in nintendo, but the truth is that they havent shown us anything other than a promise for a continuation of a few of their flagship titles. [duh, we knew that already...] just like the other next generation systems, lets wait and see before we proclaim the revolution the savior of video game entertainment. i have high hopes, but until i see it in action and play it for myself, the revolution is just as real to me as a sony prerender; something to look forward too, but im not going to put blind faith into it.

    3. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by Rayonic · · Score: 1

      I've tried technology similar to the Nintendo Revolution controller, and while I have to say that the usability of the device was surprisingly good, it still seemed too imprecise and laggy to use in an actual game.

      Perhaps Nintendo can refine it further, but this is a $200 device I was testing out. I'll wait for preliminary reviews before making a purchase.

      --
      [PowerPoint] is a tool for capitalist presentation
    4. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by ajd1474 · · Score: 1

      The Powerglove had nothing to do with Nintendo. It was a third party peripheral (made by Mattel). It also come with a game, the only game that supported it.

      Virtual Boy... well.. every company is allowed to have one failure ;)

      GBA with no backlight... yeah it sucked. But it didn't suck up batteries, which is why it was so great. As better batteries became the norm, they included a backlight. No biggie.

      I have a DS... I never have a problem with cramps. Maybe your mate is a wanker?

      I also cant think of any games that use the stylus AND d-pad. I guess you could play Mario DS with the d-pad...but that'd suck. The stylus is a little too small for my hands, but if you're talking design? Well, i'd like to see another way of building Nintendogs, or Wario Warez Touched, or Meteos, or Yoshi Touch n Go etc etc. These are the sort of games that are possible just by introducing a new controller. Sure there are plenty of games that don't use the stylus, and there will be plenty of games that don't use the new revolution controller as a wand... but the games that do will ONLY work with that controller. And if you cant think of how cool those games COULD be, just shows how much we've all been railroaded into the Playstation idea of what a game is :)

      I'm looking forward to a different kind of interactive experience, not just left, right, mash buttons, repeat!

      --
      I refuse to have a sig... dammit!
    5. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      i dont doubt that there will be some excellent titles coming forth from the nintendo camp. im almost 100% sure. my question that i pose is just that we have to wait and see. things can still go either way for the revolution. if there is still no third party support, or if there is a hitch with the controller, that could be a dealbreaker. until we actually see the games and play the system ourselves, we are still only buying into a dream; the exact same thing we criticize sony and MS [and their fanboys] for.

      yes, the revolution is more than just the sum of its controller, BUT its controller can make or break the system. look at how many people were turned off by the original xbox controller. the controller is usually the only interface used during actual gameplay, so if its non-responsive, or needs lots of calibration, or causes arm/ wrist fatigue, you have a dealbreaker. what good is an innovative game if it hurts your arm, or you spend as much time calibrating it as you spend playing it?

      perhaps you sit your ds on your lap or a surface to play, but some people actually hold it in their palm with one hand [like a pda] or in the case which i mentioned, some people still hold it by the left side [like a normal controller] while they use the stylus.

      my post is not saying that nintendo WILL mess up the concept. im just saying that the potential is there, we still have to wait to see what they can do with it before we jump on board and praise it the way im starting to see. its the same thing with the ps3 and 360. it sounds great on paper but until we, the public actually get our hands on the consoles and games its a moot point to talk about how grand things will be now.

      just like all the rest of the consoles, the revolution has promise... im waiting to see what they can do with it.

    6. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have heard several complains about "bluetooth" lag. If you seriously were looking at a similar device I would recommend the Gyro Mouse. I have used this before with no major problems and it should work just as well as the logitech solution.

    7. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by James+Kilton · · Score: 1

      You're such a hypocrit. On one hand you're critisizing, no insulting 1up for the (IMO great) read, and on the other hand you're spouting the failure you believe (excuse me, know) the controller is going to be. Is your mommy not gonna get you a 360 for Christmas or something? Grow up man. And parent got modded insightful? It's Flamebait!

    8. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by AscendantOat · · Score: 1

      Nintendo's already said there will be a "standard" style shell attachment, and the Revolution works with Gamecube controllers; a straight control port would be trivial.

    9. Re:Oh for crying out loud! by apoc06 · · Score: 1

      its crazy. games are infamous for being challenging to the point where the great majority of us have at least during one point during our gaming lives thrown a controller out of frustration. imagine the number of these suckers that will get thrown about if someone loses their last continue due to the controller freaking out or not responding?

  10. check out this one too. by kinglink · · Score: 1

    Well bad link but check this...
    http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?st ory=6864

    For every bad link, there's one good story :) And this is one of the original gods of gaming.

  11. I understand now by Flame0001 · · Score: 0, Troll
    Once again, Nintendo has single-handedly flipped the videogame market on its head.

    What they REALLY mean is that they were the ones to develop Halo 2!

    --
    Slashdot, the only place where intellectuals can act like idiots... and still sound intellectual.
    1. Re:I understand now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Womp womp woooooooooooommmmmmmpp!!!!!

  12. Not trying to troll... by Brantano · · Score: 0, Troll

    I'm not trying to troll, but seriously, how many articles do we need on "How the revolution flipped the game industry on its ass and will be the greatest thing since sliced bread". I get it, its gonna be cool, but we dont need 1000 articles that say the exact same thing, atleast post something new.

    1. Re:Not trying to troll... by Rod+Beauvex · · Score: 0

      I don't know, how much PS3 and 360 BS do we need to see everyday?

    2. Re:Not trying to troll... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I don't think I can speak for everyone but the reason there has been so much discussion about the Revolution is that it is by far the most risky (and interesting) thing that any console developers has done in a decade. In a time where every company is essentially producing a sequel of a copy of a clone of an original game because they're afraid of taking a risk, you have a company come out and abandon convention in order to take their own path. You can say what you will about any of the companies, but I suspect that Nintendo is packing balls the size of watermellons.

    3. Re:Not trying to troll... by Brantano · · Score: 0

      I am sure you marked me down as a troll, even though my comment was neither trollish or hatefull towards nintendo, but whatever. I was saying that atleast with the 360 and ps3 coverage, your getting different news, new news. Your seeing how the consoles are being shaped and what is going to be included with them.

      As this article has stated, this and just like most other articles that have came out late are all the same, you already know everything your going to know about the revolution, they havnt released ANYTHING new to write an article about.

    4. Re:Not trying to troll... by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1

      I'm sure you're wrong. One can't post and moderate in the same disscusion.

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  13. Re:Link issue? (mod parent topical?) by FuckTheModerators · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Moderations like on the parent are what made me choose this nick.

    To over-explain, typically in a post here, when a link is not what it's described as, it goes to something scary and upsetting, such as goatse.

    As this was an article at Gamasutra rather than the expected and described 1up link, I jokingly asked if that were going to become par for the course.

    So no, it's not off-topic, and yes, my nickname has once again been validated.
    -FTM

  14. All I know is... by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 1

    Some developer should:
    1.Develop a 3D upgrade of the game design for "Ristar" that allows movement and jumping with the nunchaku while giving control over the characters grapples (in Ristar his arms), possibly variable length grapples like in the N64 game "Chameleon Twist", to the A button and pointer on the remote-like part of the controller.
    2.Sell this new game in which both movement AND attacking are controlled by pointer (somewhat) to the masses.
    3. ???
    4. Profit!!!

    This game design idea is hereby public domain. I was thinking of a grappling based game in full 3D for a long time before I played Ristar on "Sonic Mega Collection", and therefore have the right to license my idea how I please, even if I don't have the technical game-design language to describe it without referring to other games.