How The Revolution Will Change Games Forever

1up.com has a lengthy article discussing the possible ways that Nintendo's next console will change the face of gaming. A nice pie-in-the-sky article for a quiet Holiday afternoon. From the article: "... We're sick of waiting, so we came up with a list of hypothetical Revolution game concepts -- some pulled directly from Nintendo's Tokyo Game Show video that showed actors but no real games, others pulled from some of the popular ideas we've heard floating around -- and took them to impartial third-party developers to find out how practical it is for games on Revolution to be more than just gimmicks. Over the next five pages, we talk with developers from Harmonix, Radical Entertainment, Foundation 9, Atlus, and Midway to figure out how many of these hypothetical game ideas that are floating around have the potential to become actual games, and what advantages/problems might come with that as a result of the Revolution's remote control-shaped, motion sensor controller."

Comments

Why Not?

[osopolar]

PlayStation3 - does the same thing as my computer. Xbox 360 - does the same thing as my computer. Nintendo Revolution - Gives me the opportunity to get away from my desk and sit back on the couch or play games with some friends who are in the same room as myself(without breaking the bank.) I remember when I was teaching my Mom how to play Super Mario Brothers for the NES 12 years or so ago ... No Mom! Just push the buttons, violently jerking the controller up in the air will not make you jump any higher. Ahhhh, memories.

Re:Gimmick it will be

[Evangelion]

If you want to figure out what Nintendo is paying attention to, perhaps you should go check this out. It's a transcript of a presentation given at an investor's meeting (IGN also has some videos of the presentation available in small resolutions for free).

Also, it's odd that you talk about Nintendo as if they make immature games. The games that you think are mature on the PS2 and X-box are really made for children -- those 14-24 year old boys who belive that seeing explosions, blood, guts and dead hookers everywhere makes them a Man. Seriously, a 30 year old man shooting hookers in GTA is not "mature" -- it's childish and pathetic. The problem is that seems to be the ONLY audience that the Xbox is really paying attention to.

Re:Gimmick it will be

[SScorpio]

If they are going one about the whole "Remote Controller" concept, it will be a gimmick. Widely used in Nintendo's popular titles like Mario Party or Metroid, many third party developers will come out with a few novel games, but as long as other game consoles and the PC market use "traditional" gamepads, it will not be revolutionary.

The controller is the major concern with the Revolution; however, it looks like it might be the best controller for FPS on a console yet. We'll just have to wait for it to come out to try. There will also be the shells that turn the controller into retro contollers, maybe Nintendo will also settle on a standard shell for game that wouldn't map to the remote style gameplay for use with multiplatform games.

Asside from that, there is nothing truely revolutionary about the Revolution. Sure, Nintendo will make their back library available for play on the new system, again a gimmick that will drive sales in the first year or so, but I bet Nintendo will opt for a subscription based service that people will grow tired of paying some $X amount of money a month to play games they already owned. Also, this concept isn't even NEW. PS2 could play its entire back library, and the new Xbox360 offers an arcade marketplace for downloading and playing old game favourites from arcades and PC shareware.

The Revolution is also supposed to directly play Gamecube disks so it has a 1up on the 360s hokey backwards compatiblity. The back library being available could be a major asset if they priced it right. I'd be willing to spend $5/month to access Nintendo's old NES and SNES game legally, I doubt it will be this cheap but we'll have to see. It would also be nice if 3rd parties get into the mix such as Capcom and Konami releasing their old games as well with the standard service.

For size, I bet the Revolution will be the smallest again, but traditionally Nintendo isn't big on "slick" designs, and usually the end result looks more like a Fisher Price product. I expect that we won't see the slim silver/white wedge that their PR department has been coming out with. It will probably be made out of cheap plastic with handles and other superfluous design elements that aim more for the young gamer market.

I don't know. I don't really buy my consoles for looks, more for the games on them. Then again I did purchase a black Gamecube rather than an indigo.

From that point forward, your really talking about a game console with the same specs as each of the new game systems, albiet a little anemic compared to the PS3 or Xbox360, as was the Gamecube in its generation. I do agree that Nintendo's focus on "Games First" is beneficial, I really don't care about DVD/music playback on my game console, and those features have NEVER been used on my PS2. Focusing on games rather then state of the art DVD formats should be the focus of any game hardware, and I will welcome Nintendo's much cheaper price compared to the all-in-wonders Xbox360 and PS3. How many games out there in all honesty require 20 to 50 GB of data storage. NOT ONE, PERIOD.

No games currently require 20 to 50GB, but the Xbox 360 will run into limitation if a game tries to make large use of HD video for cutscenes. This will quickly fill the disk. Nintendo staying away from HD is interesting. I do have to agree the majority of people don't currently own HDTVs but 2006 may be the year they start selling big if the price is right. Of course current information says that the Revolution devkits support 720p so who knows what's going on.

So, will Nintendo evolve the game industry? Considering they have played catchup for the last 10 years, I doubt it. Nintendo may be able to create a breakout success with the Revolution after the lackluster "success" of the Gamecube, but one thing Nintendo NEEDS TO PAY ATTENTION TO, the gamer market is now longer composed of people 15 and under. Nintendo really needs

Re:Gimmick it will be

[Anonymous Coward]

So, will Nintendo evolve the game industry? Considering they have played catchup for the last 10 years, I doubt it.

Played Catch-Up?

When it comes to videogame designs and trends Nintendo (as a game developer) is usually months or years ahead of their competition. The games that they have published have been copied by every company; Mario 64, Goldeneye, Zelda OoT, Pokemon, Mario-Party, etc. have all had their designs stolen to produce crappier games on other platforms. Pikmin, Advance Wars, Battalion Wars, Nintendogs, Wario Ware, Electroplanktin, Kirby's canvas curse, etc. are all excellent games that are nothing like any other game you can get on any other platform. Whether Sony or Microsoft Fanboys like to admit it or not, Nintendo has been inventing far more genres and pushing the industry more than any other company; other companies are interested in adding Rag-Doll physics to a First person shooter, or adding 'correct' differential noises to a racing game.

The truth is that there are few genres that Nintendo hasn't had a massive impact on how they're played and thought of. The Revolution suddenly allows this visonary company the freedom they require to create new genres and redefine existing ones.