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Miyamoto Hints At Second Revolution Secret
Gamespot reports that despite new information on the Revolution, there is still much we don't know about the console. Shigeru Miyamoto hinted at the DIEC that there was yet more to reveal about the Revolution controller. From the article: "At the Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference held in Kyoto, Japan, Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's chief game designer and creator of the Mario and Legend of Zelda franchises, gave the keynote speech. He talked about the history of controllers for Nintendo's various consoles, from the pre-NES systems to current consoles like the GameCube. He ended his lecture with words toward the future, specifically the Revolution, stating that there's more to its controller than what's already known. 'The [Revolution's] controller still has another secret,' stated Miyamoto. 'But it's something that we'll reveal next year.'"
I don't believe Nintendo could bank too much on the admittedly unique control interface of the Revolution. Playing the XBox 360 in my local GAME, I walked away disappointed for 3 reasons... graphics weren't exactly a dream away from the latest games for the XBox, it seemed rushed out and the overall launch of the system, shortages and technical issues, just made me think... wait for the Revolution... still, I love my Amiga, I've been through 4 generations of consoles and the last game to completely turn my world on my head was Mario 64 nearly 10 years ago. The Revolution should do the same...
...but the big secret, and the reason it's so cool, is that if you press the buttons in the right combination, a secret compartment opens to reveal an ounce of pure heroin. You heard it here first, and remember - it's on teh intarweb now, so it must be true.
ABSURDITY, n.: A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion.
I love Miyamoto, but this is a dirty way to generate buzz. Simply announcing your new feature is one press release. Announcing that you're going to announce your new feature is two! Genius!
Regardless of all that, however, I'm really looking forward to this. The Revolution is honestly the only console I'm even considering this time around. The xBox360 doesn't have a single game I care enough about to spend that much money. (Halo? Bah.. Counterstrike and Natural Selection are all I need.) As for the PS3, I think I'll opt for an uber cheap used PS2 and a pile of cheap used games.
The so-called "next gen" consoles may be nice, but they don't seem worth the cost. The xbox's super HD whatever video output is useless on my non-HD television, and I don't plan to upgrade anytime soon. The Revolution is going to have innovative new features, and yet will still be SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper.
The DS was far less powerful than the PSP, not to mention cheaper. Despite this, it completely dominated the market. Never underestimate Nintendo.
GeekNights!
Late Night Radio for Geeks!
My money's on the microphone.
The big secret is that it caters to the gamergrrl. It's ribbed for her pleasure.
According to this unbiased site the PSP is owning.
It is a crystal array and power cell attachment to turn the controller into a light saber.
How can you be so blind? =)
What if Nintendo's strategy was to make an announcement that they're hiding a Revolution feature that will change the gaming world, then go onto the intarweb, read peoples' speculation, pick the best ideas, and implement them?
Seriously, they've announced features, without actually announcing what they are, about three times now since the Revolution was first announced.
A lot of the argument was based on the fact that the DS had graphical muscle roughly equivalent to the N64, while the PSP was more like a PS1.75 or something. All this kerfuffle took place before the touch screen was revealed.
(On a side note, people who claim the DS is gimmicky with its touch and dual screens seem to be missing an obvious point: Nintendo must have originally decided to use touch-sensitive control on its new handheld. At some point in the development process it would have become clear that the hand being used to hold the stylus will cover up some part of the screen. A second, non-touch screen is the obvious solution.)
Look where we are now: killer titles released regularly on DS, with the system outselling PSP worldwide. Despite its relative lack of power and absolute lack of built-in media convergence features, the DS has, for now, won the next-gen handheld war.
And now we find ourselves in this situation: XBox 360 and PS3 have or will have graphical power far and above that of current generation consoles, the 360 can manage all your media, etc. And the Revolution will be "only" several times more powerful than the GameCube. Sound familiar? But, bearing in mind Nintendo's announcement that they will not be making public the exact specifications of the Revolution, remember what Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said:
"Tech specs don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made an important difference is over, and from this time forward we must create unprecedented experiences."
You know, I think he may just be on to something.
1. It doubles as a Universal Remote with automatic setup.
2. You can (easily) interchange the functions of the buttons. ie. A becomes B, ect.
3. Interchangable faceplates
4. Revolution's going fully 4D and all games with be constant, even when your not there. The controller will light up when your missing something good.
I can see it now, your out on the town when your Revolution controller begins flashing the bat signal. You excuse yourself saying: "I must go, the Joker is at it again."
Demented But Determined.
I'll betcha it's some sort of biofeedback, so that games can monitor a player's levels of agitation and excitement. Imagine: you have a nice little 'Survival Horror' game where your own heartbeat thumps out of the speakers; if you get too excited, the hellhounds will be able to hear you. Or, you know, something like that.
OR...
Maybe it will recognise a given player by their pre-recorded bio-profile - skin conductivity, etc - and tailor the gaming experience for them.
How hard would it be to incorporate something along those likes? Not a vast technological hurdle, anyway. Folks are thinking feedback, feedback, feedback - but I'll bet my eye-teeth (they're fantastic for seeing what you're eating while otherwise blind!) that the big gimmick will be an additional dimension of control.
2) I don't buy that "Nintendo bombed with casual gamers with the GameCube". The GC wasn't aimed at casual gamers in anyway. Maybe at kids and/or new gamers, with the easy to use control layout and abundance of party games. I also don't know how you define "bombed", but to me, a company who sells (until recently) only 2 products, and makes more money than any of it's competitors over the lasts two years (they actually made more money than MS and Sony combined, of course MS lost money, but they made nearly twice what Sony Games did) didn't have any products that 'bombed'. See here for numbers.
3) Will the Revolutions controller be the greatest thing ever? Maybe. Hopefully they will be smart and bundle a 'standard' controller cradle with every wand style controller sold. At the very least you can have a regular console controller that knows where you are pointing it. Give me NHL 2k7 where I can point where I want the puck to go when I shoot it and I'll call it the greatest thing ever.
4) My money is on Nintendo making the most money of any game company this time around. Just like last time. Sony will probably move the most units, and MS will be lucky to break even. Nintendo will quietly sell millions of systems and games, all at a profit, and will continue to make boat loads of cash.
Like they did with the DS right? 2 screens, the touch screen, wifi and the mic where all just pathetic gimics right? There are no good games for it, Nintendogs and it's ilk are just a fabrication of our colective imagination. It's also not outselling the PSP at all, the figures we have are just lies fabricated by Nintendo's marketing department.
Do you honestly believe that?
As a disclamer I will state that I am a Nintendo fan, but not an old one. I became one when I played some of the games on the GameCube (Monkey ball, SmashBro, Zelda). Out of the 3 consoles it is by far the most fun and that ultimatly is the most important aspect of any console. So here again I cannot agree with you that they are 'shooting themselves in the foot'.
With the Revolution they are doing exactly what they did with the DS. They are pushing the boundry of what is possible in a console. None of the features are 'new' technology, they have all been done previously in some form or other. What Nintendo has/is doing is refining these technologies and integrating them into it's products then using them in a few games as a kind of 'proof of concept'. The shear potential for fun games that they are creating is causing a lot of people in the gaming industry's mouths to water.
They also have a very good marketing campaign aimed towards the hardcore gamers. I mean look at the press they are generating by NOT telling us what is in the new controller. They have hung the proverbial carot out in front of us so to speak. Bastards.
As for this new feature it's probobly something they have done before as an extension, but have refined and integrated this time round. Something like onboard memory to store save games/settings or maybe a microphone? How about a small screen? a touch screen maybe? Either way, this console is going to sell like hot-cakes and I will be pre-ordering mine on the day the pre-orders open.
'shooting themselves in the foot.. - I really don't think so.