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CNN Hands-On With The Revolution
The Game Over column over at CNN has a hands-on look look at the Nintendo Revolution and its unique little controller. From the article: "By adding an auxiliary thumbstick controller, I was able to play through a level of a retrofitted 'Metroid Prime 2' (a GameCube game). Confession time: When it comes to console shooters, I'm terrible. I can finish them, but I'm nowhere near as competent as I am with my mouse/keyboard setup for the PC. In the early stages of the 'Metroid' demo, it looked like this trend would continue, as I was all over the screen. By mid-way, though, I was better able to move and aim - and enjoyed the game far more than I did with the GameCube controller. ('Metroid' fans... well, you're probably already pretty excited.)"
I for one Can't WAIT until this machine comes out.
That controller looks Amazing.
I'm a big retard who forgot to log out of Slashdot on Mike's computer! LOOK AT ME.
Seems like someone finally let the reviewer play the demos that came out a long while back.
"I was a developer for many years before my current role, but I've never been a very good gamer," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told me. "I've never been able to control a first-person shooter, but as soon as I used the Revolution controller, I found it very easy to control the game. So, I think that's a genre that's particularly well suited for the controller."
I'm not sure first-person shooters would be the way to go, given comments in other threads about the 360. People who play FPS seem to want HD. I personally can't wait to try out the new controller and console, though. I'm hoping the controller inspires more creativity in game developers.
Fps on a console is nothing new, but IMO ever since the days of goldeneye on N64 all the way up through Halo 2, using an analog stick and a d-pad has always been cumbersome. This new controller is basically like a 3D mouse, and if they do it right (which it looks like they have), this could really be the first time where people like me who only do fps on a PC will go for the consoles. I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on a revolution.
Insightful???
The only way in which Nintendo was bitch-slapped is Install Base. Nintendo still has higher quality games, more robust hardware, more innovative controllers, a hugely successful portable console line, and is much more profitable than either other company.
But of course, since they don't pay you to buy their consoles, they have a smaller install base, and are consequently still in business.
They didn't *have* to do anything to stay in the game. The fact that they chose to is the reason I am such a big fan.
The Revolution is the only console I am even thinking about getting. Both Microsoft and Sony want to have their machines do everything (and are both bigger than the Revolution, which can fit just about anywhere, it is so small), Nintendo just wants their console to play games. The controller looks intriguing too, of course. Between quality of games, interesting controller, and lower prices, if any console maker gets my money, it will be Nintendo.
And only in US install base. Worldwide, Nintendo is #2 and MS is #3.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
"Fils = Sons
Aime = Like"
According to Google's langauge tools, fils = wire (like filament). So... um... he likes electronics? Solder junkie?
When I first heared of that controller, I just laugh, and couldn't stop. I was thinking Nintendo was doing another big mistake. But the more I check, and the more I inform myself on "Next-Gen" console, Nintendo is the only one I see making a actually "Next-Gen" imporvement. For now X-Box360 is only very upgraded version of a X-Box. As for what we know of Sony right now, well, it is not much of a different case. Nintendo are trying something new. And actually they are doing better than I expected from the information we actually got, and lately my GC entertained me better than my ps2. I'm seriously considering to switch from Sony to Nintendo for my next primary console....
"Fils = Sons
Aime = Like"
Well that is actually the right traduction, but you know you dont always choose your Last name, it usually comes from far in the past and probably have his own history
I'd guess it meant something more like "Loving Sons"
what the hell is a 'junk character', anyway?
Well, right now i own a PC that runs slackware (not really for games, except unreal tournament). I also own a DS and an SNES. My roomate owns a playstation 2. As a casual gamer, The DS is the most attractive to me, because of it's simplicity and it's "pick up and play" paradigm. I do read slashdot every day (including the games section) just because i'm a gadget freak and like to keep up on this sort of thing. That said, I am bored with offerings by Microsoft and Sony becuase they seem to be stuck in a rut. I think i'm not the only person that is excited to see a fundamental change in games, if only because it will bring about NEW experiences. Also, in my experience, simplicity does not nessesarily mean not fun. Unreal Tournament couldn't be simpler: shoot the guys. Meteos couldn't be simpler: line up blocks. These are the two most addictive games i've ever played.
That being said...Nintendo will most likely get my money this time around, unless Sony does something surprising.
Hate to reply to the same post twice but i thought of something else: Non-gamer parents with Gamer kids. If the parents buy the console for the kids, and at some point pick up and play with it...there's a new market right there.
Firstly, i think that neither sony or microsoft will relinquish the standard controller designs, even if the revolution is a smashing success. It will never be the standard.
D-Pads? Analog Sticks? "Gimmicky" rumble feature? Shoulder buttons? Come on. If Revolution takes off, PS3 will be introducing a gyroscopic accessory so fast it will make your head spin.
Yes, that does sound awfully elitist of you. Non-gamers will know about the Revolution for the same way they knew about it in the 70s. Print ads, TV commercials, billboards, word-of-mouth, and such. They may not be going into GameStop, but they're probably going into Best Buy. They can see it on display there. They can see it as they're shopping next Christmas in the mall and walk by one of the many game stores. You're acting like gaming is hush-hush. Its not Fight Club. It is possible for people to see something they've never touched and comment on it to their other friends who are not familiar with it.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
Free Online Woodworking Resources Directory
Non-gamers will know about the Revolution for the same way they knew about it in the 70s. Print ads, TV commercials, billboards, word-of-mouth, and such. They may not be going into GameStop, but they're probably going into Best Buy. They can see it on display there. They can see it as they're shopping next Christmas in the mall and walk by one of the many game stores.
And they will walk by it, just like they've been doing since the 70's.
I think the simplest reply to this is to refer to yesterday's article on casual gaming. Popcap does tremendous business. They're bringing in nongamers and gamers alike with their offerings. True, popcap uses an existing platform (the PC, internet) to entice people. But their experiences suggest that if you set the entry bar low enough people will flock to it. I think the increasing market of the handheld controllers that plug into TVs (20 classic atari games on a joystick), also suggests that it isn't hard to get nongamers (or grown-up, reformed gamers) into gaming.
As for Nintendo chasing non-gamers, I think that's a misconception. What they're doing is making a system that plays great games, but is intuitive enough to appeal to non-gamers. The various mortal kombat type games with their 6 button control schemes can be unweildy. Now imagine a 2 button scheme, kick and punch. Hold a button down and wiggle your controller high, mid or low, and you've made the game far far more intuitive. Just because something is simple to use doesn't mean it can't have depth.
Obviously there's the perception image that Nintendo has to overcome. But a radical controller design will attract people's attention. If they couple that with a range of games at launch then they could do quite well.
Because absolutely nobody has bought a video game console since they were introduced, right? Not everybody is going to play it, but some will see people acting like fools playing it, then become interested in it. It'll probably look more like fun than people playing with controllers staring at their screen like a zombie (much like I do on my computer).
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
You probably shouldn't click this.
"Revolution, it should be noted, is just a code name - the system's official name will be announced next year"
For once they have a good name and it's just the codename WTF. They should stick to it. Sounds a hell lot better than gamecube of N64.
And exactly why is being last considered to be awful? They make a profit. They do well.
Microsoft sold the Xbox at a loss. The ONLY reason that the Xbox still lives that that your "microsoft tax" that you pay for with every PC sold goes to prop up the Xbox. If it was a private company that made the Xbox as its main product line, they would have gone under already. Nintendo does not have an OS monopoly or massive media holdings to prop up its game division, so it has to do thing a little differently -- like make a profit on games.
So, to me, as long as the company is healthy and selling products, does it really matter if they are #1? Let me put it this way: McDonalds is the #1 fast food franchise. Do you expect Taco Bell, Burger King or Wendy's to go under in the next six months because they are not #1? I don't.
The gaming market is big, and I do not mind a little competition. It keeps everybody on their toes. As long as you have three players, you WILL have a #1, a #2, and a #3. And as long as all three remain profitable, this is a good thing. At my house, my only console is a Game Cube. I purchased it because I have small children, and I wanted to be assured of being able to buy games without lots of blood and sex.
"-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
I always find the "Nintendo=kiddie" line hilarious. What kind of insecure teenager concerns themselves more over whether a game is "childish" than whether it is fun? I'll be buying a Rev - because I know I'll enjoy it.
You know who I think of when I hear gamers talking about how they won't play Nintendo because it's uncool? The Icy Hot Stuntaz. Insisting that a console where the mainstream games aren't overcomplex baroque titles focussed on blood & tits is dumb is the kiddiest thing of all.
Adult gamers realise that it's really about having a good time.
FYI, I believe that Nintendo has patented this control scheme.
I can vaguely remember learning the original NES controller. It was hard, and it took a good bit of practice before I could consistantly get Mario past that first goomba. I'd actually try to get this move the controller to get him to jump. Both my younger brothers also hopped the controller around when they were learning.
Nowadays, it's not just all the buttons, it's the whole 3D platformer control issue. I haven't had much interest in console games since the SNES, simply because 3D platformers are much harder to interact with than 2D ones: figuring out where floating objects are in 3D space, suboptimal camera angles, mentally remapping the analog stick to the game world every time the camera angle changes, keeping 3D level layouts in your head so you don't get lost, etc. The Revolution controller is the first with actual 3D input, which can't help but make navigation in 3D space much easier and more intuitive. Nintendo releases games targeted to different audiences, so the core gamer need not fear. While the "non-game" Nintendogs is their heavy hitter with the casual crowd, they also have Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time a game which requires you to control four characters at once. Likewise, the Mario Party series and Twilight Princess are aimed at totally different audiences.
Ignoring core gamers, the non-gamers that learn about it and enjoy it will start spreading their own word-of-mouth. And non-gamers will be much more likely to listen to fellow non-gamers than to core gamers.
ONOES! Nintendo is attempting to reach a market that their competitors are ignoring! DOOM!
I'm making you a medal. I'm making you a fucking medal. You shall have camels, horses, an armed escort, provisions, desert vehicles-and tanks!
Seriously, I have to chime in even though you've pretty much already said it. Nintendo doesn't sell as many units as Sony and Microsoft, but their consoles still show up in millions of homes, even if those homes already have a current generation console. That speaks volumes, IMO. Their games always focus on the total experience, not just the freakin graphics and framerate. Chess is still engaging because it's a great game. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm still playing Super Smash Bros. Melee fifty years from now.
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
It is not the controller OR the less powerfull hardware. It is the constant hammering on making games easy to understand. I mean this article suggests that there are people out there who do not understand current controllers and that nintendo wishes to attract them.
Okay, this is going to be regarded as elitist and it is. I just like to suggest the following. If you have trouble figuring out a console controller perhaps you should go back to the field and settle in the soil with the other vegetables.
I understand the sentiment behind this concept, but I still think that Nintendo's concerns are not misplaced.
Look at it this way: every neuron you devote to interfacing with a game is one less neuron you'll devote to playing that game. Simplify the controls, and the player is that much more willing to get more involved with the strategy of the game itself, before the game triggers his "too complicated" objection and he goes off to pick berries off of trees, or search for females.
The controls of a game are typically an obstacle to playing it, and not something that can be enjoyed for its own sake. Revolutions primary advantage is that it has the potential to make the game fun to control; imagine swordfights, aiming guns, casting fishing lines, and the like.
Few games these days are actually fun to just *control*. Katamari Damacy is the best example I can think of; there is something entertainly tactile about rolling that ball around, with the metaphor that each analog stick corresponds to one of the character's hands being simple to grasp, yet allowing for a great flexibility in how the player controls the ball.
I am 29 years old and only own the GameCube console, along with about 20 games. I don't own any other consoles, portable or not, and don't play games on the PC. Your anecdotal evidence is proven wrong.
And yours, obviously, is the gold standard for anecdotal evidence.
and they would have to, otherwize someone else would patent it.
I have known it to happen, in the company my father works at had a chemical process patented out from under them.
By reading this, you have given me brief control of your mind.
As you mentioned, and I'm sure most people who as a kid played an NES can attest to, many people's first instincts with controllers is to move them around as they move their player around. Now, Nintendo's making a controller that actually takes that movement and does something. Imagine if, as a kid, moving the controller like that actually made Mario jump? You would have gotten it on your first try. This is what Nintendo's going after: being able to pick up and near instantly figure out the control scheme because the controller reacts to movement.
Just because something's patented doesn't mean others won't find ways around it. Example: Nintendo's d-pad design, which was patented with its creation for the use in Game and Watch, couldn't be used by any other console until it ran out just in time for the Dreamcast. Look at the Sega Master System's D-pad: a big ugly square. Genesis? More like Nintendo's but on a disk and diagonals were easier to get. Sony's? Detached trapezoids in a plus shape. So, as history has shown, even though something's patented doesn't mean the other console makers can't figure out another way of doing essentially the same thing to give close enough to the same results that people don't care or possibly even prefer it.
Nintendo is #1, if you include portable cosoles.
"Too bad the Gamecube sold less units than the N64, which sold less than the SNES, which sold less than the NES. "
This is what I find interesting. Not only do people have choices (As opposed to 1985, when NES was clearly the top console), but I get the sense that more non-gamers had an NES back in the day compared to non-gamers having consoles today.
It seems like today consoles are branded as "something you buy if you are a gamer." The closest these non-gamers get to gaming today are games designed for casual gaming (small java games, pogo.com, etc), not consoles.
If Nintendo could really find a way to get those people back, they'd really have something. As it stands, Revolution is poised to be somewhat of a dud, except when it comes to unconditional loving Nintendo fanboys.
Oh this is cute. Any pro-Nintendo comments instantly modded up, anti-Nintendo comments modded down. Grow up, mods! Maybe it's about time they make a separate Nintendo section for Slashdot where you can all happily froth at the mouth together as you compare your virtual pets in Nintendogs. Insightful, my ass. Higher quality games? Please more Mario rewrites than you can keep track of. More childish games is what you mean to say. More robust hardware? How does the weakest processing power equal robust hardware. And get a clue already. Microsoft and Sony have different business models which is why they can afford to take a loss on their consoles while making their money elsewhere. Nintendo doesn't have that option.
Lol! That's a really funny line there at the top. Is that from something or did you just make it up?
I understand that life's not fair, just why is it never unfair in my favor?
"Gamers" didn't make Pong successful, or the Atari 2600, or the NES. Or the Game Boy, for that matter. The reason those consoles were such breakout hits was because people who don't normally play video games (or who are outside the demographic of what we'd consider a "gamer") bought them, and bought them in droves. They were trendy must-have products in their times that got a lot of good press and word-of-mouth, not to mention they were new and original, not upgraded versions of last year's success. And I think the Revolution will do well, because it does seem like a fresh new idea at the right time. They're certainly getting a lot of good advance press.
Catering to "gamers" right now is a dead-end street. Nintendo's not going to succeed by making yet another platform to play Call of Duty 2 on. Better to go after new audiences why may not have even considered buying a game system in the past, and who would hardly consider themselves "gamers." I think there's a huge market for games for "the rest of us"-- after all, it's not hardcore gamers buying millions of dollars worth of crappy games for their cell phones.
"If Nintendo could really find a way to get those people back, they'd really have something.
Oh, don't worry, they've announced several times that it's part of their strategy. The thing is shaped like a remote for a reason.
"When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
No, that's not elitist, just extremely blinkered.
Perhaps you noticed the success of the Nintendo DS recently. Perhaps you read Nolan Bushnell's recent comments about how needlessly complex interfaces have scared away huge sections of the public over the last 15-20 years. A lot of people who don't play games now never will, true. But a great many people who don't play games now would do so if they were convenient and intuitive enough for them to buy into. Expect to see the Rev sold in non-specialist game shops, and advertised outside of the specialist press.
Furthermore, making games more accessible does not imply 'neglecting' traditional gamers in any way.
Oh, and go play Resident Evil 4 and re-evaluate your lazy views about the Gamecube accordingly, Mister self-proclaimed hardcore gamer.
Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck
Who else HATES when people say "shooter" meaning first-person shooter, rather than a shoot 'em up?
Circumcision is child abuse.
does this mean Grand Theft Auto will have a new Hot Coffe mode? it could be girl (forward,backward,rumble,up,down,left,right...turn ), boy(forward,backward,up,down,left,right...turn) oriented?
Provide some constructive criticism or don't reply at all. We've all heard the "Nintendo is kiddie" line before. It's not clever, and it adds nothing to the discussion.
i'm not just excited... i am HARD
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
The same could easily be said for Sony's PS/PS2/PSP line. Deep pockets from other industries allowed entry into this one.
And you may say the Xbox has not turned a profit, but that is a short term view. Look at it over a period of 20 years and then try to draw conclusions about who made money in it and who did not and where things stand then.
One thing the Japs seem to have down is taking the long view, not evaluating total success or failure over the period of four months.
the only work around that didn't suck balls was the sega genesis one, and even that chewed the hell out of your thumb after a few hours of down D-R Right High Punch
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
Nintendo patented the D-Pad and analog stick as well. Ever notice that the PS2's D-Pad isn't the same design as Nintendo's but as seperate buttons? There's a reason for that, and it certainly isn't gameplay.
The part about the medal was just me rambling. The second line is from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Attention deficit disorder is a complicated issue, spanning several major... HEY LET'S GO RIDE BIKES!
I'm not an MS fanboy(actually I only own a cube and a ds) but it's really hard to tell exactly who is #2 and #3. Sales figures, especially later in the game, are harder to come by, and it does seem like the cube and Xbox finished neck and neck. So honestly you would have to say:
"Nintendo and Microsoft sold about the same number of consoles this generation, which is still a metric buttload less than Sony"
Monstar L
You'll be modded down because you're repeating the same tired old schtick as any anti-Nintendo fanboy : "mods only like Nintendo", "it's for kiddies", "mario sucks", "hardware sucks".
Allow me to say that you sound very smart when you spout off years-old bullshit.
Yes, the "it's for kiddies" line is mostly used by the insecure teenager crowd.
But then again it's no reason to think you're more mature because you play Nintendo.
Personnally, I enjoy my Nintendo systems a great deal, but I'm certainly NOT gonna base my VIRILITY on TOYS.
Which, when you think about it, doesn't make sense. I mean, seriously, how many casual gamers do you know who care about FPSs? The FPS genre is the baby of the hardcore gamer, and they go on and on about it. Too many 'gamers' think their kill count in random FPS Y is the proof that they're a gamer. And what do you hear from Nintendo execs about the controller? How great it will be for FPSs, a genre that has traditionally been targetted almost exclusively at hardcore gamers.
To get an idea of what Nintendo plans, I think the DS is the best example. Nintendo isn't going after the casual market to ignore hardcore gamers, they're going after the casual market because it stands to make them money. The casual games, like Nintendogs and Brain Training cost Nintendo less to make, and sell just as well as games targetted at the hardcore market. Not to mention they can make 2 of those games while working on just one hardcore game. What's more, releasing those games doesn't cost them the hardcore market at all, because they can still point to a Zelda or Metroid currently in progress.
In fact, if you pay attention, Nintendo is really just telling hardcore gamers what they want to hear. Listen to what they're saying. 'We're going to make games that everyone can play, whether you're hardcore, a kindergartner or a grandmother.' Except, this is what they've always done. Make games targeted at everyone, not limited to a specific market. However, because this philosophy has given them a 'kiddie' image, they're saying it as if it's something new, to stir up the Nintendo fans who are hardcore gamers, and say, "We're changing, really we are. See, we're gonna focus more on gameplay than graphics, cause you like playing games. So not only will you have your hardcore gaming experience, but now you can play with your girlfriend, too." Which, again, is exactly what they've always done. They're just trying to put a positive spin on what some people, for reasons I'm not entirely clear on, see as a negative.
Nintendo is not going to dumb down a game just to make it more accessible. Instead they'll release a kitty simulator that costs them $15,000 to make along with the $30 million dollar 3d adventure the hardcore market thrives on. This means they get good press, they get the hardcore fans on their side with an improved control scheme for a game that's everything they can imagine, and they get casual gamers in droves for a game that's simple and fun and inexpensive.
Nintendo is going to try to do what they did in the 80's so well, be all things to all gamers.
just some guy
Good point -- and I can guess which system is going to get more attention from non- or semi-gamers. In the display case and at demo terminals, the Xbox 360 and PS3 really aren't going to look any more interesting to non-gamers than their current generation counterparts. Everyone knows what kids hunched over a control pad looks like -- Nintendo invented THAT in the 80s.
On the other hand, with its fundamentally changed human interface, Revolution demos are guaranteed to stand out, even to non-gamers in neutral settings like department stores. ("What's that guy doing swinging that remote control like a fishing rod? Now he's aiming and shooting it like a gun?")
My point exactly. If you've seen the Nintendo promotional video, you'll have definitely gotten this point. Sure, they all look like douchebags playing it (and, sure, they're overacting), but you still wanna see what's so exciting to make them act like douchebags.
It's like sex, except I'm having it!
You must have very... interesting anatomy.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Really? Because I see the same old pro-Nintendo mantras getting modded up each time. Why is that?
Just a note. True hardcore gamers don't call them selves hardcore and they don't shun games based on stupid things like colorful graphics, the lack of an M rating, who makes the game, or any of that kind of bull shit. A true hardcore gamer likes to play games. Fun games. It doesn't matter if it's GTA3 or Animal Crossing. If all you like to play is Halo and GTA3 you're not hardcore. You're just another typical, average gamer. These fucks who think they are hardcore then turn around and make fun of Nintendo for being kiddy are not hardcore. Period. I have a hard time even calling them gamers. Wannabes and posers are more fitting words to use. Just my opinion.
Saying that a redundant article is redundant gets you modded redundant. Write that down.
In America, it's a first to invent system. If you can prove you invented the item first, you get priority.
Well it would *eventually* get set right, but why not prevent such a problem? Saves a lot of trouble and delays while you prove it
By reading this, you have given me brief control of your mind.
I won't try to claim that there isn't any bias in the moderation here; we're all only human. I agree with you that some of the pro-Nintendo posts are being unnecessarily modded up.
But most of the posters criticizing Nintendo are trolling, pure and simple. Instead of adding some insightful criticisms of the Revolution strategy (and there are a few), they just parrot the same old Nintendo-bashing rants: the "kiddie" rant, the "gimmicky" rant, and the "weak hardware" rant. It's not that those arguments have no basis, it's that they're always presented in an exaggerated and derogatory manner.
The other thing is that it's hard to be too critical of the Revolution without looking fanboyish, at least not at this point in time. First of all, we don't know much about it. The launch lineup, the graphics, the backwards compatibility, the online system, and the price are all big question marks. They could turn out to be great, or they could turn out to be bland. Criticizing these things before they've been tested or announced is pointless, because they're so unproven.
Secondly, the Revolution is very obviously a "successor" to the Nintendo DS. Many of the complaints about the Revolution were applied to the DS before its launch (poor graphical capability, "gimmicky" controls, alienation of third-parties, not appealing enough to gamers), yet the DS has turned out to be a commercial success. The DS proved the media wrong in a lot of ways, and it's hard for someone to apply the same old arguments to the Revolution without looking at least slightly ignorant.
Whoosh
Slashdot: Where anecdotes and generalizations can be freely substituted for facts, logic, or intelligence
Well it's partially true but not in the condesending way Nintendo trolls would make you think.
One thing people always seem to forget is Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo do not share the same 100% demographic. Sony and Xbox target an older crowd. There typical sales demographic is 16-35. Where as Nintendo's demographic has historically been 8-21 range. Nintendo will make games for younger kids but also bring out games young teens and some young adults will like. Where as PS2 and Xbox may only release a young teen style Ratchet and Crank style game but really cater to an older crowd. It's been one of Nintendos saving graces since many parents may not want their 8 yr old playing Halo 2 for instance. For the pre teen and young ones Nintendo is still the best choice and Nintendo still gives Xbox a running for the older crowd.
"It's better to be a pirate then join the Navy"
Zoooom!