Revolution controller revealed

[Lynk Former]

@ steering wheel: that's so cool.

 

Also, The shell controller will have to be different from the standard GCN setup seeing as it's gonna have to cater to the N64, SNES and NES

[El Sitherino]

Now that my friends, is hot.

[coupes.]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/mousedown/revo.swf

[Lynk Former]

 

XD

[acdcfanbill]

it might be something totally new if you can play gcn, n64, snes, and nes games on it. melding the snes, n64, and gcn controllers into one might be interesting

[IG-64]

You know, what they could do is just make a round attachment that has all the ports in it.

[Lynk Former]

What I posted is one controller with a GCN-like setup, and 6 N64 style face buttons. The difference is that those 6 buttons are LCD buttons which change depending on what game you're playing, if it's a NES game you get the NES setup, an N64 game and the buttons will change to the N64 setup. No removable crap, cause you'll end up losing the addons.

 

[Bob Lion54]

Keep the pics comming!!

 

Each one makes me more exited.

 

The "gun pic" makes me want to play Duck Hunt! I hope they have a Revolution version of the game......hehehe.

 

With all the add ons, Nintendo has so many options. Where as X-Box and PS3 are stuck with one setup, though they could make different style controlers later. I'm really starting to get a good feeling about this.

[Lynk Former]

1. Mattel Intellivision Controller

2. ColecoVision Controller

3. Atari 5200 Controller

4. Atari 7800 Controller

5. Nintendo Revolution Controller

 

 

Source: Controller Family Tree

[ZBomber]

I know which system I'll be buying!

 

I can't wait to continue to watch it's progress!

[lukeskywalker1]

Meh, done some more thinking.

 

Revolution:

 

While the price may be low (probably $200) you'll spend a lot of money buying different shells. Waste of time, effort, and money. Good idea... but... yeah.

 

Other Consoles:

 

True, higher price. I'll wait a while to buy them (well, the PS3... not the 360) In the long run, I only need one controller to run all games.

[Lynk Former]

The Next Generation

When Nintendo first announced that they were working on a next generation console called the "Revolution" it was the first time that they had hinted that they were going to be making something that would change the face of gaming so much that it would be the equivalent of what the NES achieved back when it was released. Those who knew what Nintendo was capable of were very interested; people were talking, trying to figure out what Nintendo was getting at. The sceptics were talking too, though in a more negative tone. However, it was clear that it started the ball rolling. Nintendo were up to something and no one knew what.

 

 

E3 2005

While Sony and Microsoft were both in full force showing off their powerful next generation consoles, Nintendo tried to stay as low key as possible. However, we all knew that Nintendo would reveal some part of the Revolution to us and they did. A single small black console with perty lights and promises of a bright future was what was revealed to us. Sceptics became even more sceptical and those who had more of an open mind wanted more answers. Nintendo made it clear that they would not be following the same path as Sony and Microsoft, that they would break away and create a new experience. Yet again, Nintendo stated that they would try to change the face of gaming, but at the same time they also stated that they would honour the 20 years of history that have come before this Revolution. The announcement of the virtual backwards compatibility feature was a clear shock. Was this the so-called Revolution they were talking about? Not at all. Nintendo wanted to let the world know that the next generation console would honour the old traditions just as well as their past consoles. Nintendo representatives echoed this in interviews after the conference, stating that the Revolution will be able to play traditional games while at the same time break the mould. But how? For months people wondered, coming up with wild ideas. Some people had a good idea of what Nintendo was going to come up with. But when it did finally hit us months later, none of us expected it to be what it is.

 

The Controller

A couple of days ago we finally saw the Nintendo Revolution controller. When everyone finally saw it they all thought the same thing, "WTF?" however as the images, information and videos finally sank in, half of the field began to realise that this THING that looked more like a remote control would change the way we play games forever. After that, half of the field got over the fact that there were less buttons, analog sticks, etc on that controller. They began to imagine the possibilities of what could be achieved with such a device. In the middle, there are still a lot of people who are either confused or waiting to try the controller out for themselves before they commit to anything. Then on the other side of things, you have the people who hate what they see. After all, it's not like anything they have ever seen before. How am I supposed to play with a remote control? Why couldn't Nintendo just do what Sony and Microsoft are doing? Nintendo is teh d00med! Almost all of their fears are valid to a certain extent of course. I understand where these people are coming from seeing as that 100% of the field thought the same "WTF?!" when they first saw the controller. Even with mixed reactions from the people, one thing was clear; every game played on the Revolution would be controlled in a way that has never been done before. This brings us back to E3 2005 when Nintendo spent much of their time making it clear that they would honour the efforts of the last 20 years of gaming. It was smart of Nintendo to reinforce that they would still support traditional gaming, especially after seeing how different the future looks. Again, in the keynote speech and in interviews held after the speech, Nintendo representatives echoed the fact that they would still allow players to experience traditional gaming using the Revolution controller’s expansion port. Legacy games and ports would still be playable. I'm sure many people gave out a sigh of relief after that was confirmed.

 

 

Back to the Future

So now here we are, we have seen what the console pretty much looks like and we have seen what the controller looks like and some of how it plays. But there is still A LOT we don't know about the Revolution, from basic things like hardware specs to more important things such as the games themselves. Many people are wondering if the Revolution will be able to compete with the level of graphical technology the PS3 and Xbox360 offers. But when I think about it, there is a lot more that Nintendo haven't told us. Is the Revolution controller their trump card, or is there more that we haven't seen? I find it interesting that even after all of this the Nintendo reps are still hinting at the fact that Nintendo still has a lot more to show off, and I'm not talking about pricing, specs and release dates. No, it does feel like there is something more to be shown in the future. But what?... Will their traditional controller expansion have LCD action buttons that adapt depending on what game you're playing?

 

The Nintendo Revolution is set for a late 2006 release date and we are still in the dark about a lot of what the Revolution has to offer. What are you hiding Nintendo?

__________________

 

While the price may be low (probably $200) you'll spend a lot of money buying different shells. Waste of time, effort, and money. Good idea... but... yeah.

At the moment it looks like you would only need 2 expansions, 1 of which we know will come with the Revolution console. The Analog expansion and the classic gamepad expansion which will be able to play all existing traditional formats, from legacy games to ports from other next-gen consoles.

 

Anything extra would be just like the Bongo's or something like that, but the majority of developers will most likely go for the Rev Controller + Analog Expansion setup. It's not like you'd have to buy an expansion for every different game you buy XD

 

True, higher price. I'll wait a while to buy them (well, the PS3... not the 360) In the long run, I only need one controller to run all games.

You only need one controller to run all games for the Revolution too XD But then also to take full advantage of a PS3 or Xbox360 you'd have to have an uber expensive high definition home entertainment system, something most people don't have in the first place.

[coupes.]

Meh, done some more thinking.

 

Revolution:

While the price may be low (probably $200) you'll spend a lot of money buying different shells. Waste of time, effort, and money. Good idea... but... yeah.

Like Lynky said, there's really only 2 add-ons that'll be necessary to play all the games, the analog joystic add-on (for nunchuck-style gameplay) and the "traditionnal controller" shell. The analog joystic will most likely come with the standard controller, and the controller shell will only be used for backward compatibility issues and for playing [basic] ports from other consoles. The rest of the shells are only us fans immagining all the possibilities. If there are more shells, they'll most likely be optionnal and simply enhance the gaming experience. Much like you would buy a steering wheel to play Grand Turismo whil you could very well do it with the stabdard controller.

[Lynk Former]

And even if you do buy a Steering wheel shell, it's no different from buying an actual steering wheel accessory available for current generation consoles so what's the problem?

 

 

XD It's really nice thinking about the Revolution, cause when you buy one, you won't just be buying a Revolution, but you'll be buying a GameCube, a Nintendo 64, a SNES and a NES all over again. And for those of you who don't think that legacy games are a factor, I think you're misinformed. There are a lot of people who have stopped playing videogames who will jump at the chance to get back and play the original Super Mario or the original Zelda all over again. I for one can't wait to get my hands on Super Metroid and a tonne of old N64 games I used to play and even better are the games I've missed out on because I couldn't find the time or money to buy them. I get a second chance thanks to Nintendo

[coupes.]

And even if you do buy a Steering wheel shell, it's no different from buying an actual steering wheel accessory available for current generation consoles so what's the problem?

Actually, there's a small difference in the sense that when you buy a new shell, it's just that, a shell. Most of the technology will already be included in the Revolution controller wheras a traditionnal steering wheel, for example, is a new controller in itself. Shells would probably be pretty cheap to produce since they could be relatively low-tech. Some of the shells might actually be included with games if they are really essential to gameplay. In the N64 times, I bought Star Fox w/ Rumble Pack and Perfect Dark w/ Memory Expansion cartridge for the price of regular games, so it's quite possible we'll see something similar for the Revolution.

[Lynk Former]

That is true, it would definately make official and third party expansions a lot cheaper. It will also be interesting as to what kind of expansions are created, because it won't be just steering wheels and gamepad shells. The n64 had the ability to add on the rumble pack, memory pack and transfer pack... so what other goodies can we expect?

[abespam]

nintendo were quick to say how the peripheral port was important.. so im guessing heaps of goodies. What really impresses me is the fact that they till have things to hide. It was impressive to see that one person could wield 2 controllers. But in one of the interviews i read, the interviewer was complaining that 4 controller ports werent enuf, and then the person who was being interviewed seem to be holding back info on this. Cant wait to see what else nintendo have up their sleeves.

 

@boblion: u can play the original nes version of duck hunt.. backwards compatibilty sweetness

[Lynk Former]

When Nintendo said that they would incorporate 20 years worth of Nintendo gaming history they weren't just talking about the virtual backwards compatibility. I'll explain...

 

Online: The NES went online back in the late 80s. But of course, everyone is online these days so it's not that big a deal. XD But it brings me to the next point...

 

Game Downloads: The download service isn't a new thing from Nintendo; the first time Nintendo tried, it was with the SNES. In Japan, they had an expansion device called the Bantai-Satellaview.

 

 

It used a satellite so obviously, it wasn't great for real-time online gameplay but it was great for downloading revamped NES titles such as Zelda and Mario. It didn't do so well seeing as the technology at the time was very lacking... this was an era before the Internet had become an active part of life so you know how it goes. I think the funniest part was that because it relied on a satellite you could only use it at a certain time of the day lol.

 

Motion Sensing: Remember the power glove? Big failure back then, but the principle is back again in a new and easier to accept form. Another failure, but this time it has promise thanks to the new format and new generation.

 

 

Expandable controller: The N64 was the first controller with this option, then the Dreamcast which expanded on that idea and then the Xbox... well after it skipped a generation (GCN), it's back in the Revolution. The N64 expansions included the personal Memory Paks, the Rumble Pak and the Transfer Pak. The Revolution has the potential to do a lot more. And of course, duh, the Rumble feature returns, but who didn't know that lol.

 

 

Many of their other advancements are obvious because they can already be seen in the Nintendo DS and the GameCube and Wavebird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT:And on another note

 

The Positive

The Negative

 

XD

[Lynk Former]

Because of the 3D mouse capabilities the Revolution controller features it could out perform PC games in terms of control now.

[toms]

I'm not completely convinced about this "controller shell" idea. I'm sure it will be great for old games (if you don't have a GCN controller handy already) but I'm slightly worried that by announcing it already they are going to make a lot of set-in-their-ways gamers and developers think "ah, i can just ignore that weird remote thing and play it like any other console".

It would suck if all the games and ports started coming out needing the "controller shell" addon and that because a kind of standard.

 

While this controller has some potential for games like FPS and RTS, the main potential has to be for other games like sport and music games. If you watch the video it becomes how clear it might be for games like drumming, tennis, golf, volleyball, etc.. Any activities that involve some kind of arm movement could be made into really good games if this tech works right.

A golf game on the REV where you swing the controller and it maps onto your onscreen swing would be lightyears ahead of one where you press a button or move an analogue stick. Same goes for tennis, where you could control power, direction and spin all by simply swinging and rotating the controller.

Personally i'm looking forward to a Tony hawks type game where you actually have to balance on rails, etc..

 

I can't see it being better than a mouse for RTS, but it should be nearly as good. It could lead to a more immersive, dynamic experience though, where you just point at your troops and motion them off in a direction. For FPS witht he analogue stick (which is where the Z button is BTW) it should be excellent. Driving games too, just hold it loke the NES controler and rotate. I don't quite get why they don't stick 4 buttons on the controller though to make SNES compatibility better.

 

Fighting games (like the only confirmed launch title, SSB) is going to be interesting though.... not entirely sure how that will work. I guess they mightbe planning something totally new. Ay ideas?

[Lynk Former]

I'm not completely convinced about this "controller shell" idea. I'm sure it will be great for old games (if you don't have a GCN controller handy already) but I'm slightly worried that by announcing it already they are going to make a lot of set-in-their-ways gamers and developers think "ah, i can just ignore that weird remote thing and play it like any other console".

It would suck if all the games and ports started coming out needing the "controller shell" addon and that because a kind of standard.

Ithink it's obvious that Nintendo knows that they're walking a fine line with this. Not in an overly negative way mind you... I mean back in the days of the NES, no one was expecting anything, today people are expecting a lot and there are already a lot of established "guides" that are in place that work. Nintendo wants to initiate a new generation of games that are played differently but not at the cost of 20 years worth of already established gaming evolution. Most of which they are responsible for.

 

It is true, a lot of people and developers are set in their ways, and I think it's smart of Nintendo not to completely dismiss them simply to convert everyone onto this new form of gameplay. That being said, I still think that developers would take advantage of the Revolution controller to tweak and enhance certain ports without the need for a traditional gamepad expansion.

 

Another thing to consider is that the people who will buy a Revolution are the people who want a new way to play games, and those people who want to be able to play traditionally controlled games can either buy an entirely different console or simply buy an expansion to the Revolution controller which in the end turns out to be cheaper than buying a whole other console.

 

It will be interesting to see how it does play out though. I know for sure when the Revolution does come out I'll be buying as many games and accessories I can afford with it.

 

 

While this controller has some potential for games like FPS and RTS, the main potential has to be for other games like sport and music games. If you watch the video it becomes how clear it might be for games like drumming, tennis, golf, volleyball, etc.. Any activities that involve some kind of arm movement could be made into really good games if this tech works right.

A golf game on the REV where you swing the controller and it maps onto your onscreen swing would be lightyears ahead of one where you press a button or move an analogue stick. Same goes for tennis, where you could control power, direction and spin all by simply swinging and rotating the controller.

Personally i'm looking forward to a Tony hawks type game where you actually have to balance on rails, etc...

Coupes, Sithy and I have been talking about all the different possibilities for the Revolution controller on MSN for a few of days now and we've come up with so many possible game ideas, both existing traditionally or similar games to the DS to games that haven't been made yet but should. The controller has a lot of possibilities to it, it's just a matter of getting smart developers to get in there and have a go at making something.

 

 

Fighting games (like the only confirmed launch title, SSB) is going to be interesting though.... not entirely sure how that will work. I guess they mightbe planning something totally new. Ay ideas?

I think a lot of people are holding their breaths over that.

 

 

 

EDIT: You now that I think about it...

 

REVOLUTION CONTROLLER

Pointer = Move/Jump/Crouch/Etc

A = Attacks

B = Special Attacks

D-Pad down = Taunt

 

ANALOG EXPANSION

Analog Stick = Smash (up, down, left, right)

Z1 = Shield

Z2 = Grab

 

 

XD I mean if you're thinking of doing it the traditional way

[jokemaster]

........LEC HAS to make a lightsaber game of some kind for this.

[TiE23]

I just dont like the idea of this kind of a controller. I dont know about you, but I like just being able to Halo 2, Forza Motorsport, Burnout Revenge, and (soon) Oblivion. Using a strange controller like that just doesn't comply with me.

 

Just sit at your TV and point and swing around your remote around, its rather akward.

 

I'll just stick to my Xbox and PCs.

[Lynk Former]

Who said you have to swing it around like in the ad? It could just take small movements similar to that of a mouse.

[StriderPrime00]

I post this somewhere else, but I think you guys might enjoy this.

 

Hi everyone, I was thinking about Nintendo's new controller and the possibility of a jedi knight game on it. Here is a concept image of the game I came up with it. If the game designers of lucasarts are reading, please consider this idea.

 

 

Using 2 rev free-style controller would be best. Unless, Nintendo comes out with an accessory to allow you to attach a head unit. That way, you can do all the free look with your head, while swining with 1 hand, and moving with the analog attachment. Or have the 2 Wands as initially discussed, but this time, use them as dual sabers and use the head attachment for freelook. Too many ideas in my head.

 

 

With a far away attacker, the target symbol will be faint or not visible, as you get closer to the attacker, their target indicator will start to become visible before they even fire their weapon. This way, it gives you a chance to defend against up close attacks. The blocker does not need to be dead center on the target to block, but if they can do that, they are rewarded by reflecting the attack back at the attacker. The developer can also play around with adjusting the Target size. I would guess that on a harder level, the target indicator will be smaller. On an easy level, the target will be large with slower bullets flying at you.

 

Sniper Rifle attacks can be spotted using Force See. The indicator would then be completely opaque because their bullets are instant hits.

 

On a one on one game, I think small wrist twist attacks will do less damage, but big circular swings will have the ability to knock back blocking players. You can also easily parry attacks when a big circular swing hits against a small attacks.

 

Equal strength and area attacks should end up in a saber lock, where the player has to shake the controller in relative space. An onscreen indicator will let you know if you are winning the saber lock and tell you when you should start twisting your saber away from you. Basically, if you can shake faster and follow the timing of the twist indicator, you can win the saber lock.