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Nintendo Revolution Controller Revealed
Posted by
CowboyNeal
on Fri Sep 16, 2005 12:36 AM
from the fancy-remotes dept.
from the fancy-remotes dept.
kakos writes "At the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed what the Nintendo Revolution controller looks like. The new controller is a radical departure from traditional controller types. Has Nintendo struck gold with their new controller design? The reviewers seem to think so. It should be interesting to see how gamers react to Nintendo's new innovation."
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No doubt (Score:5, Funny)
Re:No doubt (Score:5, Funny)
Probably because you haven't played them recently.
Parent
Re:No doubt (Score:5, Funny)
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Nice Look! (Score:5, Funny)
Thanks for the new controller Nintendo!
I love the power glove... (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously, this feels like a move in a similar direction - I hope they improved the technology at least a little since then
I for one (Score:5, Informative)
remember when (Score:5, Funny)
Re:remember when (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Truly Revolutionary (Score:5, Insightful)
The very act of being able to control things on screen with precision 'ala mouse will finally let First Person Shooters and Strategy games be played unencumbered.
Even if this controller for some reason doesn't pan out it's 100% wireless so theres no reason they couldn't always fall back on a more "traditional" controller if need be.
Re:Truly Revolutionary (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if this controller for some reason doesn't pan out it's 100% wireless so theres no reason they couldn't always fall back on a more "traditional" controller if need be.
Or they could make it part of a more traditional controller. There's no reason it couldn't plug into module shaped like a traditional controller. For that matter, there's no reason it couldn't plug into a steering wheel or keyboard module, either.
Parent
To those of you that get it (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't flame. Sit back, relax, and laugh.
Damn this machine is going to be fun.
Left handed users? (Score:5, Insightful)
Fun and Funny (Score:5, Funny)
Demos (Score:5, Funny)
Power button not a good idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyone remember when the neighborhood spaz would get über-pissed because he sucked at videogames and so he'd make a run to turn off the console, and a fight would ensue?
There really needs to be a way to prevent the console from being turned off remotely, or else there's going to be lots of bruises and bloody noses in homes that house both children and Revolutions.
Radical Departures (Score:5, Insightful)
If you don't see the inherent awesomeness... (Score:5, Interesting)
Let's start off with the most obvious implementation: FPS. A genre that drives the PS2 and XBox (and dominates computers) will thrive on the Gamecube. Gone is the fiddling with the joystick. A quick flip of the controller, and you've completely turned around. Aiming is no longer tense; your hand eye coordination will allow you to better attack your enemies using a 3d mouse than with a regular controller (think about how many people are about FPS on the computer.)
Don't like FPS? Let's ignore that and move to a love of the Nintendo community: Zelda. Want to see Link do more than just two directions with his sword? No problem, since you will be controlling his sword. When you swing your arm, Link swings his. When you jab, so does he.
Want to control how tense your bow string is? Pull out the bow and arrow, go into first person mode, and extend your arm. Press a button to lock the start position, and pull back as far as you want.
Zelda isn't your thing? How about some fishing. A whip of the controller and you're casting off. You can bob the line back and forth, left and right.
And the accessories for the controller; you can be sure that these will be fairly inexpensive, meaning that companies can throw in their own little controller to add more depth to the game. How about hooking up the headphone set to talk to your buddies in online games to the controller instead of having to have an entire other attachment to the Revolution?
Now imagine that you hold the controller vertically. You're playing Star Fox. You move the controller, just like in a real jet fighter, and the plane moves with you.
Plus, you have a controller that is in one hand only. This means you can eat cheetos and play games at the same time.
The possibilities for this seem endless. Nintendo was not kidding when they named this the Revolution; we are on the edge of virtual reality, the thing that every geek has longed for since we saw the Holodeck in Star Trek: TNG. What Nintendo is doing is taking the big, hulking interactive setups of yesterday's arcades and turning them into the remote of tomorrow's homes.
You no longer control the machine; you control the character itself. Your arm swing is its arm swing. Your aim is its aim. As we've seen with DDR, gaming is turning into more of a physically interactive medium. With this controller, gone are the days of sitting around on the couch fumbling with the controller. Now, if not standing, you're leaning forward or sitting up straight, slashing with your might or blowing a hole in someone's stomach.
Just imagine if they put out pairs of goggles that really gave you the whole FPS feel.
I think Nintendo has a good chance of winning this round.
do NOT judge until you see the VIDEO (Score:5, Informative)
* Remote control design: constructed to appeal to a wide variety of potential players
* 3D Pointing: Sensors understand up, down, left, right, forward and backward.
* Tilt Sensitive: Controller can be rotated or rolled from side-to-side.
* Buttons Included: Has a trigger on its backside, face buttons, and a D-Pad
* Multifunctional: Has an expansion port which can be used with different types of controller peripherals. Analog stick with two trigger buttons planned for left hand.
* Wireless: Totally wire-free. Currently there are no details on the max distance, source or power, or otherwise.
* Rumble Built-in. Included standard in all the controllers.
new innovation (Score:5, Funny)
great idea, if it works... (Score:5, Insightful)
One is that the main controller looks like carpal tunnel city. Admittedly, I haven't used it yet, but it looks awkward. The wrist will be under exactly opposing strains, from the thumb pushing down and the other fingers pushing up. My knowledge about wrists is mostly limited to just HAVING two of them, but when I'm holding a standard two-handed controller, it doesn't feel like the support strain is hitting my wrists too badly. It feels like it's radiated down my arm to my elbows. And the load is shared between both hands. With the new Revolution controller, the pressure is all on one hand and comes at the top of the controller. I can't help but think that the wrist will take the entire load... possibly like a lever using the wrist as a fulcrum... against itself.
It may be perfectly fine -- remember, I'm no expert here -- but I still wonder.
My other concern is how precise and repeatable the hand-gesture controls will be. It's a really superb idea, but it's going to require deployment of sensors on either side of the TV. I wonder how well Nintendo is going to handle the gamut of televisions, from 13" B&W up to 100" projection models. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, but doing it right, and giving it the kind of sensitivity you have with mice and analog thumbsticks, will be very hard.
If they can get it working reliably, but it's a bit sloppy (which is my expectation), they'll need to adjust game designs quite a bit to accommodate it. But it'll give a degree of immersiveness that we will love. Practically everyone instinctively moves the controller around, trying to give their character or car an extra 'push' when they're in a tight spot... making that into an actual control mechanic is brilliant.
Upshot: I'm so there. I'll buy one when it ships. Even if it fails, at least they're really doing something NEW.
Re:first impressions (Score:5, Informative)
RTFA. You don't use the d-pad for movement. You MOVE THE CONTROLLER.
Parent
Re:First thought was: (Score:5, Insightful)
Stop and think for one minute. Why do we even have game pads today? Because Nintendo bucked the trend of everyone and their dog with joysticks and made a gamepad for the Famicom/NES. What about analog sticks? Nintendo again with the N64.
Nintendo has made dramatic changes to the way we play our games twice now, and both times the industry fell right in step behind them imitating at their first opportunity. Who's to say they aren't doing it a third time here?
I'd tend to give a game company who's been around longer than half the population of this website the benefit of a doubt.
Parent
Re:First thought was: (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:First thought was: (Score:5, Informative)
it did. why would you do this nintendo?
Now, before you get all up-in-arms about it, think of the possibilities! This article [ign.com] really makes you think of some of the extraordinary ways this device can be used! I know I'm looking forward to its release. Ah, finally some good RTSs on a console, or a shooter more akin to mouse+keyboard.
Also, the people [gamespot.com] who've had a chance to use it [ign.com] have generally come away pretty excited.
Parent
Re:Two Words.... Light Saber (Score:5, Interesting)
I agree, i read the article and really think this would work great and cant wait to try it.
Did the other people posting even read the article? Because I admit, at first glace it looks stupid, but after reading the demos (flying a plane, basketball, race car, Metroid Prime FPS) it sounds like it'd be really cool.
The FPS sounded especially cool, aim by moving the entire controller! Now all I need are VR googles so i'm not stuck staring at a screen across the room while my arm is pointed somewhere else.
could this be it? could this be the VR system we've all been waiting for?? The controller's perfect for it.... tell u what, if it is then it'll SLAUGHTER the xbox and ps3. I dont care if it has N64 graphics a VR system would be AMAZING.
just dont bring back the Virtual Boy [virtual-boy.org]. Anymore 2D red wire-frame graphics and i'll have to.... um, not buy it like i didnt the first time.
Parent