Nintendo Revolution

[Darth Marsden]

[/url][url="http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/imgs_1.html"]The very first shot of the system (http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/img_2788923.html), and the blurb that goes along with it:


New details regarding Nintendo's next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, have started to sprinkle onto the Internet. The machine, which will be revealed during Nintendo's pre-E3 2005 show on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, will sport a slick, black design and a front blue light.

Revolution will be "two-to-three times more powerful than GameCube," according to Nintendo, which also acknowledges that the next-generation race isn't solely about new technologies. By contrast, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is 13-15 times more powerful than the first, according to the publisher. And Sony says it's PlayStation 3 is roughly 35 times more powerful than PlayStation 2.

Nintendo also revealed that using Revolution's new Wi-Fi connection, gamers would be able to go online to a free gamer-matching service. Interestingly, in a move similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service, Revolution users will be able to download classic and new Nintendo games over the Internet. Nintendo cited such examples as Donkey Kong and Super Mario Sunshine, which suggests that Revolutionaries could have access to games for all the publisher's previous consoles. Front blue light? Okay, I'm sold! ;)

[Darth Marsden]

[/url][url="http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/imgs_1.html"]The very first shot of the system (http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/img_2788923.html), and the blurb that goes along with it:


New details regarding Nintendo's next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, have started to sprinkle onto the Internet. The machine, which will be revealed during Nintendo's pre-E3 2005 show on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, will sport a slick, black design and a front blue light.

Revolution will be "two-to-three times more powerful than GameCube," according to Nintendo, which also acknowledges that the next-generation race isn't solely about new technologies. By contrast, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is 13-15 times more powerful than the first, according to the publisher. And Sony says it's PlayStation 3 is roughly 35 times more powerful than PlayStation 2.

Nintendo also revealed that using Revolution's new Wi-Fi connection, gamers would be able to go online to a free gamer-matching service. Interestingly, in a move similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service, Revolution users will be able to download classic and new Nintendo games over the Internet. Nintendo cited such examples as Donkey Kong and Super Mario Sunshine, which suggests that Revolutionaries could have access to games for all the publisher's previous consoles. Front blue light? Okay, I'm sold! ;)

[Archibaldo]

Wow. All these new system are awesome. Able to download older game? Hell, that's almost as good as backward compatibility.

I doubt what they say about the new systems being like 15 or 35 times more more powerful than the older one.

[Archibaldo]

Wow. All these new system are awesome. Able to download older game? Hell, that's almost as good as backward compatibility.

I doubt what they say about the new systems being like 15 or 35 times more more powerful than the older one.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Jesus Christ, the fact that you can download older games makes me cum my pants non-stop. :)

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Jesus Christ, the fact that you can download older games makes me cum my pants non-stop. :)

[vegeta1215]

I saw the picture, but I don't know whether it's real or not - I was under the impression that the system would load discs the same way as the Gamecube does based on something I read previously :shrug:

I think Nintendo is supposed to have their conference later today, so I'll wait till then.

[vegeta1215]

I saw the picture, but I don't know whether it's real or not - I was under the impression that the system would load discs the same way as the Gamecube does based on something I read previously :shrug:

I think Nintendo is supposed to have their conference later today, so I'll wait till then.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Wow. All these new system are awesome. Able to download older game? Hell, that's almost as good as backward compatibility.

I doubt what they say about the new systems being like 15 or 35 times more more powerful than the older one.

Those statistics are probably based on how the system performs when it's doing nothing, just like last time.

[Dart Zaidyer]

Wow. All these new system are awesome. Able to download older game? Hell, that's almost as good as backward compatibility.

I doubt what they say about the new systems being like 15 or 35 times more more powerful than the older one.

Those statistics are probably based on how the system performs when it's doing nothing, just like last time.

[AlexMax]

I really like how modest Nintendo seems to be with this offering. 2-3 times more powerful seems a lot more realistic than 15-30 OMG TERAFLOPS OF DATA.

That small picture of the Revolution that seems to be circulating more than makes up for any quams that I had about the design of the Gamecube. That is one sexy as hell looking machine.

Controllers.....please don't mess up the controllers.

[AlexMax]

I really like how modest Nintendo seems to be with this offering. 2-3 times more powerful seems a lot more realistic than 15-30 OMG TERAFLOPS OF DATA.

That small picture of the Revolution that seems to be circulating more than makes up for any quams that I had about the design of the Gamecube. That is one sexy as hell looking machine.

Controllers.....please don't mess up the controllers.

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Yes, the conference is being held today. You can see the live webcast right here.

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/e3live.html

Whatever you do, do not miss this!

I am so excited to see the controller.

That is interesting, vegeta, because I was under the impression that it would have front loading access...sort of like the CD players that suck in your discs. :-p

[ctrl-alt-delete]

Yes, the conference is being held today. You can see the live webcast right here.

http://www.gamespot.com/e3/e3live.html

Whatever you do, do not miss this!

I am so excited to see the controller.

That is interesting, vegeta, because I was under the impression that it would have front loading access...sort of like the CD players that suck in your discs. :-p

[Solaris_Omega]

I have been reading that it will be able to play GC discs as well as the new 12mm discs which they are sporting. The fact that you can download old nintendo games is rockin though. There are alot of people saying that Nintendo has alot to do to keep themselves in the console race. I don't think they have a damn thing to worry about even if half of what they say is true...

[Solaris_Omega]

I have been reading that it will be able to play GC discs as well as the new 12mm discs which they are sporting. The fact that you can download old nintendo games is rockin though. There are alot of people saying that Nintendo has alot to do to keep themselves in the console race. I don't think they have a damn thing to worry about even if half of what they say is true...

[Archibaldo]

How big are the new disks? It's hard to tell from the picture. Are they going to be the same size as GCN disks or the size of PS2 and Xbox discs?

[Archibaldo]

How big are the new disks? It's hard to tell from the picture. Are they going to be the same size as GCN disks or the size of PS2 and Xbox discs?

[vegeta1215]

That is interesting, vegeta, because I was under the impression that it would have front loading access...sort of like the CD players that suck in your discs. :-p

What I read previously was something like, "the Revolution will sport the same self-loading media that the Gamecube did." Maybe I misunderstood what they were saying, but to me that meant a tray that popped open - which I personally like cause there are less moving parts, thus one less thing that could possibly break.

UPDATE: They put some more pics of the system up on IGN. The Revolution is tiny!

[vegeta1215]

That is interesting, vegeta, because I was under the impression that it would have front loading access...sort of like the CD players that suck in your discs. :-p

What I read previously was something like, "the Revolution will sport the same self-loading media that the Gamecube did." Maybe I misunderstood what they were saying, but to me that meant a tray that popped open - which I personally like cause there are less moving parts, thus one less thing that could possibly break.

UPDATE: They put some more pics of the system up on IGN. The Revolution is tiny!

[ctrl-alt-delete]

The discs are the same size as Xbox and PS2 discs, thus DVDs. :)

[ctrl-alt-delete]

The discs are the same size as Xbox and PS2 discs, thus DVDs. :)

[Kairyu]

What the? It's a trapezoidal PS2...

[Kairyu]

What the? It's a trapezoidal PS2...

[Archibaldo]

Cool, I just saw the new pics. But where do the controllers plug in? Are they wirless like the Xbox 360's controllers?

[Archibaldo]

Cool, I just saw the new pics. But where do the controllers plug in? Are they wirless like the Xbox 360's controllers?

[theplustwo]

Huh, it acutally says "Revolution" on it:

http://images.theplustwo.com/agn/revolution.png

I wonder if that is going to be the final name of the console after all?

Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that it will have wireless controllers, and also the next GameBoy (not the DS) will connect wirelessly with it.

Edit: Four minutes to Nintendo's press conference. :)

Edit 2: Woo, it can play DVDs!

[theplustwo]

Huh, it acutally says "Revolution" on it:

http://images.theplustwo.com/agn/revolution.png

I wonder if that is going to be the final name of the console after all?

Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that it will have wireless controllers, and also the next GameBoy (not the DS) will connect wirelessly with it.

Edit: Four minutes to Nintendo's press conference. :)

Edit 2: Woo, it can play DVDs!

[Grasshopper]

Hmm, and its spelled with the first O being the DVD and the o is the GC disc... Hmm, is that the acual logo then?

[Grasshopper]

Hmm, and its spelled with the first O being the DVD and the o is the GC disc... Hmm, is that the acual logo then?

[Orion]

Hm... the system looks cool, and I like the blue light, but I am not overly impressed with Nintendo's "Revolution." I don't understand how it can be backwards compatible with the GameCube if the disc slot is too big. Granted, the ability to download all of Nintendo's console games is cool, but don't believe for a minute that you can download their entire library of games. The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.

It seems on par with the rest of the consoles in terms of capabilities, but the way Nintendo was talking it up, I was expecting something we had never seen before. The fact that they haven't shown the controller scares me. If it is something so different that they won't show it, then I don't know that many people (including myself) will want to try it.

The fact that you have to add something to it to play DVDs sucks.

At least online SSB sounds cool.

[Orion]

Hm... the system looks cool, and I like the blue light, but I am not overly impressed with Nintendo's "Revolution." I don't understand how it can be backwards compatible with the GameCube if the disc slot is too big. Granted, the ability to download all of Nintendo's console games is cool, but don't believe for a minute that you can download their entire library of games. The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.

It seems on par with the rest of the consoles in terms of capabilities, but the way Nintendo was talking it up, I was expecting something we had never seen before. The fact that they haven't shown the controller scares me. If it is something so different that they won't show it, then I don't know that many people (including myself) will want to try it.

The fact that you have to add something to it to play DVDs sucks.

At least online SSB sounds cool.

[Cloral]

Well, in the race to see who can release the sexiest looking console exterior, Nintendo wins hands down. Now to see demos of what these consoles can actually do...

[Cloral]

Well, in the race to see who can release the sexiest looking console exterior, Nintendo wins hands down. Now to see demos of what these consoles can actually do...

[theplustwo]

The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.I doubt they are even going to have very many downloadable games. Probably Mario Sunshine and maybe a couple others. And I doubt they'll be free.
The fact that they haven't shown the controller scares me. If it is something so different that they won't show it, then I don't know that many people (including myself) will want to try it.They'll obviously show it before the system is released. They probably are just waiting until they have more playable demos to show it with, as they did with the DS. Just because Microsoft is baring all about their console doesn't mean everyone has to.

The fact that you have to add something to it to play DVDs sucks.From the way the articles read, it sounds like the DVD attachment will be included in the box. I don't know what the reasoning is behind requiring it, though. To watch movies on the Xbox you have to buy the remote, so it's nothing new really.

[theplustwo]

The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.I doubt they are even going to have very many downloadable games. Probably Mario Sunshine and maybe a couple others. And I doubt they'll be free.
The fact that they haven't shown the controller scares me. If it is something so different that they won't show it, then I don't know that many people (including myself) will want to try it.They'll obviously show it before the system is released. They probably are just waiting until they have more playable demos to show it with, as they did with the DS. Just because Microsoft is baring all about their console doesn't mean everyone has to.

The fact that you have to add something to it to play DVDs sucks.From the way the articles read, it sounds like the DVD attachment will be included in the box. I don't know what the reasoning is behind requiring it, though. To watch movies on the Xbox you have to buy the remote, so it's nothing new really.

[Axel]

If the downloadables include Zelda and Star Fox, what else matters?

I'm a little skeptical of the slot being compatable with GC minidisks. I'd like to know how that's supposed to work.

[Axel]

If the downloadables include Zelda and Star Fox, what else matters?

I'm a little skeptical of the slot being compatable with GC minidisks. I'd like to know how that's supposed to work.

[theplustwo]

I'm a little skeptical of the slot being compatable with GC minidisks. I'd like to know how that's supposed to work.From Nintendo.com:
Backward Compatibility. Revolution will play all of your favorite Nintendo GameCube games. An innovative self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. You can also equip a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content.I'm not sure how it will work, suffice to say that it must. :shrug:

[theplustwo]

I'm a little skeptical of the slot being compatable with GC minidisks. I'd like to know how that's supposed to work.From Nintendo.com:
Backward Compatibility. Revolution will play all of your favorite Nintendo GameCube games. An innovative self-loading media bay will play both 12-centimeter optical discs used for the new system as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. You can also equip a small, self-contained attachment to play movies and other DVD content.I'm not sure how it will work, suffice to say that it must. :shrug:

[Archibaldo]

DVD, wirless controller, backward compatibility and a sexy exterior? I know which of the three I'm getting first. Does any one have any idea about what time it will be released, like before christmas or at the beginning of 2006?

[Archibaldo]

DVD, wirless controller, backward compatibility and a sexy exterior? I know which of the three I'm getting first. Does any one have any idea about what time it will be released, like before christmas or at the beginning of 2006?

[theplustwo]

DVD, wirless controller, backward compatibility and a sexy exterior? I know which of the three I'm getting first. Does any one have any idea about what time it will be released, like before christmas or at the beginning of 2006?It won't be out for holiday this year, most likely next year, probably.

[theplustwo]

DVD, wirless controller, backward compatibility and a sexy exterior? I know which of the three I'm getting first. Does any one have any idea about what time it will be released, like before christmas or at the beginning of 2006?It won't be out for holiday this year, most likely next year, probably.

[Rainman]

I fail to see how a shiny black box with a notch in it and a blue light is a "sexy exterior" However, it least Nintendo seems to have taken into account that adults play games as well when designing their console.

[Rainman]

I fail to see how a shiny black box with a notch in it and a blue light is a "sexy exterior" However, it least Nintendo seems to have taken into account that adults play games as well when designing their console.

[Grasshopper]

What I don't get is whats so revolutionary about it? Is it the "virtual console" aspect...wow. :rolleyes: Not that thats not cool, but I can sorta do that now... ;)

[Grasshopper]

What I don't get is whats so revolutionary about it? Is it the "virtual console" aspect...wow. :rolleyes: Not that thats not cool, but I can sorta do that now... ;)

[AtmaWeapon]

I don't really like self-loading slots. They tend to break. You're adding more moving parts to an already fragile piece of equipment. Bah.

Though I think I can see how you could make a large slot accomodate the smaller Gamecube discs. What I'm thinking of is how something has to grab the disc to pull it in; perhaps the shape of the lower "grabber" is made to close in on a disc so the smaller Gamecube discs are in a pincer grip between the two. I don't know anything about how self-loading CD trays work though so I could be wrong.

It looks sexy but I don't want wireless controllers. Even if they have Li-Ion battery packs (making this up; I haven't read anything) it means I'll need at least two controllers to game so that (like I do with GBA) I can be recharging one while playing with the other.

I don't even want to think about what will happen when my battery dies while I am fighting a boss. This will be the second controller I have broken in rage and possibly the first console.

Otherwise I think it's a cool looking system that is going to get covered in ugly fingerprints and smudges, then scratches from me trying to clean it.

Now it's time to see some games. An ugly girl in a pretty dress is still an ugly girl.

So far I'm indifferent, though wireless controllers are a definite minus.

[AtmaWeapon]

I don't really like self-loading slots. They tend to break. You're adding more moving parts to an already fragile piece of equipment. Bah.

Though I think I can see how you could make a large slot accomodate the smaller Gamecube discs. What I'm thinking of is how something has to grab the disc to pull it in; perhaps the shape of the lower "grabber" is made to close in on a disc so the smaller Gamecube discs are in a pincer grip between the two. I don't know anything about how self-loading CD trays work though so I could be wrong.

It looks sexy but I don't want wireless controllers. Even if they have Li-Ion battery packs (making this up; I haven't read anything) it means I'll need at least two controllers to game so that (like I do with GBA) I can be recharging one while playing with the other.

I don't even want to think about what will happen when my battery dies while I am fighting a boss. This will be the second controller I have broken in rage and possibly the first console.

Otherwise I think it's a cool looking system that is going to get covered in ugly fingerprints and smudges, then scratches from me trying to clean it.

Now it's time to see some games. An ugly girl in a pretty dress is still an ugly girl.

So far I'm indifferent, though wireless controllers are a definite minus.

[vegeta1215]

Granted, the ability to download all of Nintendo's console games is cool, but don't believe for a minute that you can download their entire library of games. The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.

I'm sure Nintendo will work with other companies to be able to provide other games aside from just Nintendo's own games. I know I would die if Square signed a deal with them allowing Nintendo to provide all their SNES RPGs on the Revolution. I could get rid of my SNES if that were the case!

I'm not too fond of the self loading drive either. Like Atma said, it's one more thing that could possibly break. Wireless controllers are nice - I have a Wave Bird and it is terrific, but I only use it after I've played a game through with the regular controller and got the full experience with the rumble feature. I think a wireless controller with the rumble feature would drain the batteries too fast, and I don't want to have to charge them often.

[vegeta1215]

Granted, the ability to download all of Nintendo's console games is cool, but don't believe for a minute that you can download their entire library of games. The only games you would be able to download are Nintendo published games. Everything else, such as Konami, Square, etc, they would have to get special permission for.

I'm sure Nintendo will work with other companies to be able to provide other games aside from just Nintendo's own games. I know I would die if Square signed a deal with them allowing Nintendo to provide all their SNES RPGs on the Revolution. I could get rid of my SNES if that were the case!

I'm not too fond of the self loading drive either. Like Atma said, it's one more thing that could possibly break. Wireless controllers are nice - I have a Wave Bird and it is terrific, but I only use it after I've played a game through with the regular controller and got the full experience with the rumble feature. I think a wireless controller with the rumble feature would drain the batteries too fast, and I don't want to have to charge them often.

[Lord Cheese]

Not that I care but after looking at the pic for the new Nintendo It reminded me of a mutilated ps2, but It does look pretty cool anyway...I wonder if theyre hardware will match Xbox 360 and Ps3, I sincerely doubt it but I bet it comes damn close.

[Lord Cheese]

Not that I care but after looking at the pic for the new Nintendo It reminded me of a mutilated ps2, but It does look pretty cool anyway...I wonder if theyre hardware will match Xbox 360 and Ps3, I sincerely doubt it but I bet it comes damn close.

[Daarkseid]

Honestly, I've had almost zero interest in this next era of consoles, but what I've read of the Revolution sounds pretty impressive anyway.

[Daarkseid]

Honestly, I've had almost zero interest in this next era of consoles, but what I've read of the Revolution sounds pretty impressive anyway.

[phattonez]

What I don't get is whats so revolutionary about it? Is it the "virtual console" aspect...wow. :rolleyes: Not that thats not cool, but I can sorta do that now... ;)
The revolutionary part has something to do with the controllers. There are some rumors going around about it, but I guess we'll see when it comes out. Anything is better than the PS3 controllers.

[phattonez]

What I don't get is whats so revolutionary about it? Is it the "virtual console" aspect...wow. :rolleyes: Not that thats not cool, but I can sorta do that now... ;)
The revolutionary part has something to do with the controllers. There are some rumors going around about it, but I guess we'll see when it comes out. Anything is better than the PS3 controllers.

[MottZilla]

Things this E3 sadly, were exactly what was expected I think. Really nothing all that exciting, in my opinion. More or less it's just a hype fest. I like to hear about future products but I want details, not bullshit. The only details I got were pretty small but useful, like Nintendo using full sized discs and such, and the HUGE disappointment of wireless controllers.

You can take your wireless controllers and shove them right up your ass. We need a anti wireless device movement. Oh well, when all the new systems suck I'll just play some NES.

[MottZilla]

Things this E3 sadly, were exactly what was expected I think. Really nothing all that exciting, in my opinion. More or less it's just a hype fest. I like to hear about future products but I want details, not bullshit. The only details I got were pretty small but useful, like Nintendo using full sized discs and such, and the HUGE disappointment of wireless controllers.

You can take your wireless controllers and shove them right up your ass. We need a anti wireless device movement. Oh well, when all the new systems suck I'll just play some NES.

[Vagla]

Yeah, seriously. Are cords THAT much of a hassle? I've never had any noteworthy problems with them, so what the fuck is the point of dealing with a BATTERY instead?! Not only is there that drawback, but also the lack of force feedback on GCN with the WaveBird. Lame. Let's hope that they'll make tethered Revolution controllers to go into the GameCube controller slots that the system has.

As for the whole backwards compatibility thing, I think it's pretty cool, but it has the drawback of not using the original controller (unless companies start coming out with compatible NES/SNES/N64 controllers) and also making any games you own that are available for download on the system worth even less in some cases (though that one won't affect all that many people too much, I'm sure).

And I'm also a bit bothered by the self-loading disc reader. I'd much rather have a tray. Hopefully they'll change that, but I highly doubt it'll happen since chances are it'd make the system bigger, even if they used those really thin trays.

Despite the tray issue and the wireless controllers, I'm pretty excited about this system. I won't be getting many, if any, downloadable games (though I do think it's a very intriguing idea, and has given me a good idea of my own), but even so, I can't wait to see what designers can do with the extra power and more game space. And, of course, the best of all: online gameplay. I'm really happy with my GameCube, and Revolution looks to be all that and more especially because of free online play, which I'm very excited about. So, hopefully it'll live up to my expectations and deliver the traditional experience I want as well as maybe something new. I just hope they don't mess it up by getting too, uh, revolutionary, like having touch-screen controllers with no buttons or sticks.

[Vagla]

Yeah, seriously. Are cords THAT much of a hassle? I've never had any noteworthy problems with them, so what the fuck is the point of dealing with a BATTERY instead?! Not only is there that drawback, but also the lack of force feedback on GCN with the WaveBird. Lame. Let's hope that they'll make tethered Revolution controllers to go into the GameCube controller slots that the system has.

As for the whole backwards compatibility thing, I think it's pretty cool, but it has the drawback of not using the original controller (unless companies start coming out with compatible NES/SNES/N64 controllers) and also making any games you own that are available for download on the system worth even less in some cases (though that one won't affect all that many people too much, I'm sure).

And I'm also a bit bothered by the self-loading disc reader. I'd much rather have a tray. Hopefully they'll change that, but I highly doubt it'll happen since chances are it'd make the system bigger, even if they used those really thin trays.

Despite the tray issue and the wireless controllers, I'm pretty excited about this system. I won't be getting many, if any, downloadable games (though I do think it's a very intriguing idea, and has given me a good idea of my own), but even so, I can't wait to see what designers can do with the extra power and more game space. And, of course, the best of all: online gameplay. I'm really happy with my GameCube, and Revolution looks to be all that and more especially because of free online play, which I'm very excited about. So, hopefully it'll live up to my expectations and deliver the traditional experience I want as well as maybe something new. I just hope they don't mess it up by getting too, uh, revolutionary, like having touch-screen controllers with no buttons or sticks.

[Darth Marsden]

Now it's time to see some games. An ugly girl in a pretty dress is still an ugly girl. That is SO going in my sig! :D

Out of all the consoles, Revolution looks the sexiest. I do believe it's the only console to not model itself on a lens - am I right? :tongue: Even so, it's nice to have Nintendo opening up to new ideas. The downloadable games sounds cool, even though I won't be able to use it (no internet in my room), and backwards compatability is a big BIG plus, as I knew it would be.
I like the idea of wireless controllers, but only there's a decent rumble pack and the battery lasts longer then 5 minutes. I believe I remember hearing somewhere that you'll be able to plug in Gamecube controllers and use them... that would be a good thing to do, if they can.

Again, I will reserve my final judgement until I see some games, but so far all indicators look good..!

[Darth Marsden]

Now it's time to see some games. An ugly girl in a pretty dress is still an ugly girl. That is SO going in my sig! :D

Out of all the consoles, Revolution looks the sexiest. I do believe it's the only console to not model itself on a lens - am I right? :tongue: Even so, it's nice to have Nintendo opening up to new ideas. The downloadable games sounds cool, even though I won't be able to use it (no internet in my room), and backwards compatability is a big BIG plus, as I knew it would be.
I like the idea of wireless controllers, but only there's a decent rumble pack and the battery lasts longer then 5 minutes. I believe I remember hearing somewhere that you'll be able to plug in Gamecube controllers and use them... that would be a good thing to do, if they can.

Again, I will reserve my final judgement until I see some games, but so far all indicators look good..!

[Axel]

I'm not a huge fan of wireless controllers, but I have had problems with cords in the past. Imagine, if you will, playing Star Fox 64 and getting to Andross' Brain for the first time. You've plugged him several times and got a working pattern out, suddenly the dog comes out of nowhere, trips over the cord, pulls it out, and the cursed Brain grabs your Arwing and yanks of both wings. Or finally getting to the final boss on your first playing of Ratchet and Clank, when you lean back to grab your drink, the cord yanks back, pulls the system down, and all save data on your memory cards is erased. That's when I started buying extension cords so that no matter where I sit I still have plenty of slack.
But hey, there's no guarantee that the controllers are wireless just yet, I mean, maybe they plug into the back of the system, or something. If worse comes to worst someone will probably come out with a controller that plugs into the outlet so you don't need to worry about power, or maybe replaceable power packs and a charger. If it comes with two packs per controller all you need to do is pause when the battery low light comes on and switch battery packs.

[Axel]

I'm not a huge fan of wireless controllers, but I have had problems with cords in the past. Imagine, if you will, playing Star Fox 64 and getting to Andross' Brain for the first time. You've plugged him several times and got a working pattern out, suddenly the dog comes out of nowhere, trips over the cord, pulls it out, and the cursed Brain grabs your Arwing and yanks of both wings. Or finally getting to the final boss on your first playing of Ratchet and Clank, when you lean back to grab your drink, the cord yanks back, pulls the system down, and all save data on your memory cards is erased. That's when I started buying extension cords so that no matter where I sit I still have plenty of slack.
But hey, there's no guarantee that the controllers are wireless just yet, I mean, maybe they plug into the back of the system, or something. If worse comes to worst someone will probably come out with a controller that plugs into the outlet so you don't need to worry about power, or maybe replaceable power packs and a charger. If it comes with two packs per controller all you need to do is pause when the battery low light comes on and switch battery packs.

[MottZilla]

Has anyone here actually has bad experiences with the kind of drive the Revolution uses? Personally, not theorectically or guessing. Who actually has had problems? I agree that a tray or a top loaded machine like the GC would be nicer though.

[MottZilla]

Has anyone here actually has bad experiences with the kind of drive the Revolution uses? Personally, not theorectically or guessing. Who actually has had problems? I agree that a tray or a top loaded machine like the GC would be nicer though.

[Grasshopper]

About the wireless controllers. Sony said that the USB ports can be used for anything such as controllers. I figure wireless will be standard, but maybe they'd make a corded controller for USB.

But since this is a Revolution topic...I swear, unless my eyes decieve me, that I had seen a shot fo the revolution (during the press conference) that if you looked close, you could see 4 rounded plugs, much like the GC controller port. Unless thats for GC controllers specific, if would be nice if they would do what I mentioned above. Have wireless as standard controllers, but have corded one as an alternative.\

Edit: I have no idea where I saw that... :odd: Maybe it was another console I saw... oh well, I guess well find out later.

[Grasshopper]

About the wireless controllers. Sony said that the USB ports can be used for anything such as controllers. I figure wireless will be standard, but maybe they'd make a corded controller for USB.

But since this is a Revolution topic...I swear, unless my eyes decieve me, that I had seen a shot fo the revolution (during the press conference) that if you looked close, you could see 4 rounded plugs, much like the GC controller port. Unless thats for GC controllers specific, if would be nice if they would do what I mentioned above. Have wireless as standard controllers, but have corded one as an alternative.\

Edit: I have no idea where I saw that... :odd: Maybe it was another console I saw... oh well, I guess well find out later.

[theplustwo]

Well, the prototype Iowata showed at the Nintendo press conference was just that, a prototype. The final design will actually be smaller.

[theplustwo]

Well, the prototype Iowata showed at the Nintendo press conference was just that, a prototype. The final design will actually be smaller.

[Orion]

If yall want a good laugh, go take a peek in IGN's free Revolution board. The people who post there are usually stupid enough as it is, but now they have this whole thing going on about how Nintendo's press conference this year is a conspiracy and how that wasn't the revolution at all and such and how Nintendo has laid out this weird game that they are supposed to play in order to figure out what the Revolution really is.

They also seem to think that Nintendo isn't done leaking revolution info for E3. Just setting themselves up for disappointment, methinks.

[Orion]

If yall want a good laugh, go take a peek in IGN's free Revolution board. The people who post there are usually stupid enough as it is, but now they have this whole thing going on about how Nintendo's press conference this year is a conspiracy and how that wasn't the revolution at all and such and how Nintendo has laid out this weird game that they are supposed to play in order to figure out what the Revolution really is.

They also seem to think that Nintendo isn't done leaking revolution info for E3. Just setting themselves up for disappointment, methinks.

[theplustwo]

Yeah, the revolution isn't coming out for at least a year. We'll hear more as it's release approaches. Nintendo tends to reveal more new information at Spaceworld than at E3.

[theplustwo]

Yeah, the revolution isn't coming out for at least a year. We'll hear more as it's release approaches. Nintendo tends to reveal more new information at Spaceworld than at E3.

[Orion]

Indeed, but I can't remember the last time there actually was a Spaceworld? I kinda miss that little show, it was always full of good news.

[Orion]

Indeed, but I can't remember the last time there actually was a Spaceworld? I kinda miss that little show, it was always full of good news.

[Grasshopper]

Thats pretty ignorant.
I feel sorry for Nintendo, but I guess its not anyone's fault but their own. A lot of their secrecy comes from the fact that they don't want people stealing the plans, and ideas, correct? At least I've heard that. But I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft have their own plans and most likely don't give a second thought to what Nintendo is planning. I really doubt that people are spying on Nintendo's every move waiting to steal an idea, like Nintendo is the only game company that comes up with ideas.

I really wanted more information. Even Microsoft looked pale in comparison to Sony. And I figured Microsoft would have the pull to take some of the spotlight off of Sony. Sony has some amazing support behind them. And really, what is so wrong with Nintendo doing that to bring some support to themselves. I'm glad they have that thought that its really the software that drives the sales, but what about the developers that make that software, they need to see something to, and Nintendo just isn't showing.

And whats this about Metroid Prime 3. I didn't even know what he was talking about until I watched it a second time.

[Grasshopper]

Thats pretty ignorant.
I feel sorry for Nintendo, but I guess its not anyone's fault but their own. A lot of their secrecy comes from the fact that they don't want people stealing the plans, and ideas, correct? At least I've heard that. But I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft have their own plans and most likely don't give a second thought to what Nintendo is planning. I really doubt that people are spying on Nintendo's every move waiting to steal an idea, like Nintendo is the only game company that comes up with ideas.

I really wanted more information. Even Microsoft looked pale in comparison to Sony. And I figured Microsoft would have the pull to take some of the spotlight off of Sony. Sony has some amazing support behind them. And really, what is so wrong with Nintendo doing that to bring some support to themselves. I'm glad they have that thought that its really the software that drives the sales, but what about the developers that make that software, they need to see something to, and Nintendo just isn't showing.

And whats this about Metroid Prime 3. I didn't even know what he was talking about until I watched it a second time.

[theplustwo]

I don't think Nintendo's (in)famous secrecy is due really that much to protecting corporate secrets, but more so to the fact that they believe in the phrase "actions speak louder than words". They like to just give people the final product and are confident that they will be impressed by it rather than spouting a bunch of theoretical specification numbers to generate mindshare before the product is even released.

The GB Micro is the perfect example, it was a complete surprize, not revealed at all until it was a finished product.

[theplustwo]

I don't think Nintendo's (in)famous secrecy is due really that much to protecting corporate secrets, but more so to the fact that they believe in the phrase "actions speak louder than words". They like to just give people the final product and are confident that they will be impressed by it rather than spouting a bunch of theoretical specification numbers to generate mindshare before the product is even released.

The GB Micro is the perfect example, it was a complete surprize, not revealed at all until it was a finished product.

[vegeta1215]

Well said theplustwo.

Also, I'm sure Nintendo isn't giving more details on the Revolution cause most of us know that if the specs are lower than the PS3 and X-Box 360 (which I have a feeling they probably will be), all we'd hear would be people saying, "OMG The Revolution will suck cause the PS3/X-Box 360 is so more powerfull!!1!!!1" even before we've even seen what Revolution is capable of.



Has anyone here actually has bad experiences with the kind of drive the Revolution uses? Personally, not theorectically or guessing. Who actually has had problems? I agree that a tray or a top loaded machine like the GC would be nicer though.

I have one of those self loading drives in my car stereo. I don't use it very much, but so far it has worked fine.

[vegeta1215]

Well said theplustwo.

Also, I'm sure Nintendo isn't giving more details on the Revolution cause most of us know that if the specs are lower than the PS3 and X-Box 360 (which I have a feeling they probably will be), all we'd hear would be people saying, "OMG The Revolution will suck cause the PS3/X-Box 360 is so more powerfull!!1!!!1" even before we've even seen what Revolution is capable of.



Has anyone here actually has bad experiences with the kind of drive the Revolution uses? Personally, not theorectically or guessing. Who actually has had problems? I agree that a tray or a top loaded machine like the GC would be nicer though.

I have one of those self loading drives in my car stereo. I don't use it very much, but so far it has worked fine.

[Orion]

Its really sad when you look at all these news sites that cover E3 (ala MSN, my ocal newspaper, etc.)

Nintendo isn't even mentioned. The article is completely centered on XBox 360 and PS3, and which of those two will win the "sonsole wars." Nintendo really has only become a Niche player, I don't care what Nintendo fanboys say about it. When you lose mainstream attention, you aren't really a contender.

I dont know what Nintendo is thinking with this little Micro GBA. Okay, so I do know what they were thinking, they wanted to milk the GBA cash cow some more, but in all honestly, who could possibly be excited about Nintendo releasing the EXACT SAME SYSTEM again?

[Orion]

Its really sad when you look at all these news sites that cover E3 (ala MSN, my ocal newspaper, etc.)

Nintendo isn't even mentioned. The article is completely centered on XBox 360 and PS3, and which of those two will win the "sonsole wars." Nintendo really has only become a Niche player, I don't care what Nintendo fanboys say about it. When you lose mainstream attention, you aren't really a contender.

I dont know what Nintendo is thinking with this little Micro GBA. Okay, so I do know what they were thinking, they wanted to milk the GBA cash cow some more, but in all honestly, who could possibly be excited about Nintendo releasing the EXACT SAME SYSTEM again?

[Carcer]

Huh, it acutally says "Revolution" on it:

Interestingly, the "O"s of this logo are discs... perhaps it does not mean Revolution as in... "Vive la Revolution!", but in the context of: Spinning Disc. Now, I hope that I'm wrong about that. Nintendo have never lied before, but it seems rather inappropriate.
To me, the whole console is wrong. It doesn't look liek the sort of thing that Nintendo would come up with. A big black cuboid doesn't seem very original, (and yes, I know that Gamecube was indeed a cuboid). I hope they redesign it if they are real.

[Carcer]

Huh, it acutally says "Revolution" on it:

Interestingly, the "O"s of this logo are discs... perhaps it does not mean Revolution as in... "Vive la Revolution!", but in the context of: Spinning Disc. Now, I hope that I'm wrong about that. Nintendo have never lied before, but it seems rather inappropriate.
To me, the whole console is wrong. It doesn't look liek the sort of thing that Nintendo would come up with. A big black cuboid doesn't seem very original, (and yes, I know that Gamecube was indeed a cuboid). I hope they redesign it if they are real.

[Kairyu]

I feel sorry for Nintendo, but I guess its not anyone's fault but their own. A lot of their secrecy comes from the fact that they don't want people stealing the plans, and ideas, correct? At least I've heard that. But I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft have their own plans and most likely don't give a second thought to what Nintendo is planning. I really doubt that people are spying on Nintendo's every move waiting to steal an idea, like Nintendo is the only game company that comes up with ideas.
"Since the console has two HD outputs, it is can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to projecting video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format (think Cinemascope in your living room). Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second." (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html)

And, yeah, there are controller ports (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/17/screens_6125078.html?page=6), so a plug-in controller will be released by SOMEONE, if not Nintendo. I know they're probably GCN controller slots, but there'll almost certainly be a plug-in version of the new controller.

The downloadable content sounds like an interesting way to combat piracy. They could do a lot of other things with that as well... like... say... Super Metroid with new stages and gameplay... online play with Mario Kart 64... you know, those little updates to classic games we'd all love, but which would never be released because that'd require producing a large amount of cartridges for a dead system...

Now here's a good question- do you like the flash memory cards, or would you prefer a larger (both in terms of size and memory) hard drive?

[Kairyu]

I feel sorry for Nintendo, but I guess its not anyone's fault but their own. A lot of their secrecy comes from the fact that they don't want people stealing the plans, and ideas, correct? At least I've heard that. But I'm pretty sure that Sony and Microsoft have their own plans and most likely don't give a second thought to what Nintendo is planning. I really doubt that people are spying on Nintendo's every move waiting to steal an idea, like Nintendo is the only game company that comes up with ideas.
"Since the console has two HD outputs, it is can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to projecting video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format (think Cinemascope in your living room). Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second." (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html)

And, yeah, there are controller ports (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/17/screens_6125078.html?page=6), so a plug-in controller will be released by SOMEONE, if not Nintendo. I know they're probably GCN controller slots, but there'll almost certainly be a plug-in version of the new controller.

The downloadable content sounds like an interesting way to combat piracy. They could do a lot of other things with that as well... like... say... Super Metroid with new stages and gameplay... online play with Mario Kart 64... you know, those little updates to classic games we'd all love, but which would never be released because that'd require producing a large amount of cartridges for a dead system...

Now here's a good question- do you like the flash memory cards, or would you prefer a larger (both in terms of size and memory) hard drive?

[Grasshopper]

"Since the console has two HD outputs, it is can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to projecting video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format (think Cinemascope in your living room). Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second." (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html)

I had a friend who wanted the same thing for his PC games. He would tell me how it would be nice if you could hook up two monitors for Unreal Tournament 2003 and display his HUD on one screen and the game on the other. And he told me this back when 2003 just came out, so thats before there was even the "two screen game boy".

Hmm, I wonder if he had inside information...
:tongue:

[Grasshopper]

"Since the console has two HD outputs, it is can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to projecting video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format (think Cinemascope in your living room). Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second." (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html)

I had a friend who wanted the same thing for his PC games. He would tell me how it would be nice if you could hook up two monitors for Unreal Tournament 2003 and display his HUD on one screen and the game on the other. And he told me this back when 2003 just came out, so thats before there was even the "two screen game boy".

Hmm, I wonder if he had inside information...
:tongue:

[vegeta1215]

And, yeah, there are controller ports (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/17/screens_6125078.html?page=6), so a plug-in controller will be released by SOMEONE, if not Nintendo. I know they're probably GCN controller slots, but there'll almost certainly be a plug-in version of the new controller.

Now here's a good question- do you like the flash memory cards, or would you prefer a larger (both in terms of size and memory) hard drive?

Woah, cool picture! I was wondering how Nintendo would allow you to play Gamecube games - that's nice that we'll just be able to use our old controllers instead of whatever they have planned for the Revolution.

I like having flash memory card instead of having a hard drive. I think it's because I can physically hold it in my hands, if that makes sense. Kinda like how I prefer CDs over having digital music on my computer.

[vegeta1215]

And, yeah, there are controller ports (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/17/screens_6125078.html?page=6), so a plug-in controller will be released by SOMEONE, if not Nintendo. I know they're probably GCN controller slots, but there'll almost certainly be a plug-in version of the new controller.

Now here's a good question- do you like the flash memory cards, or would you prefer a larger (both in terms of size and memory) hard drive?

Woah, cool picture! I was wondering how Nintendo would allow you to play Gamecube games - that's nice that we'll just be able to use our old controllers instead of whatever they have planned for the Revolution.

I like having flash memory card instead of having a hard drive. I think it's because I can physically hold it in my hands, if that makes sense. Kinda like how I prefer CDs over having digital music on my computer.

[Axel]

Orion, I find it more likely that Revolution isn't mentioned on the game news sites because there's nothing to say. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, as has already been mentioned, Nintendo hasn't said much about their new system. I think that's a good call on their part, nothing could be worse than building up everyone's expectations only to release something that can't fulfill them. Remember the hype centering around Fable? Which turned out to be a decent game, but nothing next to what was hoped for. Nintendo's playing it right, don't give out anything unnecessary until the system's ready. It's easy to beat everyone's expectations when they don't have any.

[Axel]

Orion, I find it more likely that Revolution isn't mentioned on the game news sites because there's nothing to say. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, as has already been mentioned, Nintendo hasn't said much about their new system. I think that's a good call on their part, nothing could be worse than building up everyone's expectations only to release something that can't fulfill them. Remember the hype centering around Fable? Which turned out to be a decent game, but nothing next to what was hoped for. Nintendo's playing it right, don't give out anything unnecessary until the system's ready. It's easy to beat everyone's expectations when they don't have any.

[Archibaldo]

Yeah, seriously. Are cords THAT much of a hassle? I've never had any noteworthy problems with them, so what the fuck is the point of dealing with a BATTERY instead?!

Wireless is big at my house. Here I have two other brothers. So when we play games and we have a couple of friends over we play that who ever loses passes the controller over to the next person. So all the cords get tangled up and it takes forever to untangle them. Plus, it's really annoying when you'er playing and all of a sudden someone pulls out the cord by walking past it.

[Archibaldo]

Yeah, seriously. Are cords THAT much of a hassle? I've never had any noteworthy problems with them, so what the fuck is the point of dealing with a BATTERY instead?!

Wireless is big at my house. Here I have two other brothers. So when we play games and we have a couple of friends over we play that who ever loses passes the controller over to the next person. So all the cords get tangled up and it takes forever to untangle them. Plus, it's really annoying when you'er playing and all of a sudden someone pulls out the cord by walking past it.

[AtmaWeapon]

I don't know why Nintendo's silence seems so odd.

If I recall correctly, they tend to release information somewhat slowly at E3, with the most fascinating nuggets coming at the very end. I'm still expecting some kind of bombshell to drop, though I may be disappointed. The Zelda game alone is adequate.

I do seem to remember, though, that it was said all three systems would be playable at E3. I don't know what the source was or its credibility, but it seems Nintendo has not displayed anything playable for the Revolution yet so time will tell.

Additionally, Nintendo's days of hype are over. They hyped the SNES as the next big thing and delivered one of the greatest systems ever created. They hyped the GBC and GBA and delivered excellent handhelds. They hyped the N64 beyond even the SNES and did not deliver on the hype.

Nintendo STILL has not recovered from the N64. OoT was hyped beyond imagination and delivered a mediocre gaming experience. Nintendo's hype machine has been pretty dormant since those days.

Think about it. When Microsoft was screaming MEGAPIXELS PER MICROSECOND and Sony was pointing out that the PS2 had enough power to display simultaneously on 9 TVs arranged in a grid, Nintendo posted the hardware specs for the Gamecube. Everyone laughed at Nintendo's puny specs but slowly Microsoft changed their tune to "Did we say 'megapixels' and 'microsecond'? We think we said 'many pixels' and 'Microsoft'". Later, Sony changed their tune to "Hey guys who needs boring antialiasing and high-res textures? Those are for NERDS! What you need is FOOTBALL AND BEER! RAPPERS ON MTV PLAY PLAYSTATION AND YOU WILL NOT BE COOL UNLESS YOU BUY ONE."

Meanwhile, Nintendo was quietly applauded as the only company that posted honest specs.

Nintendo rarely fails to deliver on their promises, and this is why I am loyal to them. The only explanation for Nintendo's silence is they are either holding something back or they are not ready to make any solid claims.

Meanwhile I am cursing the fact that now I will buy another GBA. You know what that thing is? An NES controller with a screen. I MUST have it.

[AtmaWeapon]

I don't know why Nintendo's silence seems so odd.

If I recall correctly, they tend to release information somewhat slowly at E3, with the most fascinating nuggets coming at the very end. I'm still expecting some kind of bombshell to drop, though I may be disappointed. The Zelda game alone is adequate.

I do seem to remember, though, that it was said all three systems would be playable at E3. I don't know what the source was or its credibility, but it seems Nintendo has not displayed anything playable for the Revolution yet so time will tell.

Additionally, Nintendo's days of hype are over. They hyped the SNES as the next big thing and delivered one of the greatest systems ever created. They hyped the GBC and GBA and delivered excellent handhelds. They hyped the N64 beyond even the SNES and did not deliver on the hype.

Nintendo STILL has not recovered from the N64. OoT was hyped beyond imagination and delivered a mediocre gaming experience. Nintendo's hype machine has been pretty dormant since those days.

Think about it. When Microsoft was screaming MEGAPIXELS PER MICROSECOND and Sony was pointing out that the PS2 had enough power to display simultaneously on 9 TVs arranged in a grid, Nintendo posted the hardware specs for the Gamecube. Everyone laughed at Nintendo's puny specs but slowly Microsoft changed their tune to "Did we say 'megapixels' and 'microsecond'? We think we said 'many pixels' and 'Microsoft'". Later, Sony changed their tune to "Hey guys who needs boring antialiasing and high-res textures? Those are for NERDS! What you need is FOOTBALL AND BEER! RAPPERS ON MTV PLAY PLAYSTATION AND YOU WILL NOT BE COOL UNLESS YOU BUY ONE."

Meanwhile, Nintendo was quietly applauded as the only company that posted honest specs.

Nintendo rarely fails to deliver on their promises, and this is why I am loyal to them. The only explanation for Nintendo's silence is they are either holding something back or they are not ready to make any solid claims.

Meanwhile I am cursing the fact that now I will buy another GBA. You know what that thing is? An NES controller with a screen. I MUST have it.

[vegeta1215]

Meanwhile I am cursing the fact that now I will buy another GBA. You know what that thing is? An NES controller with a screen. I MUST have it.

I'm happy with my GBA SP, so I won't be picking up a GBA Micro. Your comment reminded me of this comic though, which is hilarious: http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-06-27&res=h

[vegeta1215]

Meanwhile I am cursing the fact that now I will buy another GBA. You know what that thing is? An NES controller with a screen. I MUST have it.

I'm happy with my GBA SP, so I won't be picking up a GBA Micro. Your comment reminded me of this comic though, which is hilarious: http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-06-27&res=h

[theplustwo]

NINTENDO IS FUCKING US AGAIN

And it feels so good. :naughty:

[theplustwo]

NINTENDO IS FUCKING US AGAIN

And it feels so good. :naughty:

[MottZilla]

Like Atma said, Nintendo unlike M$ and Sony don't over hype things. I think it's esspecially annoying actually, that people hype systems that are over a year away from anyone even touching, and for many people more than that. Esspecially this generation. Aside from the Revolution, the other consoles will cost a serious chunk of cash. And they won't bring you any more pleasure than previous systems really.

[MottZilla]

Like Atma said, Nintendo unlike M$ and Sony don't over hype things. I think it's esspecially annoying actually, that people hype systems that are over a year away from anyone even touching, and for many people more than that. Esspecially this generation. Aside from the Revolution, the other consoles will cost a serious chunk of cash. And they won't bring you any more pleasure than previous systems really.

[Darth Marsden]

Well, isn't this fun. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4565265.stm)

I won't be getting the new Game Boy - I don't need it. It's still pretty cool though. Flash memory cards are Darth approved, and I certainly wouldn't mind having them. Nintendo have never exaggerated what they've got, they've always told the cold, hard truth - and that's why I love them rather then Sony or Microsoft. Price is always a key element in products, but sometimes you'll pay a fortune for something you think is really worth it. And, finally, I wish we could keep using our current consoles for another 5 years, but alas! The average consumer seems to demand up-to-date graphics now NOW NOW! Stupid consumers always pushing up expectations...

[Darth Marsden]

Well, isn't this fun. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4565265.stm)

I won't be getting the new Game Boy - I don't need it. It's still pretty cool though. Flash memory cards are Darth approved, and I certainly wouldn't mind having them. Nintendo have never exaggerated what they've got, they've always told the cold, hard truth - and that's why I love them rather then Sony or Microsoft. Price is always a key element in products, but sometimes you'll pay a fortune for something you think is really worth it. And, finally, I wish we could keep using our current consoles for another 5 years, but alas! The average consumer seems to demand up-to-date graphics now NOW NOW! Stupid consumers always pushing up expectations...

[Warlock]

That article is kind of pointless.. of course you can't try the Revolution.. you can't try PS3 or Xbox360 either. Hell, Nintendo has not even revealed the controller yet (which Miyamoto has said is because they don't want their ideas being ripped off by Sony & Microsoft like they did with Rumble Pack, Wireless Controllers, etc etc).

Regarding price, I bet Nintendo will aim to be cheaper than the rest. Miyamoto even said they were designing it to be affordable. If they can sell their console for even like, $50 cheaper than the other two that will be a huge advantage (you all saw how great GC sold when it dropped down to $100).

[Warlock]

That article is kind of pointless.. of course you can't try the Revolution.. you can't try PS3 or Xbox360 either. Hell, Nintendo has not even revealed the controller yet (which Miyamoto has said is because they don't want their ideas being ripped off by Sony & Microsoft like they did with Rumble Pack, Wireless Controllers, etc etc).

Regarding price, I bet Nintendo will aim to be cheaper than the rest. Miyamoto even said they were designing it to be affordable. If they can sell their console for even like, $50 cheaper than the other two that will be a huge advantage (you all saw how great GC sold when it dropped down to $100).

[Grasshopper]

You can try the 360 though. It is playable this year.

What I heard Reggie say about the controllers was that the Revolution can play all Nintendo games, and if you put all the controllers side by side up to the Gamecube, they're all different. Now imagine what a controller would be to be able to play all of those games.

Its not quoted because I don't know the exact things he said, but that was pretty much all that was said about the controller.

[Grasshopper]

You can try the 360 though. It is playable this year.

What I heard Reggie say about the controllers was that the Revolution can play all Nintendo games, and if you put all the controllers side by side up to the Gamecube, they're all different. Now imagine what a controller would be to be able to play all of those games.

Its not quoted because I don't know the exact things he said, but that was pretty much all that was said about the controller.

[Axel]

What could it possibly need to include? 1-2 joysticks, 1-2 d-pads, 2+ thumb buttons, 2-4 index finger buttons, and 1-2 center buttons. Hell, the most off-the-wall thing they can do is to make the controller a single control stick with buttons on and a secondary part with d-pad and anything else that isn't on the control stick.

[Axel]

What could it possibly need to include? 1-2 joysticks, 1-2 d-pads, 2+ thumb buttons, 2-4 index finger buttons, and 1-2 center buttons. Hell, the most off-the-wall thing they can do is to make the controller a single control stick with buttons on and a secondary part with d-pad and anything else that isn't on the control stick.

[Orion]

What I heard Reggie say about the controllers was that the Revolution can play all Nintendo games, and if you put all the controllers side by side up to the Gamecube, they're all different. Now imagine what a controller would be to be able to play all of those games.

I think what he meant is that you can play all of the NES, SNES, and N64 games with the GameCube controller.

[Orion]

What I heard Reggie say about the controllers was that the Revolution can play all Nintendo games, and if you put all the controllers side by side up to the Gamecube, they're all different. Now imagine what a controller would be to be able to play all of those games.

I think what he meant is that you can play all of the NES, SNES, and N64 games with the GameCube controller.

[MottZilla]

You know... you could just... but a different controller... I don't like the Xbox controller and never use it nowdays. I bought a cheap adapter and use my PS2 controller. I do the same for my PC, and if the Revolution will let me play all the NES SNES and N64 games, I'd ofcourse, buy an adapter if I need to.

[MottZilla]

You know... you could just... but a different controller... I don't like the Xbox controller and never use it nowdays. I bought a cheap adapter and use my PS2 controller. I do the same for my PC, and if the Revolution will let me play all the NES SNES and N64 games, I'd ofcourse, buy an adapter if I need to.

[theplustwo]

Regarding price, I bet Nintendo will aim to be cheaper than the rest. Miyamoto even said they were designing it to be affordable. If they can sell their console for even like, $50 cheaper than the other two that will be a huge advantage (you all saw how great GC sold when it dropped down to $100).Yeah, I'd expect a repeat of the last generation where Microsoft and Sony go for the $299 price point and Nintento goes for $199.

[theplustwo]

Regarding price, I bet Nintendo will aim to be cheaper than the rest. Miyamoto even said they were designing it to be affordable. If they can sell their console for even like, $50 cheaper than the other two that will be a huge advantage (you all saw how great GC sold when it dropped down to $100).Yeah, I'd expect a repeat of the last generation where Microsoft and Sony go for the $299 price point and Nintento goes for $199.

[Blonde799]

I dont know what Nintendo is thinking with this little Micro GBA. Okay, so I do know what they were thinking, they wanted to milk the GBA cash cow some more, but in all honestly, who could possibly be excited about Nintendo releasing the EXACT SAME SYSTEM again?
Well, people did fall for the color game boy.:p

The reason why Nintendo isn't in very much spotlight is probably because, well, they didn't really come out. I mean, we know they're supposedly developing the Revolution, they introduced the GBM and some other titles. But really, aside from maybe the next Zelda game, there was hardly anything exciting coming our way.

[Blonde799]

I dont know what Nintendo is thinking with this little Micro GBA. Okay, so I do know what they were thinking, they wanted to milk the GBA cash cow some more, but in all honestly, who could possibly be excited about Nintendo releasing the EXACT SAME SYSTEM again?
Well, people did fall for the color game boy.:p

The reason why Nintendo isn't in very much spotlight is probably because, well, they didn't really come out. I mean, we know they're supposedly developing the Revolution, they introduced the GBM and some other titles. But really, aside from maybe the next Zelda game, there was hardly anything exciting coming our way.

[vegeta1215]

But really, aside from maybe the next Zelda game, there was hardly anything exciting coming our way.

I was excited to hear about a lot of titles coming out for the Gamecube aside from Zelda. We do have over a year before The Revolution comes out, I don't think Nintendo should put aside the games coming out this year for the Gamecube when that's so far away.

One might argue that not showing more of The Revolution and it's specs makes it look bad compared to Sony and MS, but Nintendo has already said they're going in a separate direction and are not going to get into the hissy fit of a battle over who has the more powerful hardware that Sony and MS have at E3.

[vegeta1215]

But really, aside from maybe the next Zelda game, there was hardly anything exciting coming our way.

I was excited to hear about a lot of titles coming out for the Gamecube aside from Zelda. We do have over a year before The Revolution comes out, I don't think Nintendo should put aside the games coming out this year for the Gamecube when that's so far away.

One might argue that not showing more of The Revolution and it's specs makes it look bad compared to Sony and MS, but Nintendo has already said they're going in a separate direction and are not going to get into the hissy fit of a battle over who has the more powerful hardware that Sony and MS have at E3.

[Cloral]

Both of the Mario sports games they showed at e3 looked great and were really fun, especially the Mario soccer game. They have a forcefield all the way around the field to ensure the ball never goes out of play, which was a great idea as it keeps the action going.

On the other hand, their normal baseball game looks like crap and was not fun to play...

What was really interesting though was that Twilight Princess was the biggest attraction of the show despite the new consoles. Zelda had the longest lines throughout the entire show.

[Cloral]

Both of the Mario sports games they showed at e3 looked great and were really fun, especially the Mario soccer game. They have a forcefield all the way around the field to ensure the ball never goes out of play, which was a great idea as it keeps the action going.

On the other hand, their normal baseball game looks like crap and was not fun to play...

What was really interesting though was that Twilight Princess was the biggest attraction of the show despite the new consoles. Zelda had the longest lines throughout the entire show.

[Grasshopper]

Did you get to try out Battalion Wars? Was that any good?

[Grasshopper]

Did you get to try out Battalion Wars? Was that any good?

[Warlock]

Yeah, I'd expect a repeat of the last generation where Microsoft and Sony go for the $299 price point and Nintento goes for $199.

I heard PS3 may be as high as $450.. :( If that is truely the case, if Nintendo can keep theirs at $200 they will definately have some good selling power there. I mean, hell.. you remember Neo Geo? That sucker was something like $600 with $100 games.. and this is back around 1994 or so I think.. gee I wonder why it failed :)

[Warlock]

Yeah, I'd expect a repeat of the last generation where Microsoft and Sony go for the $299 price point and Nintento goes for $199.

I heard PS3 may be as high as $450.. :( If that is truely the case, if Nintendo can keep theirs at $200 they will definately have some good selling power there. I mean, hell.. you remember Neo Geo? That sucker was something like $600 with $100 games.. and this is back around 1994 or so I think.. gee I wonder why it failed :)

[theplustwo]

One might argue that not showing more of The Revolution and it's specs makes it look bad compared to Sony and MS, but Nintendo has already said they're going in a separate direction and are not going to get into the hissy fit of a battle over who has the more powerful hardware that Sony and MS have at E3.Yeah, Nintendo is like the Dr. Pepper of video games. They are vastly out-resourced by other companies (due to the other companies having their hands in many other markets) but still retain a strong presence and offer unique and delicious (read: awesome) content to their audience.

I'd say that Microsoft is Pepsi and Sony is Coke, but that's just me.

Anyhow, yeah I like the fact that the new Zelda game is generating as much, if not more interest than the two new consoles (apparently there was, at one point, a 5 hour wait to play the demo). If Nintendo's plan was to steal their competitor's new console thunder by making a spellbindingly beautiful new Zelda game to attract attention, they succeded. :) Now in a year when Nintendo is hyping up the release of their new console, Microsoft and Sony will just be talking about the new Madden or whatever.

[theplustwo]

One might argue that not showing more of The Revolution and it's specs makes it look bad compared to Sony and MS, but Nintendo has already said they're going in a separate direction and are not going to get into the hissy fit of a battle over who has the more powerful hardware that Sony and MS have at E3.Yeah, Nintendo is like the Dr. Pepper of video games. They are vastly out-resourced by other companies (due to the other companies having their hands in many other markets) but still retain a strong presence and offer unique and delicious (read: awesome) content to their audience.

I'd say that Microsoft is Pepsi and Sony is Coke, but that's just me.

Anyhow, yeah I like the fact that the new Zelda game is generating as much, if not more interest than the two new consoles (apparently there was, at one point, a 5 hour wait to play the demo). If Nintendo's plan was to steal their competitor's new console thunder by making a spellbindingly beautiful new Zelda game to attract attention, they succeded. :) Now in a year when Nintendo is hyping up the release of their new console, Microsoft and Sony will just be talking about the new Madden or whatever.

[Cloral]

Did you get to try out Battalion Wars? Was that any good?
Yeah I played through one demo level where I was chaing after an enemy spy on foot and with a tank with other units. The level was pretty sparce (this is pretty common at e3 - they don't want to challenge you, they want you to play through it and pass the controls on to the next guy), but it seemed like if you got into a heated battle it would be pretty fun. The controls were pretty responsive, so you shouldn't have any trouble moving your troops into position or ducking behind a baracade to avoid enemy fire.

[Cloral]

Did you get to try out Battalion Wars? Was that any good?
Yeah I played through one demo level where I was chaing after an enemy spy on foot and with a tank with other units. The level was pretty sparce (this is pretty common at e3 - they don't want to challenge you, they want you to play through it and pass the controls on to the next guy), but it seemed like if you got into a heated battle it would be pretty fun. The controls were pretty responsive, so you shouldn't have any trouble moving your troops into position or ducking behind a baracade to avoid enemy fire.

[Darth Marsden]

Grr. I'm so jealous of you guys who got to go. All we had was the crummy Eurovision Song Contest. Our song was clearly one of the better ones, and we got bugger all points. Bloody politics...

Anyway! Thanks to various websites, I've seen pretty much all I wanted to see, and I have to admit Ninendo are looking completely on top of their game. Nowadays they're more like the underground group, but even so, they've still got it where it counts.

[Darth Marsden]

Grr. I'm so jealous of you guys who got to go. All we had was the crummy Eurovision Song Contest. Our song was clearly one of the better ones, and we got bugger all points. Bloody politics...

Anyway! Thanks to various websites, I've seen pretty much all I wanted to see, and I have to admit Ninendo are looking completely on top of their game. Nowadays they're more like the underground group, but even so, they've still got it where it counts.

[Orion]

I heard PS3 may be as high as $450.. :(

I have heard that too, and while I think it would be funny to see Sony make a huge mistake like that, I don't think they are QUITE that stupid. I'm gunna guess they'll put it out for maybe $350 or so. They will probably take a loss in profits before they alienate all of their customers who aren't made of cash.

Then, of course, I say this, and I look at the PSP's price tag...

[Orion]

I heard PS3 may be as high as $450.. :(

I have heard that too, and while I think it would be funny to see Sony make a huge mistake like that, I don't think they are QUITE that stupid. I'm gunna guess they'll put it out for maybe $350 or so. They will probably take a loss in profits before they alienate all of their customers who aren't made of cash.

Then, of course, I say this, and I look at the PSP's price tag...

[DarkDragoonX]

Well, as the main audience for gaming has shifted into the 18-20something range, I'm guessing that the theory is these older gamers will have their own jobs and be perfectly willing to shell out $350 smackers for a new system... remeber, back in the days of the NES, SNES, and even the N64 and PSX era, most gamers were having their new systems purchased as birthday/christmas gifts by their parents.

I'm willing to bet that if the price IS $350-$450, they will still find plenty of college students more than willing to shell out the cash.

[DarkDragoonX]

Well, as the main audience for gaming has shifted into the 18-20something range, I'm guessing that the theory is these older gamers will have their own jobs and be perfectly willing to shell out $350 smackers for a new system... remeber, back in the days of the NES, SNES, and even the N64 and PSX era, most gamers were having their new systems purchased as birthday/christmas gifts by their parents.

I'm willing to bet that if the price IS $350-$450, they will still find plenty of college students more than willing to shell out the cash.

[Warlock]

Well, as the main audience for gaming has shifted into the 18-20something range, I'm guessing that the theory is these older gamers will have their own jobs and be perfectly willing to shell out $350 smackers for a new system... remeber, back in the days of the NES, SNES, and even the N64 and PSX era, most gamers were having their new systems purchased as birthday/christmas gifts by their parents.

I'm willing to bet that if the price IS $350-$450, they will still find plenty of college students more than willing to shell out the cash.

You think a college student has $450 to shell out for a gaming system? Esp. considering the people who are willing to pay that much are going to be the same people who want to own multiple consoles. I mean, what do you want? Xbox360 and Revolution or ONLY PS3? Granted that's assuming Xbox360 is affordable... god only knows how much that will cost.

But yeah, I never had $450 to throw away on a whim while I was in college. I had to save money for.. you know.. food and tuition and stuff :P I had some money to spend but not that much for one thing.

[Warlock]

Well, as the main audience for gaming has shifted into the 18-20something range, I'm guessing that the theory is these older gamers will have their own jobs and be perfectly willing to shell out $350 smackers for a new system... remeber, back in the days of the NES, SNES, and even the N64 and PSX era, most gamers were having their new systems purchased as birthday/christmas gifts by their parents.

I'm willing to bet that if the price IS $350-$450, they will still find plenty of college students more than willing to shell out the cash.

You think a college student has $450 to shell out for a gaming system? Esp. considering the people who are willing to pay that much are going to be the same people who want to own multiple consoles. I mean, what do you want? Xbox360 and Revolution or ONLY PS3? Granted that's assuming Xbox360 is affordable... god only knows how much that will cost.

But yeah, I never had $450 to throw away on a whim while I was in college. I had to save money for.. you know.. food and tuition and stuff :P I had some money to spend but not that much for one thing.

[MottZilla]

Like Warlock said, actually college kids tend NOT to have alot of money. I hope PS3 does cost a ton. I want it to go down in flames. =)

By the way Warlock, NeoGeo actually, lasted all the way into the 2000s. Infact the last cartridges were probably produced in 2004. Just because you didn't notice it doesn't mean it went away.

[MottZilla]

Like Warlock said, actually college kids tend NOT to have alot of money. I hope PS3 does cost a ton. I want it to go down in flames. =)

By the way Warlock, NeoGeo actually, lasted all the way into the 2000s. Infact the last cartridges were probably produced in 2004. Just because you didn't notice it doesn't mean it went away.

[DarkDragoonX]

I never said college students had tons of cash. I said they would be willing to pay $350-$450 for a PS3. We're talking about the same group of people who buy brand new cars, big screen TVs, and expensive computers and laptops, all items they are barely able to make payments on.

I have several friends still in college, and they spend a ton of cash on things that they really shouldn't (one of my friends bought Steel Battallion, for chrissakes). Heck, if it came down to living on ramen for a month or not getting a new system, you can bet I would be out there stocking up on ramen.


EDIT: For what it's worth, I would enjoy watching Sony crash and burn, too. I just don't think a high price alone would be a deathblow in and of itself.

[DarkDragoonX]

I never said college students had tons of cash. I said they would be willing to pay $350-$450 for a PS3. We're talking about the same group of people who buy brand new cars, big screen TVs, and expensive computers and laptops, all items they are barely able to make payments on.

I have several friends still in college, and they spend a ton of cash on things that they really shouldn't (one of my friends bought Steel Battallion, for chrissakes). Heck, if it came down to living on ramen for a month or not getting a new system, you can bet I would be out there stocking up on ramen.


EDIT: For what it's worth, I would enjoy watching Sony crash and burn, too. I just don't think a high price alone would be a deathblow in and of itself.

[Cloral]

This isn't entirely related to the current discussion, but I was remembering at e3 they had a demo of voice chat using the DS. They were using it to talk to a Nintendo historian who was talking about who founded Nintendo, what they've done in the past, etc. As I'm sure most of you know, Nintendo has been around for a very long time and has produced a huge variety of products before video games. Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club. In the light of how Nintendo is currently viewed as the kidsy console maker, this was pretty funny.

As for the current discussion, I am in the end probably going to get all 3 systems unless they are prohibitively expensive. I consider it to be work-related at this point. But back in college, there was no way I could've afforded that much. In fact, I bought very few games during that time due in part to an overall lack of funds. So Sony could really alienate themselves if they charge a lot for their system. Especially since it is coming out well after the 360, so if they don't have anything special to point to their system, they may have a very hard time moving units.

[Cloral]

This isn't entirely related to the current discussion, but I was remembering at e3 they had a demo of voice chat using the DS. They were using it to talk to a Nintendo historian who was talking about who founded Nintendo, what they've done in the past, etc. As I'm sure most of you know, Nintendo has been around for a very long time and has produced a huge variety of products before video games. Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club. In the light of how Nintendo is currently viewed as the kidsy console maker, this was pretty funny.

As for the current discussion, I am in the end probably going to get all 3 systems unless they are prohibitively expensive. I consider it to be work-related at this point. But back in college, there was no way I could've afforded that much. In fact, I bought very few games during that time due in part to an overall lack of funds. So Sony could really alienate themselves if they charge a lot for their system. Especially since it is coming out well after the 360, so if they don't have anything special to point to their system, they may have a very hard time moving units.

[Kairyu]

Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club.

Wow. That is just awesome.

[Kairyu]

Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club.

Wow. That is just awesome.

[Grasshopper]

I'm not sure of some of the college students you know DarkDragoonX, but I don't have money, and the people I know don't have money either. Thats why none of the guys I know have a PSP. Those guys you know need better spending habits. ;)

I wouldn't buy a PSP, a GBM, a PS3, an Xbox 360, or Revolution until I know its in my budget.

[Grasshopper]

I'm not sure of some of the college students you know DarkDragoonX, but I don't have money, and the people I know don't have money either. Thats why none of the guys I know have a PSP. Those guys you know need better spending habits. ;)

I wouldn't buy a PSP, a GBM, a PS3, an Xbox 360, or Revolution until I know its in my budget.

[MacWeirdo42]

Hey, if Revolution is $200, I am definitely going to make an effort to buy one. Not saying that I actually will buy one, mind you, being a poor college student myself. Heck, I want a DS and I can't get that right now, so... By the way, if it really has that download system for old games, OMG that is the most incredible thing ever. Best idea I've ever heard for a new console. I really hope that it has a large library of games available.

[MacWeirdo42]

Hey, if Revolution is $200, I am definitely going to make an effort to buy one. Not saying that I actually will buy one, mind you, being a poor college student myself. Heck, I want a DS and I can't get that right now, so... By the way, if it really has that download system for old games, OMG that is the most incredible thing ever. Best idea I've ever heard for a new console. I really hope that it has a large library of games available.

[Darth Marsden]

This isn't entirely related to the current discussion, but I was remembering at e3 they had a demo of voice chat using the DS. They were using it to talk to a Nintendo historian who was talking about who founded Nintendo, what they've done in the past, etc. As I'm sure most of you know, Nintendo has been around for a very long time and has produced a huge variety of products before video games. Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club. In the light of how Nintendo is currently viewed as the kidsy console maker, this was pretty funny. Funny - I have a book that takes a detailed look at Nintendo (specifically how they built themselves up from a trading card company into one of the major specialists of the video game industry - it ends before they launched the N64) and I don't remember reading about that at all. Maybe a reread is in order..?

The book is 'Game Over?', although the author's name eludes me for the moment. The copy I got was free with the magazine Arcade, and it was from a few years back. Highly recommended.

EDIT: DAVID SHEFF! (At least I think it was. There's been a few books with the title.) And here's an Amazon.com user review, the best I've found that sums the whole thing up. Track down a copy if you can, it's well worth it.


An alarmist, almost apocalyptic tone compromises this otherwise well-researched primer on the sudden emergence of a Japanese entertainment company in the early 1990s. Super Mario, Nintendo's mascot, became more familiar to American children in 1990 than Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. Nintendo also dominated the market that holiday season by owning 25 of the top 30 most popular toys sold. American toy companies Hasbro and Mattel were left far, far behind. Author David Sheff concludes, "Nintendo sailded past stalwart American corporations such as IBM, Disney, and Apple Computer, not only in profitability, but also in impact on American culture." The melodramatic title broadcasts his peculiar premise that there is something very sinister about millions of obsessive American children playing witty and clever video games - if they are designed by a Japanese company for profit. (Do American companies seek a loss?) Written during the mid 1990's when fear of Japan was still strong, Sheff's seems to pander to populist anxieties about new technologies, foreigners, and big international companies in the opening chapters.

Ironically, the majority of Sheff's book undercuts those exaggerated fears of conquering Asians using "ruthless scorched earth" business practices like developing affordable hardware and creative software products. Social scientists and psychologists are extensively quoted praising Nintendo games as more interactive, intellectually demanding, and entertaining than television. (This was written in the pre-internet, pre-web era.) Sheff also dissects parental allegations that Nintendo games hynotize kids by releasing endorphins, and notes that Nintendo wasn't invented to be a babysitter. Sheff suggests, however, that Nintendo might be a better babysetter than commercial television for latch-key kids.

Beneath the sensational promotional title and occasssional Japan-bashing nonsense, Game Over ultimately emerges as a solid examinatin of modern warfare and the rise of a dynamic Japanese entertainment empire. An excellent book for business professionals, Nintendo players, and college students taking economics or media studies.

[Darth Marsden]

This isn't entirely related to the current discussion, but I was remembering at e3 they had a demo of voice chat using the DS. They were using it to talk to a Nintendo historian who was talking about who founded Nintendo, what they've done in the past, etc. As I'm sure most of you know, Nintendo has been around for a very long time and has produced a huge variety of products before video games. Well, at one point in time, Nintendo was a gentleman's club. In the light of how Nintendo is currently viewed as the kidsy console maker, this was pretty funny. Funny - I have a book that takes a detailed look at Nintendo (specifically how they built themselves up from a trading card company into one of the major specialists of the video game industry - it ends before they launched the N64) and I don't remember reading about that at all. Maybe a reread is in order..?

The book is 'Game Over?', although the author's name eludes me for the moment. The copy I got was free with the magazine Arcade, and it was from a few years back. Highly recommended.

EDIT: DAVID SHEFF! (At least I think it was. There's been a few books with the title.) And here's an Amazon.com user review, the best I've found that sums the whole thing up. Track down a copy if you can, it's well worth it.


An alarmist, almost apocalyptic tone compromises this otherwise well-researched primer on the sudden emergence of a Japanese entertainment company in the early 1990s. Super Mario, Nintendo's mascot, became more familiar to American children in 1990 than Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. Nintendo also dominated the market that holiday season by owning 25 of the top 30 most popular toys sold. American toy companies Hasbro and Mattel were left far, far behind. Author David Sheff concludes, "Nintendo sailded past stalwart American corporations such as IBM, Disney, and Apple Computer, not only in profitability, but also in impact on American culture." The melodramatic title broadcasts his peculiar premise that there is something very sinister about millions of obsessive American children playing witty and clever video games - if they are designed by a Japanese company for profit. (Do American companies seek a loss?) Written during the mid 1990's when fear of Japan was still strong, Sheff's seems to pander to populist anxieties about new technologies, foreigners, and big international companies in the opening chapters.

Ironically, the majority of Sheff's book undercuts those exaggerated fears of conquering Asians using "ruthless scorched earth" business practices like developing affordable hardware and creative software products. Social scientists and psychologists are extensively quoted praising Nintendo games as more interactive, intellectually demanding, and entertaining than television. (This was written in the pre-internet, pre-web era.) Sheff also dissects parental allegations that Nintendo games hynotize kids by releasing endorphins, and notes that Nintendo wasn't invented to be a babysitter. Sheff suggests, however, that Nintendo might be a better babysetter than commercial television for latch-key kids.

Beneath the sensational promotional title and occasssional Japan-bashing nonsense, Game Over ultimately emerges as a solid examinatin of modern warfare and the rise of a dynamic Japanese entertainment empire. An excellent book for business professionals, Nintendo players, and college students taking economics or media studies.

[MacWeirdo42]

Here's one thing I thought of. Assuming they do implement the download system, how do you think it'll work? Will the old library be free? Or will we pay? And if so, will it be a monthly fee or one-time? Just wondering, from a price perspective.

[MacWeirdo42]

Here's one thing I thought of. Assuming they do implement the download system, how do you think it'll work? Will the old library be free? Or will we pay? And if so, will it be a monthly fee or one-time? Just wondering, from a price perspective.

[Warlock]

By the way Warlock, NeoGeo actually, lasted all the way into the 2000s. Infact the last cartridges were probably produced in 2004. Just because you didn't notice it doesn't mean it went away.

Really? I know the arcade machines kept going but I wasn't aware the system lasted that long.

[Warlock]

By the way Warlock, NeoGeo actually, lasted all the way into the 2000s. Infact the last cartridges were probably produced in 2004. Just because you didn't notice it doesn't mean it went away.

Really? I know the arcade machines kept going but I wasn't aware the system lasted that long.

[Darth Marsden]

Here's one thing I thought of. Assuming they do implement the download system, how do you think it'll work? Will the old library be free? Or will we pay? And if so, will it be a monthly fee or one-time? Just wondering, from a price perspective. Hmm... curious. Maybe it'll be free to connect and browse, but they'll charge us for each game we download, with older games being cheaper. EG: NES games £5 (about $7.50), SNES games £7.50 ($10), N64 games £10 ($15). I'd go for it as long as Chrono Trigger is there. Nintendo would be mad not to get SquareEnix to release that one again.

[Darth Marsden]

Here's one thing I thought of. Assuming they do implement the download system, how do you think it'll work? Will the old library be free? Or will we pay? And if so, will it be a monthly fee or one-time? Just wondering, from a price perspective. Hmm... curious. Maybe it'll be free to connect and browse, but they'll charge us for each game we download, with older games being cheaper. EG: NES games £5 (about $7.50), SNES games £7.50 ($10), N64 games £10 ($15). I'd go for it as long as Chrono Trigger is there. Nintendo would be mad not to get SquareEnix to release that one again.

[MottZilla]

Darth Marsden, that book is already uninteresting as Nintendo's rise in the industry was during the latter part of the 80s, not the early 90s. They were doing great during the early 90s, but I believe their real rise to market domination was the late 80s with the original famicom/NES.

[MottZilla]

Darth Marsden, that book is already uninteresting as Nintendo's rise in the industry was during the latter part of the 80s, not the early 90s. They were doing great during the early 90s, but I believe their real rise to market domination was the late 80s with the original famicom/NES.

[Darth Marsden]

Ouch! Burn. It's always interesting to read about the history of a company that cares about people.

Anyway. A little more on the Revolution:


USA Today has also confirmed that the Revolution is backwards compatible with GameCube games, and - a first for Nintendo - will play DVDs. An Xbox Live-style online service is in the works, and it'll offer downloadable versions of almost all the games in Nintendo's back catalogue, from Donkey Kong to Mario Sunshine.

Mario! W00t!

[Darth Marsden]

Ouch! Burn. It's always interesting to read about the history of a company that cares about people.

Anyway. A little more on the Revolution:


USA Today has also confirmed that the Revolution is backwards compatible with GameCube games, and - a first for Nintendo - will play DVDs. An Xbox Live-style online service is in the works, and it'll offer downloadable versions of almost all the games in Nintendo's back catalogue, from Donkey Kong to Mario Sunshine.

Mario! W00t!

[Orion]

I think that was already stated in this thread?

[idontknow]

Questions about the Revolution:

1) Can it download & play Gameboy, Gameboy Color, & Gameboy Advance games?

2) Can it download & play nintendo DS games? (Doubtful since it just came out)

3) How many controller ports are there? It'd be sweet if there were 8 controller slots for 1 system! Something not yet seen in a console as of yet! I'm also assuming LAN can be played with multiple systems? (Wireless LAN would be cool too! Imagine multiple systems & TV but you only need one game CD and NO Cables or Broadband adaptors!)

4) Aren't all the controllers wireless? And how does a system know like what controllers are for which player if they are not plugged into the controller slots, if they are wireless? And what does the controller look like?

5) Anybody know a release date, release month, or at least what quadrant of which year this system will be released?

6) Can the system play CDs (for music)? I know it can play DVDs, but will it need some sort of extension/program/accessory in order to do so or is it capable of doing so right out of the box?

7) Oh! And how much will the starting cost of the Revolution be?

[MottZilla]

Similar to GameCube, Revolution may very likely not support CD-ROM at all. One thing I've been wondering about with the GameCube backwards compatability is about the hi speed port add-ons. Will the BBA for GC work? Will the GB Player work? Questions we don't have the answers to yet I believe.

[Grasshopper]

1) Can it download & play Gameboy, Gameboy Color, & Gameboy Advance games?
A) No, based on what Nintendo has said. Nintendo said that the Revolution will be backward compatible with "20 years of Nintendo content", but specifically said "You will be able to purchase games originally created for NES, Super NES, and Nintendo 64.", plus they have said it will be able to "accept Gamecube discs".

2) Can it download & play nintendo DS games? (Doubtful since it just came out)
A) The controller hasn't been revealed yet, but unless it has a touch screen, there is no way to interact with the game originally intended by Nintendo. Also, I just don't think Nintendo will do that since they are considered seperate systems.

3) How many controller ports are there? It'd be sweet if there were 8 controller slots for 1 system! Something not yet seen in a console as of yet! I'm also assuming LAN can be played with multiple systems? (Wireless LAN would be cool too! Imagine multiple systems & TV but you only need one game CD and NO Cables or Broadband adaptors!)
A) There are four according to this picture (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/17/screens_6125078.html?page=6). Nintendo Revolution will be using wireless controllers as well. Also, I'm pretty sure Nintendo has already announced that the Revolution is capable of doing such a thing. I doubt you could only use one game though.

4) Aren't all the controllers wireless? And how does a system know like what controllers are for which player if they are not plugged into the controller slots, if they are wireless? And what does the controller look like?
A) I don't know the technology behind wireless controllers. I just accept that they work. And really, Nintendo and the other companies using wireless controllers will sort that out for you. No need to worry. As for the controllers, Nintendo hasn't revealed to any news press about what the controller looks like.

5) Anybody know a release date, release month, or at least what quadrant of which year this system will be released?
A) I believe Nintendo has stated it will be out next year, unless that was speculation. As to what time of the year is still to be determined.

6) Can the system play CDs (for music)? I know it can play DVDs, but will it need some sort of extension/program/accessory in order to do so or is it capable of doing so right out of the box?
A) Like Mottzilla said, it's unlikely. Nintendo is at foremost a game company, and I doubt they would see a need to play music CDs.

Mott, I've always wondered if it would be possible for Nintendo to design the next GB to transmit game data wirelessly between itself and the Revolution, that way you don't need attachments, and will be able to play games on your TV or on the portable. That way, if it was backward compatiable with the other games, then you wouldn't need the Gameboy Player. :)

[DarkDragoonX]

EDIT: Grasshopper beat me to it. Neeeever mind.

[whationcewas]

Decisions, decisions. Hell, the last home system I bought was the PS2. I tend to spend a little more time in front of this box. But with all the hype, I cant help but be just a lil curiou myself. And I must agree with AMax, God, please let the controllers be useful to people with only five fingers per hand.....

[Strider1982]

3 ) How many controller ports are there? It'd be sweet if there were 8 controller slots for 1 system! Something not yet seen in a console as of yet! I'm also assuming LAN can be played with multiple systems? (Wireless LAN would be cool too! Imagine multiple systems & TV but you only need one game CD and NO Cables or Broadband adaptors!)

Heh heh... if there were 8 controller ports and they made an 8-player Mario Kart game...Whooaa, that would divide the screen up into almost Gameboy-size separate player screens!

[MottZilla]

Mott, I've always wondered if it would be possible for Nintendo to design the next GB to transmit game data wirelessly between itself and the Revolution, that way you don't need attachments, and will be able to play games on your TV or on the portable. That way, if it was backward compatiable with the other games, then you wouldn't need the Gameboy Player. :)

It could, but it'd likely work by wirelessly transmitting a video signal, sound signal, maybe even input. I'm certain that is possible.

[Ganondork]

[/url][url="http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/imgs_1.html"]The very first shot of the system (http://media.cube.ign.com/articles/615/615008/img_2788923.html), and the blurb that goes along with it:

Front blue light? Okay, I'm sold! ;)
That was Proved Fake! Nintendo never said it would only be 2-3 times more powerful than the GC, it will be more powerful than the 360, and be less powerful than the PS3 (but not by much..)
Also it got alot of fanboys started when nintendo said that online services,graphics, and playbackdoesen't matter, they started spreading rumors a bout that. Any way, I have seen the X360's specs, and it is only about 4 times as powerful as the XB. As 4 the PS3 specs, i haven't seen um but judging by the screenshots i have seen, i will give it no more than 7 times the power of PS2. So we can look forward to the Rev being about 5.5 times a powerful as the GC.
Any way i got the X360 specs and every thing about the 360 in the latest EGM. :whap:

[Ganondork]

one more thing! that information was not given by nintendo, but by a PS2 fanboy.

[Orion]

That was Proved Fake!

Learn to talk.


It will be more powerful than the 360, and be less powerful than the PS3 (but not by much..)

How do you figure? No official specs have been released yet.

And try not to double post.

[MottZilla]

No to mention the obvious fact for anyone with common sense, none ofthe next gen console's specs are finalized yet.

[DarkDragoonX]

Indeed. This year (at least, hardware-wise), E3 was little more than flashy tech demos with little or no relation to actual system performance. Sony has a habit of just making shit up, and god alone knows what kind of hardware the Revolution will be running. The Xbox 360 is the only console that really had substantial content, and even than, it wasn't much... particularly in light of the fact that it' s not due for release until the tail end of this year, which is plaenty of time of changes to be made.

[Darth Marsden]

That was Proved Fake! Nintendo never said it would only be 2-3 times more powerful than the GC, it will be more powerful than the 360, and be less powerful than the PS3 (but not by much..)
Also it got alot of fanboys started when nintendo said that online services,graphics, and playbackdoesen't matter, they started spreading rumors a bout that. Any way, I have seen the X360's specs, and it is only about 4 times as powerful as the XB. As 4 the PS3 specs, i haven't seen um but judging by the screenshots i have seen, i will give it no more than 7 times the power of PS2. So we can look forward to the Rev being about 5.5 times a powerful as the GC.
Any way i got the X360 specs and every thing about the 360 in the latest EGM. :whap: Oh, and EGM is more reliable then Gamespot? Grow up.

When Nintendo said 'The internet doesn't matter' (or whatever is was), they said is in regard to the Gamecube. They've learned their mistake, as evidenced by the downloadable games they're offering and the 'gamer-matching service' they'll provide. I won't be taking them up on that, but it'll still be cool.

If I've done my reseach correctly, what I quoted was, in fact, pretty much all we really know. Here's Nintendo.com's official sum-up. (http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=02ea1a40-ac09-4cdf-9548-91e5a4e78746&page=other) I trust Nintendo, and Gamespot for that matter, so I'm going to stick with it. If Nintendo release the specs and they turn out to be different from what I posted here, I'll amend them, but until them, I'll stick with what I've got. What we do know is that it is the sexiest looking console of the three, it features more backwards-compatability then the other consoles and it will be innovative. That's why I (and many others here) love Nintendo, and that's why I will stick with them. That said, I highly doubt the Revolution will be more powerful then the XBox 360, although it may well be more powerful then the PS3. I really don't need to explain why.

And finally - learn to spell. I'm fed up with people not bothering to take 20 seconds to check what they've just typed.

[Darth Marsden]

Well, I'd hate for anybody to think I'm full of bad news, so I'll just post this quote from Shigeru Miyamoto regarding what must be one of the most long-awaited revivals in gaming history.


Well, I'm actually working really closely right now with the director of the [original] game. Now, whether or not when we get the Revolution all set up and everything is finalized, well who knows? That might be one of those characters where everybody says, "Hey, with the way our console is designed, that would be a perfect match." My question to you is, if we made this game would you buy it? <Absolutely.> Well, we obviously can't ignore that. Okay, we'll get the Eggplant Wizard coming back.

For 5 points... what game was he being asked about reviving?

[Orion]

That would be Kid Icarus. That was from an interview a few weeks ago, I believe.

[Ganondork]

Questions about the Revolution:

1) Can it download & play Gameboy, Gameboy Color, & Gameboy Advance games?

2) Can it download & play nintendo DS games? (Doubtful since it just came out)

3) How many controller ports are there? It'd be sweet if there were 8 controller slots for 1 system! Something not yet seen in a console as of yet! I'm also assuming LAN can be played with multiple systems? (Wireless LAN would be cool too! Imagine multiple systems & TV but you only need one game CD and NO Cables or Broadband adaptors!)

4) Aren't all the controllers wireless? And how does a system know like what controllers are for which player if they are not plugged into the controller slots, if they are wireless? And what does the controller look like?

5) Anybody know a release date, release month, or at least what quadrant of which year this system will be released?

6) Can the system play CDs (for music)? I know it can play DVDs, but will it need some sort of extension/program/accessory in order to do so or is it capable of doing so right out of the box?

7) Oh! And how much will the starting cost of the Revolution be?
1. No
2. No
3. There are 4 gamecube ports on the side, and the rev's wireless controller sytem will work similar to the 360
4. all rev controllers will be wireless. But nintendo has not unvield the controller.
5. TBA but i'm speculating may '06
6. Nintendo has not verified the CD compatibility.
7. About the same as the Gamecube (150)

EDIT: I'm sorry for going off topic but, there is to, an ingame rev trailer. It was of metroid prime 3 and it was shown on Filter (G4) and, sorry MS and Sony fanboys, but, Nintendo never lies and, well, THIS KICKS PS3'S PRE-RENDERED CRAP AND X360'S @$$!

[Masamune]

You know I really wanted to get a Nintendo Revolution until you started a non stop sputtering of utter shit from your mouth.

Let's all just agree that all 3 new systems look really fucking nice. Alright?

[Orion]

1. No
2. No
3. There are 4 gamecube ports on the side, and the rev's wireless controller sytem will work similar to the 360
4. all rev controllers will be wireless. But nintendo has not unvield the controller.
5. TBA but i'm speculating may '06
6. Nintendo has not verified the CD compatibility.
7. About the same as the Gamecube (150)

EDIT: I'm sorry for going off topic but, there is to, an ingame rev trailer. It was of metroid prime 3 and it was shown on Filter (G4) and, sorry MS and Sony fanboys, but, Nintendo never lies and, well, THIS KICKS PS3'S PRE-RENDERED CRAP AND X360'S @$$!

You are one of the biggest idiots to graze these boards in awhile. Sorry, go ahead and ban me if you like, but someone had to come out and say it. Someone already answered these questions for him if you would have taken the time to go back to read, and at least they answered them correctly.

And how on Earth can you say it kicks anything's ass when Nintendo HAS BARELY SHOWN ANYTHING YET? Yes, they showed a small clip of Metroid, but the little bit they showed wasn't very spectacular at all. Nevertheless, it doesn't matter cuz it's so early in pre-prod. that the final product probably won't even include what was shown.

Quit going on and on about how your little favorite company can kicks every other company's ass just cuz you don't like the Sony and MS. We haven't seen anything yet, and they all look nice.

[vegeta1215]

I know you guys don't like Ganondork, but we have General Bitching for a reason - keep your comments about him there. Consider this a warning.

[Grasshopper]

... an ingame rev trailer. It was of metroid prime 3 and it was shown on Filter (G4)

Yes, I remember seeing that during the E3 presentation. It only showed "3", I didnt' realize it was Metroid Prime 3 until after they had showed it. But I'd bet it was pre-rendered too. Not that it would have to be, but just because the nature of the show. They didn't show anything about the Revolution, so I just take it that the video is a little pre-rendered clip showing that MP3 was in development. I didn't take it like it was the actual gameplay footage.

But, if it was, at least its on par with 360 and PS3. :shrug:

[Orion]

Yes, I remember seeing that during the E3 presentation. It only showed "3", I didnt' realize it was Metroid Prime 3 until after they had showed it. But I'd bet it was pre-rendered too. Not that it would have to be, but just because the nature of the show. They didn't show anything about the Revolution, so I just take it that the video is a little pre-rendered clip showing that MP3 was in development. I didn't take it like it was the actual gameplay footage.

But, if it was, at least its on par with 360 and PS3. :shrug:

You are correct in assuming it was pre-rendered footage. The GameCube hardware isn't finalized. Hell, all Nintendo showed for it's prototype was an empty box. I didn't think that the little bit of Prime 3 they showed was that impressive, though. In fact, I'm not seeing anything graphics-wise to justify making me go out and buy new consoles. If anything sells me on these consoles, it will be price and the games available. And unfortunately for me, Mario Spinoff 45, Zelda 37, and Metroid Prime 8 aren't enough to get me excited.

[vegeta1215]

I never did get a chance to see the Metroid clip at E3.

My question is, how are they going to extend the Prime story? I think it would be boring to see another story about Phazon and Dark Samus (even if she/it is still alive)

[Ganondork]

Any speculation on the controller?

[Orion]

I don't know what to expect the controller, but given Nintendo's track record lately, it's not gunna be something that I like. A lot of the theroies I have been reading about the controller lately don't make too much sense, just because Nintendo said it would be something that would fundamentally change the way we play games, and that it would be acessable to anyone.

The most common complaint I hear about controllers from non-hardcore gamers are that there are too many buttons. Maybe that has something to do with it.

I'm also not entirely convinced that the "revlolution" lies completely within the controller.

[Grasshopper]

Vegeta, the clip wasn't really that much. I'd say it was about 10 seconds long. And just showed Samus jumping our of a remodelled ship and onto the ground. It displayed the number 3, maybe Metroid Prime, I can't remember. And that was pretty much it.

[vegeta1215]

The rumor I heard is that the controller will be a touch-screen controller or something.

Reggie didn't reveal anything about it at E3, but said, "If you look at all of our past controllers, NES, SNES, N64, and line them up, they're all very different. Think about it - what kind of controller would let you play games from all of those systems?" After hearing that, I'm thinking maybe that rumor was true.

[Warlock]

I don't think it will be touch screen. There is no way that could work conviently as a controller. I mean, with DS you were LOOKING at the screen as the game screen. With this you need to look at the tv screen so you'd have to keep switching between the two. It just doesn't seem feesable.

I do think that gyroforce or whatever thing that was being talked about earlier will be part of it though. From what I understand it's something along the lines of what those Kirby Tilt n' Tumble games do, where you'd physically move the controller and it affects stuff on screen. I can see them doing that.

[Archibaldo]

A touch screen would be pretty expensive tough. And easy to break. I doubt they'll have one.

[Axel]

Yeah, I don't see a touch scree controler being feasible. You'd go crazy switching from TV screen to controler, they'd break even easier than the current controlers, they aren't exactly intuitive.... No there's too many problems with a touchscreen controler.

[Grasshopper]

Well, apparently... its not even done.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/06/07/news_6127075.html

[Dechipher]

Removable buttons. That way you'd only need a certain amount for each game or whatever. I'm not sure how that'd work. Maybe a slide on cover for unused buttons, and then a switch to pop them up when you want more buttons? That would allow you to play NES/SNES/N64 games with the same controller, as well as never having more buttons than neccesary, unless you wanted to.

*shrug* Just an idea.

[Grasshopper]

Removable buttons.

This controller has removable buttons...

http://www.radicauk.com/product/74160.htm

[Orion]

I don't think it will be something like that. That isn't revolutionary, that's just customizable.

[Darth Marsden]

Wow. I didn't think this thread would go on so long, or be so big. I'm so proud of my little creation! <Sniffs, wipes tear from eye>

Anyway. A wee bit more information, thanks to IGN, which is fast becoming my main source of information due to Gamespot being absolutely useless. Check it out. (http://cube.ign.com/articles/622/622870p1.html)

[Dechipher]

I'm not saying like customizable buttons. I'm talking hidable. I'm not sure that was clear in my first post. I mean, you can hide the buttons in your controller when you don't need them. Then you wouldn't have more than neccesary, but they'd still be connected to the controller. I'm sure Nintendo could find a way to do that.

[Carcer]

What about perhaps a touchscreen, with all the buttons on this pad - but only the buttons or controls needed for the game?
It was a thought I had when I saw removable buttons.
Surely, for example, in a fishing game, on the screen you see a reel, which with a stylus or your thumb, you must reel in by whizzing your finger around.
Or, in a game where you are a DJ, the deck would be on the touchpad, in whihc case you slide the nobs up and such.
This would then make things easier for casual gamers, who's only have to master a few buttons for certain games.

However, I don't like that idea, I was just merely suggesting it. Becuase, that idea, while it might be quite intriguing, would not only be expensive and in many ways unneccesary, but that is hardly revolutionary, and odes not change the way you play, really.
No, I think that, if the thing does have a touchscreen, it will only play a small part in the 'revolution', which will be of a much grander scale.
Well, I hope. What I'm worried about is that it will be a touchscreen, and will be seen as amazing. WHere have I seen that before... by the same company?

[Axel]

I'm sure it won't be touchscreen. They mentioned that they expect kids as young as 5 to play this and don't want anything the kids might easily break. If they're reluctantly about internal hardrive you can bet they won't go with touchscreen.

A control stick. That'd be unlike any other controller on the market....

[Dechipher]

I don't think Nintendo would put a touch screen on a controller. One, it's preposterous, and Two, it is in no way revolutionary, considering the DS was just released. I don't think Nintendo is dumb enough to do that. I don't think anyone is dumb enough to do that.


EDIT Axel beat me to it.

[Orion]

This is very interesting...

http://cube.ign.com/articles/624/624200p1.html

Apparently, Nintendo has opted to not include any High Def. support for the Revolution. I'm not quite sure what I think about this... I appreciate that they are trying to make their console cheaper, but I still think they are making the same mistake they made with cartridges... they aren't embracing new technology. It bit them in the ass once before, and I think it will do it again. This doesn't really do anything to help their image with the casual gamer, either.

[Cloral]

Having seen the 2 side-by-side, I can say right now that games look insanely better in HD. Nintendo is stupid for not going that way. Besides, it's just another thing that's going to make their console uncompatible with the other 2, meaning that less developers are going to want to release games for it.

[Archibaldo]

I figure the Rev. controller will be quite simillar to the GC controller. The GC controller already has all the needed buttons for NES, SNES, N64 and GC. How many more buttons do you think they'll need?

[MottZilla]

Insanely better? Um ok... but you DO know that the percentage of people who own HD TVs is actually really low right? I for one, don't believe HDTV would look that much better. However I don't know if I've ever seen an HD signal and regular signal together. To me it just seems like the same old resolution whore wars. *shrug*

[Orion]

I have seen them side-by-side, and there is a considerable difference in color depth and such. It does look a lot better. Granted, if you've never seen it, you won't know what you are missing. HD in itself doesn't mean much to me, I'm not the big of a gaphics whore, but this could mean more trouble for Nintendo's third party woes. Scenario, a game is released for all three consoles. The game is going to look ebtter in Sony and Microsoft's HD shots than in Nintendo's low-res shots. Casual gamers will see this, say Nintendo's graphics suck, and buy the X360 or PS3 version instead. 3rd party will blame poor sales on Nintendo's console and pull support for them.

Like I said, I am not a graphics whore, but I still think this isn't the brightest move Nintendo has made. The HD deal probably won't be a factor in my purchase decision.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the number of people owning an HD-enabled television in the US should increase dramatically by the end of this console generation. The government-imposed deadline for HD is 2008 (meaning, all non-HD brodcasts will stop on Jan. 1st, 2008 or 2009, I can't remember). That being the case, the prices of HD sets will drop and more people would be inclined to buy one. That is if the government deadline isn't changed, which there is no reason to believe it won't.

[Grasshopper]

Also, Sony designed the PS3 that way for the purpose to increase HD sales. They do have Blue-Ray meaning that they are expecting people to buy it as an affordable HD player, again driving HD TV sales. If you have an HD TV, you'll want an HD player, if you have an HD player, you'll want an HD TV. I assume that Sony's frame of mind. And of course when I say affordable, I'm referring to an HD player, because we all know Sony isn't marketing it as a game machine. I'm sure there's some kind of logic behind including HD support (from Sony's perspective) and I bet it has nothing to do with video games.

[Axel]

It might bite them in the ass, it might not. Nintendo has a reputation for keeping their prices low, the failure to include HD support is an example of this. Sure, the graphics shots might suffer, but casual gamers on a budget (is there any other kind?) seeing the three systems side-by-side might opp to save the $100 and go for the revolution.

[Kairyu]

The government-imposed deadline for HD is 2008 (meaning, all non-HD brodcasts will stop on Jan. 1st, 2008 or 2009, I can't remember). That being the case, the prices of HD sets will drop and more people would be inclined to buy one. That is if the government deadline isn't changed, which there is no reason to believe it won't.

There's a government deadline for ending non-HDTV broadcasts? WTF? Why?

[Cloral]

What has happened is tv stations broadcasting 'over the air' were given an extra channel so that they could broadcast both analog and digital during the transition period. By the beginning of 2007, they must stop broadcasting in analog, so that the government can reclaim these channels and auction them off for other uses. So this will only affect those watching over the air broadcasts, cable and satellite viewers will be unaffected. Also note that digital isn't the same thing as high-def - you can have a digital broadcast that still uses the old resolution. This is entirely about the government wanting to get the channels back for other uses.

In short, the effect on pushing people to buy high-def tvs should be minimal.

[Shoelace]

I don't care about HD as I don't have it. However, this means that Nintendo's games may be cheaper than PS3's and 360's. Especailly now that there are rumors that the games will be 70 dollars for the PS3. This is good that Nintendo doesn't use this.

[Cloral]

I seriously doubt that HD will affect the prices of the games at all. It doesn't cost more to develop a game in HD. If games cost $70 on the PS3 they're going to cost $70 on the Revolution. The thing is, games have cost $40 to $50 for ages, while the cost of developing said games has skyrocketed. That is the driving force behind any potential game cost hike. If anything, the Revolution's incompatibility with the other systems would increase the cost of developing games for that system. You'll probably see the same as this generation - lots of games for the PS3 and 360, and very few 3rd party titles for the Revolution. Heck, I'd still get one for the 1st party titles as I'm sure they'll continue to be excellent. But like my gamecube, it would probably end up sitting unused most of the time.

[vegeta1215]

There's a big discussion of Nintendo not using HD for the Revolution at slashdot right now. I thought this post was interesting:: http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=152404&cid=12790107 (it talks about people's perception of what they're seeing)



I seriously doubt that HD will affect the prices of the games at all. It doesn't cost more to develop a game in HD.

It doesn't? With the high resolution HD offers, don't you think a lot more work would have to be put into making textures and such so that they don't look poor?

[Orion]

Obviously, Cloral would know more about this than me, but I think Nintendo's reasoning behind this is that it might be somewhat cheaper for developers and for making the hardware, and Nintendo just see's it as a fad. However, I think Nintendo trying to keep the cost of games down is only delaying the inevitable. It's a nice thought trying to keep game development cheap, but it's like the U.S. economy. You can try to slow inflation down, but you can't really reverse it.

What is does though is give Sony and Microsoft the opporitunity to say that they are better than Nintendo (whether you think that is purely opinion, of course). But, regardless of what Nintendo thinks of competing against them, getting mud slung at them by Sony and MS is not good for them.

[MottZilla]

HDTV is such a scam in my opinion. It's a scam by the TV people that still charge WAY too much for TVs to force people to buy new TVs. I for one, like alot of other people, recieve TV broadcasts, no satelite, no cable. Although it's more than likely possible that someone could make a device to recieve the HDTV and convert it to regular NTSC standard.

Still, HD is such a pile of shit. It's a higher resolution, omfg, who cares. Take Soul Calibur the arcade version, which ran in 320x240, it looked amazing, and still does look great. It doesn't need to run in some ridiculusly high resolution. Also isn't it fucked up that they want a higher resolution so badly, but wait, then you need a bigger TV otherwise the pixels are getting smaller and smaller and THAT is annoying.

I run my PC desktop in 1024x768. It's plenty high enough for me. Ya so... it is just a resolution whore war.

[AlexMax]

It doesn't? With the high resolution HD offers, don't you think a lot more work would have to be put into making textures and such so that they don't look poor?

People have been developing with relatively high resolution textures and the like for years on the PC. When is the last time you ran a moden PC game at 640x480? (TV's resolution)

The way I see it, Nintendo want's to save on hardware again this generation. If you've ever played PC games (again), you've run into the problem that running things in higher resolution requires more horsepower. If the Xbox 360 and PS3 say they will support higher resolutions, then the only reason that the Revolution wouldn't follow suit is because they just don't have the horsepower under the hood to do it.

I do agree with HDTV being a scam though. You don't really need it for TV brodacasts, and the only reason I see you would need it is so you could display video games in higher resolution. That's fine and all, but the price difference between regular def and high def simply does not compute for such a modest resolution improvement.

[Cloral]

I agree that $1000 is too much for the resolution improvement from regular TV to HD. But to say it is no different from regular TV is pretty ignorant. On thursday we were having dinner at work (milestone had to go out, meaning that we worked late to get it done) and I put the NBA game on. Then someone else switched it over to the HD broadcast of the same game. The difference between the 2 was astounding. Everything was far clearer and crisper. You don't realize how bad regular TV's picture looks until you see it and HD side-by-side like that. There are artifacts that the regular broadcast introduces like shimmer and flicker that aren't present in the HD broadcast, so it is more than just a resolution difference.

I do understand the point though that most people don't have HDTVs, so how many people will benefit from that capability? The thing to consider though is the generation doesn't just exist at the end of the year and next year when the systems come out, but for 4-5 years after. During this time the number of people with HDTVs will surely rise (and I expect that the cost of an HDTV will fall at some point), and at this point Nintendo could really be hurting themselves.

[Kairyu]

Would HDTV support be the sort of thing that must be built in at a hardware level, or could they use new periphrials/software to allow HDTV in the future?

[Axel]

As much as I hate expansion packs, they could could make an HD plug-in. Allow the Rev. to support HD games.

[vegeta1215]

It's a business decision. Not adding support for HD will make the Revolution a bit cheaper. But more so than that, Nintendo wants it's games to be accessible to the most amount of people, and make sure everyone gets the same experience.

On a related note, how much better do people really want their games to look? All the next gen systems will look better, but I'm happy with the level of graphics on the Gamecube.

[Ganondork]

I agree. It would suck if the rev only worked on HD like the PS3...

[Orion]

I agree. It would suck if the rev only worked on HD like the PS3...

No worries, just because the PS3 is HD capable does not mean that people who don't own HDTV's won't be able to play them. They will just get the image quality that they have always been used to. PS3 will run fine on all television sets (provided it has either coax or a/v inputs, but those are the standard these days.

[Darth Marsden]

It's a business decision. Not adding support for HD will make the Revolution a bit cheaper. But more so than that, Nintendo wants it's games to be accessible to the most amount of people, and make sure everyone gets the same experience.

On a related note, how much better do people really want their games to look? All the next gen systems will look better, but I'm happy with the level of graphics on the Gamecube. All I shall do is point you to the new Zelda and grin insanely.

I agree that it's probably not the best idea to avoid including HD support, but I'm sure Nintendo have a good reason for doing so. After the failure (sic) of the Gamecube, this may well be the make-or-break console for them, and they've really got to consider everything. Maybe they'll change their minds and decide to use HDTV. They have got another year to play around with the damn thing.

[vegeta1215]

All I shall do is point you to the new Zelda and grin insanely.

I agree that it's probably not the best idea to avoid including HD support, but I'm sure Nintendo have a good reason for doing so. After the failure (sic) of the Gamecube, this may well be the make-or-break console for them, and they've really got to consider everything. Maybe they'll change their minds and decide to use HDTV. They have got another year to play around with the damn thing.

Why are you grining? I liked the style of the Wind Waker AND Twilight Princess IS a Gamecube game.

This HD thing is just another opportunity for people to put down Nintendo, despite Nintendo remaining very profitable and doing much better than most people think.

[MottZilla]

AlexMax, actually NTSC doesn't have any restricted resolution. Good standard TVs can easily display a signal that is a resolution of 800x600. Mine sure can. They could also display other odd resolutions like say the NES which was 256x240 (roughly). Anyways, I really think HDTV isn't worth the huge cash investment.

[Darth Marsden]

I was grinning in response to Orion's question. I've said it before (the thread has long since been buried), but I am perfectly happy with the level of graphical power we get from today's consoles. The new Zelda is testament to that (hence the grin). I just wish more people felt as I did, but instead we've got a whole generation that's obsessed with getting the next console out of the box so they can demand the next one. Some of the very best games didn't rely on high-tech graphics. Hell, most of my favourite games are adventure games (Day of the Tentacle, Sam & Max, Monkey Island, Broken Sword, Beneath A Steel Sky, etc). It's just a shame most kids today are more obsessed with a games wizz-bang looks then with real gameplay. Sigh.

And to answer AlexMax's question of "When is the last time you ran a moden PC game at 640x480? (TV's resolution)", that would be Doom 3. OUCH!

[DarkDragoonX]

...I am perfectly happy with the level of graphical power we get from today's consoles.

I agree. I mean, look at Resident Evil 4 for a big example. It is, in my opinion, the best-looking console game out there, period. Most other games of this generation don't even come close. 2-3 times the power of the current consoles seems reasonable enough, seeing as how developers still aren't using all the power available in the current batch.

Although the fact remains that Nintendo should not discard HD support. It's just another way for Sony and Microssoft to give Nintendo a hearty kick to the groin in tech-specs. Especially when you consider the fact that to the typical consumer, form is far more important than substance.

[Axel]

Nintendo is also the only one with the rights to a pretty good library of games, that also might compensate. I mean, factor in the cheaper price, the huge back library, and Nintendo's 1st party games, is HD support really that much of a detriment. Even to casual consumers? I mean, they had me sold when the said there's a Smash Bros: Revolution.

[TheNewLink]

Especially when you consider the fact that to the typical consumer, form is far more important than substance.
Unfortunately, that is often correct. Resolution and graphics wars are way out of hand. If you listen hard enough to the console wars, you can hear things: "We can shove 42 more polygons into our prerendered bull than them! Those 42 polygons are also pretty! Prettier than theirs! So pay $50 more for our console, because those 42 extra polygons make our otherwise average game lineup UBER!"

Seriously. Gamecube graphics are freaking beautiful. Any console over 2x as powerful as the GCN is going to cause seizures to non-epileptic people and be at a higher resolution than real life. Game quality and cool new ideas should be the focus, which Nintendo seems to have figured out. Hooray for the Revolution and games that focus on fun, not polygon count! Or maybe I'm just a Nintendo fanboy, I dunno.

[Orion]

What I don't get is this: this breaks down into the groups that want HD and the groups that really don't give a crap. So, why in the world would Nintendo not want to please both and put it in. It's obviously not going to hurt the people who don't care about it and don't have the capabilities for it. It might cost a few extra dollars, but Nintendo does have money to throw around.

[Grasshopper]

Its not just graphics that everyone needs to compete for. Don't forget about the other aspects of improved technical performance. Audio, AI, and Physics. Those, especially the latter two can be demanding too.

Isn't it my understanding that some companies are now making physics cards for PCs? Didn't a PC running the Unreal Engine 3 use a physics card to demonstrate 100s of boulders rolling down a hill?

I'm fine with the current level of graphics, but I dont' want a huge leap in one area, if the machine can't support the others.

I'm not sure this is even relevant to the Revolution. Nobody really knows how powerful any machine is atm.

[Ganondork]

I already have 500 to go on a shopping frenzy when the rev comes out.

*fantisizes about getting the rev and all of its release titles*

I'll buy the rev, extra controllers, and all of the games out for it. Then I'll throw a gaming party and let everyone drool at the site of my rev. Then I'll kick some @$$ at SSBM on the rev, showing off the backwards capability, then show a blockbuster (DVD playback), then download every Zelda title to my rev (and chrono trigger) then spend the next couple of days pulling all nighters with the rev's online.

What are you going to do when the rev comes out?

Edit: About the above 2 posts, nintendo is going to make everyone happy with the rev with HD. Why? Ask yourself this; Why can the rev hookup to a PC moniter?
Answer; you can play standerd def on something HD. It doesn't improve the quality as much as HD on HD, but it does improve the picture quality. So by just adding and extra plug on the back, rev will semi support HD for alot cheaper, leaving room for microchips for a physics procceser, AI, etc. Nintendo made some stupid moves with the GC, and altough it kept them profitable, it lost alot of market shares, but Nintendo is smart. And admit it, Sony and MS fanboys, you would hate the NINTENDO XBox as much as the GC.

[vegeta1215]

One thing I read when I was surfing the web that made me think was this - do you think framerates will suffer on machines that use HD quality graphics?

[Cloral]

I've seen the test kits in action, and the framerate does not suffer. They're designed to handle the resolution.

I've decided that I don't care that much about HD support now. I don't even know when I might have an HDTV. My real end worry though is the mass market (who you have to remember doesn't know much more than the names of stuff) might hear this and immediately pass off the Rev as inferior.

[MottZilla]

As I recall, Xbox (original) can only display 640x480, no more, no less. Yet they still did games like Doom 3, and they look just fine. Really I think that 640x480 is sufficant for more games, and 800x600 is definitely plenty. Yet people insist on huge 2048x1024 or something resolutions. Resolution being higher allows for more detail, but you must realize that all that detail must be put in by hand. Now 320x240 isn't enough by today's standards, but 640x480 certainly is good enough. But you must realize the tech industry is always trying to sell people new and overpriced technology.

[Axel]

Of course. If people realized that the old technology was just as good and failed to buy the new stuff the company could only sell units when the old ones broke down. Hardly any profit in it.

[Darth Marsden]

As I recall, Xbox (original) can only display 640x480, no more, no less. Yet they still did games like Doom 3, and they look just fine. Really I think that 640x480 is sufficant for more games, and 800x600 is definitely plenty. Yet people insist on huge 2048x1024 or something resolutions. Resolution being higher allows for more detail, but you must realize that all that detail must be put in by hand. Now 320x240 isn't enough by today's standards, but 640x480 certainly is good enough. But you must realize the tech industry is always trying to sell people new and overpriced technology. I second that. Try playing Doom 3 or (the rather excellent) Psychonauts on a 640x480 resolution and see for yourself. If you really can't cope, try 800x640. People demand bigger and better because they think it's what they want, when in actual fact they don't realise that they've already got pretty much all the power they could ever need.

It all adds up to my theory that people are stupid. Some are just better at hiding it then others, like most people here. I wouldn't be here if you guys didn't keep me coming back.

[Orion]

People demand bigger and better because they think it's what they want, when in actual fact they don't realise that they've already got pretty much all the power they could ever need.

This is true, but the problem is, a good chunk of people still demand it, and because of that, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot.

I am really excited about the Rev, whether I am going to buy one or not. I am curious to see if their whole deal about making development cheaper will help them as much as I hope it will.

And the plus side about their secret "Revolution," should it be something so ridiculous that nobody buys it, if it is only the controller, they can always come out with something more conventional later in it's life cycle.

[Darth Marsden]

Last I heard, they were still building the damn controllers - they hadn't even finished them! I have faith in Miyamoto & Co, but they're kinda pushing it a little bit. Let's see some games, maybe a wee bit more about the specs on the console. Something. Anything. Please..?

[Grasshopper]

Try playing Doom 3 ... on a 640x480 resolution and see for yourself. ...

It all adds up to my theory that people are stupid.

My old computer didn't have enough power for Doom 3, so I had to play it in that resolution. And really, that still looks more stunning than more than half the other pc games running at their max resolution.

And Darth, that theory should be the national motto. People are stupid. I find that the group's intelligence is expontially greater as the group expands. The larger the group, the dumber they are. 1 Albert Einstein is smarter than 20 Albert Einsteins put together. :)

Technically, its probably a bad mistake, but I think its a good economical decision. A consoles lifespan is usually 5 years. Its been said that a small percentage of people own HD TVs. At the end of 5 years, is there that much of an increase in the percentage of people owning HD TVs that justify including that type of support. If its over 50%, yeah, but I highly doubt 50% of the people world wide will have HD in their homes by 2011. Only when I can get a HD TV for a couple hundred will I purchase one.

Also, not only are the people thinking they want this stuff, but the publisher think they know what games we want to play too.

[Warlock]

http://www.forumsx.net/showthread.php?t=27716

I give up trying to argue anything on my own forums. Too many Xbox fanboys over there.

I still think HD for video games is kind of pointless. At least consoles. Just makes it easier to see all the graphical flaws in models and textures. Either way, I don't even own an HD tv so I don't care.

I mean, people are free to have thier own opinion, but damn. Let's not say "Revolution will fail and Nintendo sucks" just because Nintendo is not going to support HD -_-

[Daarkseid]

I think it might be a mistake for Nintendo. The cost of adding HD support will no doubt drop during this upcoming console cycle, analogous with the drop in costs of producing HD TVs.

What you'll then see is PS3s and Xbox 360s dropping in price alongside the HD sets that will be capable of displaying their high resolution games. If HD performance is as noticeable as claimed, Nintendo could see itself in a bad position, especially in the eyes of a media which is becoming increasingly indifferent towards Nintendo's policies and products.

Nintendo, I'd think, would do well to reconsider HD support, if it doesn't want to continue to be seen as inferior to their competition. We might not care, but then again, we're already part of Nintendo's market. What Nintendo needs is more market sadly.

I doubt it will be enough to make Nintendo fail, but I can easily imagine its lack of HD support in the coming years will cause videogame correspondants to continually bring it up in their evaluation of the videogame market.

[Warlock]

I don't know if it's a mistake or not. I think the idea was to make their console affordable. I care more about that than some feature I will probably never even use.

BTW, I don't know why but I replied to that other topic again. I'm sure I came off sounding like an idiot but I really don't care. If he wants to make up facts than I'm going to respond.

I still don't see what the heck is wrong with the Gamecube minidisks. God forbid if a developer (*cough*Square/Capcom*cough*) wants to cram in 100 hours of FMV you have to switch disks at some point. Because of course, having to switch disks on the PS1 is what caused that system to fail! *sigh* I don't even know of any 2 disk games besides Resident Evil. Are there any others?

[Yoshiman]

I still don't see what the heck is wrong with the Gamecube minidisks. God forbid if a developer (*cough*Square/Capcom*cough*) wants to cram in 100 hours of FMV you have to switch disks at some point. Because of course, having to switch disks on the PS1 is what caused that system to fail! *sigh* I don't even know of any 2 disk games besides Resident Evil. Are there any others?

Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes had two disks because of the long cinematics. Tales of Symphonia also had two because of the length of the game and the voice-acting.

HD support I could care less for. I don't own a HD TV, and don't plan on owning one in the near future. Good graphics are nice, but I don't really care much about them. But the problem is, a majority of gamers base system-shopping on pretty graphics.

Chances are I'll be getting the Revolution since I basically grew up with Nintendo, and enjoy their first-party titles like Zelda, Metroid, and Fire Emblem.

Last I looked, Sony really didn't have any first-party titles I'm interested in. Silent Hill and DDR is made by Konami, Final Fantasy is by Square-Enix, and Devil May Cry is done by Capcom.

Xbox has Halo, which I do like playing, but that's about it. :shrug:

[Darth Marsden]

Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes had two disks because of the long cinematics. Tales of Symphonia also had two because of the length of the game and the voice-acting. You forgot Enter the Matrix - One disc for each character, I believe.

First and foremost I am a PC gamer, which means that consoles are not my primary concern. I have had a Nintendo console since my early years when I was first introduced to the N64, and have followed the company ever since, but that doesn't mean that I am solely devoted to them - I intend to buy a PS2 when my sister leaves for University and takes hers with her. It does, however, mean that I have followed Nintendo more then Sony or Microsoft.

What I find is that Nintendo tend to aim at younger children first, then adults. More recently they have also tried to cater to adults (Resident Evil, etc), but this has had limited success. Nintendo are, at heart, a family company (Unlike most), and that's how I hope they remain. They've realised that a good deal of families won't have HD TVs at the moment - they may in the future, by the time the NEXT generation of consoles come around - so they've decided to appeal to the familes who don't by not including support for HD TVs and therefore making the console cheaper.

I wholeheartedly approve of this, as I'm sure a good few of you around here willl do as well, but the media won't. Sony and Microsoft won't. And, naturally, the easily led won't either. Here's hoping most people realise how petty they're all being. Nintendo are a good company. I highly doubt this will affect them as much as some are saying.

[Archibaldo]

Exactly, that's the one reason why more people buy consoles from Sony and MS. It's too late for Nintendo to start making games for older kids. Sony and Ms have already abducted most of the teens already. Sure Nintendo has a few games for teens, like Tos and Baten Kaitos and RE4, but that's about it. Unless the Rev. has games mainly for teens, Nintendo has no chance to get ahead in the Mature games department.