[Styxx]

Having worked a lot with motion and orientation trackers, I must say that this kind of device is severely prone to ambient-generated noise, even on the very expensive, top-of-the-line equipment we have here on our virtual reality labs. I'd imagine that a version cheap enough to be packaged with a console, while having it maintain price competitivity, will play all hell on any task that requires a decent amount of precision.

It may be good for fast paced action games, though. I'm downloading the teaser video now.

[Ulala]

Is there a more specific release date than 2006?

[General Freak]

It looks retarted, but I can't say if it IS retarted without first using it.

...the red version looks like a telephone, while the rest look like TV remotes!

[Mongoose]

Originally posted by aldo_14


Like the people who bought the PS2 Eyetoy?

Thinking about this; the games they make that go best with this probably won't be the ones I like; I'm not sure if, say, Pro Evo would work better with that setup (I doubt it, though).

However, IMO it's very important to note this isn't targeted at us; by us I mean the sort of dedicated, life-long 18-30 male gamers who both Sony and Microsoft are chucking advertising cash at.  So if we think it looks simplistic, or it isn't 'cool' to use or soforth, then that is quite probably the response Nintendo want.

I consider myself to be a part of that demographic, and I'm much more drawn in by this than by the endless crap over whether the PS3 or XBox 360 is more powerful.  In fact, I see things the other way around.  Sony and Microsoft seem to be basing all of their marketing around the graphical prowess and dozens of extraneous features that their "consoles" have.  Meanwhile, Nintendo is focusing on the actual gameplay and game-related features.  I already have devices that take care of everything that the PS3/360 cover, and if I don't, it's because I don't want them.  What I don't have, however, is a truly new way of playing games, different than anything over the past 25 years, and that's what the Revolution is going to be.  I also don't think that this controller will automatically entail completely different types of games.  Sure, those games will and should exist, but if you read the IGN article, the authors thought of ways that the controller could be applied to basically every genre of game out on the market.  Adaptations will have to be made, but as I said above, imagine playing a baseball game and actually throwing the ball with the flick of a wrist instead of pressing a button.

Originally posted by Unknown Target

I watched the video...it's a bunch of crazy looking people jumping around and making general asses of themselves. I won't judge this product, but I'd prefer to see a teaser video that actually shows what it does. Right now the only thing I can think of is that I'd look like a total dick while playing some fast paced game, cause I'd be jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean on crack.

Last time I checked, even with standard controllers, no one looks that good when playing a game.  You're flipping sticks around, pounding on buttons, jerking your head left and right, and even moving the controller in a vain attempt to get more out of it. The difference is, with this thing, that motion actually accomplishes something.  I'll repeat what was said before:  I don't give a damn how stupid I look while using it.  If it's fun, that's all that matters.

Originally posted by Turnsky
and again, using myself as the analogy. not all of us have a dirty great big space to flay our arms about in an effort to swing a small remote around like a lightsaber or something.

The impressions I got from the IGN people who demonstrated it suggest that you don't have to wave your arms all over the place, at least not for the concept tests that they used.  Besides, who designs a game system to be used in a cubicle?

[SuperCoolAl]

I've heard all this before from Nintendo. Simply put, the fact it is set apart from 360 and PS3 makes multi-platform releases all but impossible without significant redesigns, and that means 3rd party support will crumble when they realise there are gonna be many more 360s and PS3s sold than Revolutions. Heck its happened to Gamecube and that is a more conventional machine.

[aldo_14]

It's worth noting Nintendo made more money from console last year than anyone else (not in terms of revenue, but in terms of profit (more than Sony, EA and of course MS*).  So they obviously know what they're doing.

Bearing in mind that Nintendo are aiming at a different demographic than the PS3/Xbox360, I doubt it'd be a major problem if some of the games designed for them aren't ported over; and if Nintendo mimic the success that the DS has had with other groups, then they'll be more than well off.

*http://www.controllerfreaks.com/fullnews.asp?NewsID=5592

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]Nintendo's primary audience are the Japanese. They buy up gadgets like crack and this will be seen as the newest, coolest toy.
[/color]

[Grey Wolf]

That didn't save the Virtual Boy.

[StratComm]

God couldn't have saved the Virtual Boy.

[Ulala]

Sure he could have, but why would he have wanted to?

[WeatherOp]

I too will reserve judgement until I use it.

[Mefustae]

Originally posted by WeatherOp
I too will reserve judgement until I use it.

Good to see some common sense interrupting Sony/Microsoft fanboydom...

See, here's the thing, nobody here has actually tried the Rev Controller, so saying it'll be 'stupid, retarted[sic], or unable to work in small spaces' is just a little bit presumptuous. Seriously, if you're going to sit there *****ing about it, go back to drooling over the Xbox360's ability to make waffles, leave the speculation to the people smart enough to keep an open mind...

...Also, to those who thing that the Big N is pissing away deals with Third Party game-producers by making their controller highly specialised, you're wrong. As has been stated in numerous articles on IGN and elsewhere, classic GCN controllers will work, and there's a seperate GCN Controller-style 'shell' available that the Revolution Controller will slot into [Below], meaning that the Rev is not only able to play regular games as well as the '360 and PS3, but also capable of play titles unique to the Revolution, and then there's the planned accessories that will be able to plug into the Revolution Controller, which should widen its already broad range of game-coverage...

[Image is a Mockup care of IGN]

[Following exerpt from IGNCube's Fact article regarding the Revolution Controller]

Q: What does the conventional controller cradle/shell do?

A: This add-on makes it possible to play Revolution games in a more traditional manner. The shell is designed to look and function like accepted "regular" controllers, such as the Wave Bird. After its bottom casing is removed, the Revolution's free-hand-style remote is inserted into a gap in the middle of the controller shell. Gamers can then use the shell as they would a traditional controller, with a notable difference: the pointer remote's sensory functionality remains active. As a result, gamers get the best of both worlds: more buttons and two analog sticks along with motion-sensing operations. In a Revolution version of Madden Football, gamers might be able to use the combo to control players with the shell's analog sticks and execute pinpoint passes with the pointer's improved accuracy.

[Turnsky]

well, i'm sold, the ability to give people CHOICE in how they play it is good.

[WeatherOp]

Originally posted by Mefustae


[Image is a Mockup care of IGN]

[Following exerpt from IGNCube's Fact article regarding the Revolution Controller]

Q: What does the conventional controller cradle/shell do?

A: This add-on makes it possible to play Revolution games in a more traditional manner. The shell is designed to look and function like accepted "regular" controllers, such as the Wave Bird. After its bottom casing is removed, the Revolution's free-hand-style remote is inserted into a gap in the middle of the controller shell. Gamers can then use the shell as they would a traditional controller, with a notable difference: the pointer remote's sensory functionality remains active. As a result, gamers get the best of both worlds: more buttons and two analog sticks along with motion-sensing operations. In a Revolution version of Madden Football, gamers might be able to use the combo to control players with the shell's analog sticks and execute pinpoint passes with the pointer's improved accuracy.

Dude.... thats not a fake or anything right? It looks too cool to be real.

[Turnsky]

Shades of the Dreamcast controller.

but the thought is ultimately cool.

[mikhael]

As long as the old style controller is still an option, I don't need to reserve judgement: ROCK ON.

and did anyone else see the note about Metroid Prime: Echoes being reworked for the controller? Mouselook? HELL YEAH.

[Mefustae]

Originally posted by WeatherOp
Dude.... thats not a fake or anything right? It looks too cool to be real.

As I wrote, it's a Mockup of what the Nintendo version may look like care of the lads over at IGN...

@Mikhael: Screw an MP2 rework (I read it was just something Retro threw together to show the IGN lads a FPS with the Rev Controller), I want MP3!!

[phatosealpha]

Hmm.

I'm thinking RE4 could work well on this kind of controller.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Mefustae
As I wrote, it's a Mockup of what the Nintendo version may look like care of the lads over at IGN...

@Mikhael: Screw an MP2 rework (I read it was just something Retro threw together to show the IGN lads a FPS with the Rev Controller), I want MP3!!

They specifically noted that MP3 would be designed to use this controller.

SWEET.

[SuperCoolAl]

Yeah the MP2 rework is a proof of concept.

OK the choice is good (apart from maybe having less games using the pointer), but what about the power? Developers will still have to significantly change their games for it to run on Revolution, unless the lack of HD-support means it can push the same polies just at lower res...