Nintendo Revolution 728mhz

[SirDrexl]

Well, we have to remember that this system won't support HD. Some of the extra power the other systems have is used for running the games at a higher resolution. If they don't have to get the games running smoothly enough in 720p or higher, they could still have decent graphics.

That said, I'm still a little concerned when it comes to third party development, mainly with ports. If they make games that have to be watered down graphically for the Nintendo system (not just in pixel resolution but also in things like polygon counts, texture quality, and effects), it could really affect sales and thus hurt the system.

[keiblerfan69]

Revo games could look like SNES games and I would be happy. The controller is the innovation. The hard part is trying to convince a graphics whore to like it.

[Sylentwulf]

As has been previously mentioned, the gamecube had good graphics. If this system is "ONLY" twice as powerful, I don't think anyone is going to be complaining about the graphics.

As long as nintendo has it's slew of first party games to contend with, it's ALWAYS going to be a second system for everyone. So whether your first system is a 360, or a ps3, EVERYONE'S second system is going to be a revolution. And I imagine that's what they're shooting for.

edit - and of course, the parent OMFG, the nintendo console is half the price of this 360 thing, and the nintendo one has mario!

[n8littlefield]

I think the power is fine given they aren't doing high-def this round. For the PS3 and 360 to be powerful enough to throw around the textures and detail needed for highdef - they need the power. If the Revolution is roughly 2x the Cube's power, that is more than enough strength to put up some beautiful graphics.

On the controller issue. The Revolution has Gamecube ports, so obviously Wavebirds will work for Cube games at the very least. Nintendo already has announced there will be a more traditional controller, either separately or as a shell for the remote to slide into for games that just don't work well for the nunchuck.

Presumably we'll see at E3. Afterall, they have to make something compatible with NES/SNES/TG16/GEN/N64 controllers now as well.

[Joker T]

Nobody should have expected Revolution to be a power house of a system, as said its about a unique gameplay experience. Not graphics.

[Bojay1997]

I guess short term this will be fine, but I can't imagine the Rev having a long shelf life with these specs and no HD support. On the other hand, I guess they have always done this on the handheld side and somehow beat far superior systems despite not having anywhere near the power. I suppose if Nintendo buys into the Microsoft model of four year console cycles instead of the previous 5-6, they will be in a good position for the first couple of years because developers can get up to speed very quickly and deliver what are typically thought of as 2nd and 3rd generation titles as opposed to less slick launch titles. This really means the Rev is going to fall into the GC trap of being primarily Nintendo first party supported which is maybe ok, but I can't imagine a lot of companies wanting to go multiplatform on something that is more like a half generation better than the GC as opposed to 360 and PS3 which are clearly next generation. Hopefully the novel controller will result in third parties doing some really cool stuff sort of like on the DS.

[Rev. Link]

Oh noes! Teh Rev is only twice as powerful as GC? Then it must only be a half generation advancement! /sarcasm

Gimme a break! The only people who are worried about Rev games not looking "next gen" enough are graphics whores and Johnny-come-lately mainstream "gamers" whose first systems were PlayStations.

[Nature Boy]

Gimme a break! The only people who are worried about Rev games not looking "next gen" enough are graphics whores and Johnny-come-lately mainstream "gamers" whose first systems were PlayStations.

That sort of statement is Nintendo fan boy rhetoric. I'm not a graphics whore, I just refuse to shell out next gen money for nothing but a different control scheme, just like I refused to shell out next gen money to Atari when the 5200/7800 seemed to have nothing but the same games I'd already played (and I was just fine playing 'em on my VCS).

The only people *really* worried about how Rev games look at this point are some Nintendo fans, as the majority of the game buying public won't care about anything Rev related until they see it in stores. I'm personally not as worried now that I'm aware of the extra power needed for HD on PS3/360 and since the Rev isn't supporting that it doesn't need it, but I'm still curious as to what we're gonna see.

[n8littlefield]

I'm normally not the type to encourage reading IGN stuff, but really their mailbox that was posted today on the revolution sight is a really fair assessment of those tech specs. In a nut shell, they go on for about half a page describing why the specs can be misleading.

Definately worth a read.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'm buying a Revolution, on launch day if I can manage, reguardless of the systems specs. It's just not a factor that I really care about. The previous point about CPU design vs CPU speed is spot on. Unfortunately, there is a possibilty that higher system stat numbers (whether they yeild greater performance or not) will influence those of uninformed opinion, and they'll shop Sony or MS in search of the promised greener pastures. Who can tell really? All I know is that, IMO mind you, the 360 has completely and utterly failed to impress, the PS3 is at least a whole year away (Worldwide in Nov my ass! Ask MS how their "Worldwide" 360 launch went.) not to mention most likely will be ridiculously expensive and the PSP is a glorified, rather pricey paper-weight. (To quote everyone's favorite Sith Lord "I find your lack of games... disturbing.") I'm thinking Nintendo doesn't need much to compete with 'em. The Rev controller is actually overkill.

[unwinddesign]

I'm buying a Revolution, on launch day if I can manage, reguardless of the systems specs. It's just not a factor that I really care about. The previous point about CPU design vs CPU speed is spot on. Unfortunately, there is a possibilty that higher system stat numbers (whether they yeild greater performance or not) will influence those of uninformed opinion, and they'll shop Sony or MS in search of the promised greener pastures. Who can tell really? All I know is that, IMO mind you, the 360 has completely and utterly failed to impress, the PS3 is at least a whole year away (Worldwide in Nov my ass! Ask MS how their "Worldwide" 360 launch went.) not to mention most likely will be ridiculously expensive and the PSP is a glorified, rather pricey paper-weight. (To quote everyone's favorite Sith Lord "I find your lack of games... disturbing.") I'm thinking Nintendo doesn't need much to compete with 'em. The Rev controller is actually overkill.

There's so much wrong with this post that I'm not even going to try and make sense of it.

[neo-zen]

i have a feeling the war is going to be between the 360 and the revo this time around.
i think the ps3 will be 3rd.
im at a loss for who will be number one though...

[dreamcaster]

Power and features are largely irrelevant - a console's success is based largely on the strength and impact of it's marketing.

I mean, taking the DC as an example, it's market performance was directly proportional to the amount of advertising it received. The DC held it's own in North America where it boasted a solid and aggressive marketing compaign.

In Europe and Australia where there was no marketing whatsoever (and crap distribution to boot), the DC failed horribly.

If the Revolution is to succeed, it's going to need a strong, multi-faceted marketing campaign that does it's best to show that 'this is the direction gaming is taking', according to Nintendo, and 'this is why YOU should own one' - targeting it at the mass market.

The iPod led the way for making a big impact, and invoked a change, in how people listen to their music, and what it could change in their music's portable potential. Nintendo needs to do something similar if they want people to stand up, take note, and most importantly, buy into what they 'should' buy as the choice gaming system.

You have to admit, Nintendo's biggest problem, is that no-one really gives a shit about them anymore - at least not to the extent the public did with the NES and SNES (and N64 to a lesser extent).

Sure, your console can do wonderful things - but if the consumer isn't there to take the bait you are offering - your efforts will go unrewarded.

I put this to you Nintendo: "MAKE THE MAINSTREAM PUBLIC AND MEDIA INTERESTED IN YOUR CONSOLE"

They have the unique, and potentially innovative hardware, to do something different - the next step is to make people want it.

Now onto my other concern - the system's power. I'm not one to care greatly about system specs, so long as there are games to justify the console's existence and power. But I am concerned that they may be limiting themselves as to what they can create. It'd be unfortunate if Nintendo found themselves coming up with a brilliant idea, but realising that, "damn, this would be much more workable if we had just that bit more power".

A part of me quesitons that, if the Rev is only a minor techological increase, couldn't they just attempt this new controller on the GCN? Why go to the expense of creating a new console, when they could mroe cheaply revitalise an existing one.

I'm not saying this is a fact, just postulating a possibility.

[SirDrexl]

At first I was thinking the same thing, but I think they want to wipe the slate clean with a new system. The GameCube is what it is to the public, and there just doesn't seem to be a way to change people's minds.

Also, making a new console allows them to fix some issues the other console had. They can go to a larger disc format which will allow them to make the system play DVDs (not important to me but important to some), fix the playing-copied-games-over-the-network-adapter exploit, make the design more high tech-looking, do built-in wireless, etc. I hope they'll also support Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, and that will need a new output on the back. Besides those things, they can add some more power.

[Daria]

A part of me quesitons that, if the Rev is only a minor techological increase, couldn't they just attempt this new controller on the GCN? Why go to the expense of creating a new console, when they could mroe cheaply revitalise an existing one.

Because it would become just another periphrial that a handfull of games support, and then no one uses it again because not a large enough user base bought it in the first place. To truely make something like this work you HAVE to package it with the system ensuring that every single one of your customers already owns it. Otherwise you're looking at another Eye Toy.

[SNKFan75]

I like the approach Nintendo is taking to the next generation of consoles. It is refreshing to know that when buying the Revolution, you actually have the ability to play all of Nintendos games. I also like the fact that the revolution looks compact and sleek. I am looking forward to seeing how the controllers react to certain older games.

The other fact I like is that you will be able to play cross-platform games (ie NEC and Sega). Hopefully this will be a trend with other companies and then we can all enjoy games no matter what system they come out for. Just imagine playing GOW or Gran Turismo 4 on the 360.

SNKFan75

[n8littlefield]

I think this next generation battle of consoles is going to a really tough match to call. I think that in Japan, Nintendo could EASILY end up being the number one console again. The DS sales are insane, and if that can ride that wave of innovation, I think the Revolution could beat Sony in Japan.

In the US and Europe, I think it's going to depend entirely on pricing. If the PS3 comes out at the same price of the XB360 - then I think Sony will take first, MS and Nintendo will continue to battle for second. If Sony comes out too expensive, I think they will lose the US market.

The strength of the system is not that important at this point. Most people do not have high-def TV's, and I really think Sony and MS are making a big mistake focusing so heavily on that as a selling point.

[Rockman Neo]

The strength of the system is not that important at this point. Most people do not have high-def TV's, and I really think Sony and MS are making a big mistake focusing so heavily on that as a selling point.

I agree. Unless everyone suddenly get's an HD television and has an extra $600-700 to spare afterwards, I seriously doubt the 360 and PS3 will sell more than half of the GameCube's worldwide sales.

[petewhitley]

I seriously doubt the 360 and PS3 will sell more than half of the GameCube's worldwide sales.

I'm putting that in my sig.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yeah, I also personally really think this is a good idea for Nintendo. It seems clear to me that that they're just sort of trying to do the same thing with a console that they
ve always done so successfully with their handhelds. Another thing about the fact that the Revolution is so similar to the Gamecube is that it keeps the price of the development kit very very low ($2000), which should not only encourage larger developers to jump on board, but will also hopefully bring in some (preferably a lot) of tiny dev houses or even PC developers. This could be great, like a return to the good old days of 8- and 16-bit consoles and computers. There's even the possibility of online distribution for games to make the platform even more attractive to those tiny developers. Just great.

I thought I'd read that the Revolution would be compatible with external USB hard drives, which should be good enough.

Also, as for controllers. Check out the Hori Gameboy Player controller from the Gamecube. That'd be pretty good for most of the older systems. Certainly better than the Revolution remote turned on its side as has been suggested.

Anyway, the Revolution is the first system I'll be buying since the Dreamcast, so I'm sure it's horsepower will be more than enough to impress me.


...word is bondage...