Credit to Mason over at the GAF for reposting this. This anonymous informant was extremely accurate as you can see. Which begs the question, just exactly how accurate was he?
This was posted at the NintendoPower forums in mid January:
Mason bold-faced the information that was confirmed by Iwata at the GDC, & I bolded one line regarding the future Revolution software based upon comments made by Miyamoto/Iwata. (& one private source to boot) I also italicized those statements which I found to be quite interesting, although not yet officially confirmed. Regarding the software side, Nintendo execs. vowed never to launch a system without a Mario platformer ever again, & Mario will appear as a Revolution release title as it is currently under development now. It obviously may, or may not be Mario 128 but I do not think it is. The same goes for SSB:M2, with the exception that it will feature online play & even more Nintendo branded mascots than its predecessors. (an obvious progression for the series, with the possible inclusion of a close 3rd party's popular mascots, whether it be Sega or Namco is unknown at this point) The Revolution LOZ will follow its latest GC predecessor as a more mature themed, or older version of Link. Retro appears to have been coaxed into developing the next-gen Metroid & this is underway as well. (shock!)
Much of this didn't require much digging obviously, as there had been speculation floating around for some time. Still good to have some secondary reliable sources.
Gyroscopic control has long been rumored as Nintendo's new controller input, especially after the investment in Gyration Inc. In contrast however, Iwata stated at the GDC that the interface in fact had not yet been finalized, & that various concepts were still being considered for the Revolution's implementation. This may have been untrue however, & Nintendo & Iwata simply may not have wanted the competetion to know their input solution. People must know that the investment in Gyration Inc. is 4 years old now. It was made on September 24th of 2001. Although the initial conceptualization of the GC's successor began around that same time-frame, so the age of the investment may well be inconsequential. I've been hearing/reading a lot of misconceptions of what gyroscopic control would entail, like flailing arms wildly etc. to control a game. Untrue. Here is one of the best interviews/insights by the now defunct GameCubicle with Gyration's Marc Harris:
Although another scenario is that close 3rd parties (Capcom, Namco, Sega, etc.) perhaps did not find the initial "innovative" input scheme translated well into actual game control development. (yes, the japanese studios were privy to the 1st & 2nd stage Revolution development kits first) Thereby forcing Nintendo to reconsider, (or redesign) or simply create various input options more suited to their needs. While simultaneously not abandoning their base concept. Because despite what some may think Iwata knows that without significant 3rd party support that the Revolution is destined to lose even more marketshare, & Nintendo declining profitability next-gen. Given the recent comments made by Iwata, it almost sounds as if the controller may be one of an almost user configurable design to simplify the number of buttons needed to execute control commands. This would not inhibit the developer as the ability to map or designate a button functionality interface would ultimately lie in the hands of the gamer. (for a universal appeal) But this is my own speculation fueled by the GAF topic, one has to surmise realistically that with backwards compatability a certain amount of buttons must be retained, & at least remain somewhat recognizable. I remember a quote from Miyamoto around the launch time of the Gamecube that the GC-esque type controller would remain the Nintendo standard for the next "10 years." (this gen. & the next obviously) Although these decisions are not determined by Miyamoto, (nor are the designs) & it seems that Iwata is intent on simplifying & innovating, or at the very least not making the Revolution's controllers any more complex but streamlining them. Gyration tech. could be for added functionality. Nintendo knows that this will be one of the Revolution's differentiating & hopefully attractive aspects. And therefore they must attempt to appeal to both the hardcore, as well as the novice & even traditionally non-gamers. At any rate it won't be anything so radically different as to alienate 3rd party developers.
I am completely dismissing the EA touch-screen on the controller rumor for obvious reasons. Cost association, & Nintendo's flat out denial that this DS type control scheme would be a part of their home system. Also despite being well known for quality manufactured products, the durability (these controllers cannot be thrown in frustration, spilled on, etc.) & inherent problems with touch screen tech. (dead-pixels etc.) would cause their customer service centers to literally implode imo.
The dual-processor rumor was first brought to light iirc by Smith Gregg of N-Sider. This appears to verify that very same type of Cpu configuration. The original rumored specs for the dual processor were:
Now other than quite possibly the Cpu, we now know that much of this information is completely inaccurate. As is almost the prospect of any type of HD/DVD compatability. I would venture to say that the Revolution won't even support DVD playback, but again opting for an equivalent or larger proprietary format to protect against piracy. (& of course, Nintendo's past aversion to paying unnecessary non-gaming related royalties to the CD/DVD consortiums) Given the widespread availability of $40.00 DVD players, this isn't even truly a highlighted selling feature on next-gen consoles imho. (barring the PS3's BR functionality) Screen supported resolutions, audio, & most importantly the online component is what the consumers will be looking for. Considering all things more or less being much more level visually across the board next generation, the software's quality & diversity is definitely what will drive the systems. (as it has done for the PS2) Although some time ago I tried to look into the feasibility of the Revolution supporting Blue-laser disk tech. Only & only if NEC & Toshiba are proactive against Blu-ray & willing to absorb, split, or assume the majority of the costs of integrating this technology into the Revolution, (somewhat akin to what Panasonic did with the Q) it may in fact be a viable possibility. In an uncharacteristic move, Iwata may even have Nintendo help further divide the financial risk. Especially since they can use existing dvd plants for future HD/DVD movie pressing, but they would have to have an ironclad confidence in the Revolution's potential market penetrability & range of demographic appeal if in fact this were to happen at all. It also appears Nintendo may have developed some technical partnerships outside of what we know thus far, different from those they have utilized in the past. (Panasonic as a disc drive developer/supplier no more?)
There won't be any usage of GDDR3 memory, as Nintendo is going with XDR. It's safe to assume also that they would be forced to, or simply just include 512mb as well. Porting potential software to a system with a shortage of 112mb of available ram is simply not going to happen. Some developers were complaining about it being prohibitive this gen. with the GC, where the memory discrepancies between systems were relatively not that large. So take these complaints & multipy them x100 for the next generation, & many studios will not even deal with the compression & software alteration issues. Remember the specs. being floated for System 1 included 512mb of ram with a single 2.7 ghz PowerPC G5 processor. I believe the dual processor speed has been increased, as well as the number of pixel pipes. (using studio references regarding the 1st stage Revolution dev. kits as either being on par, or even slightly less powerful than the XBX 360's nigh finalized kits)
Finally, the 15gb HDD rumor. Seeing as how its competitors in all likelihod will not be supporting this, Nintendo may very well grasp it if they've found an efficient & cost effective hw provider. MS said their HDD was underutilized, & cost prohibitive to produce. (which a 10gb or 15gb HDD at this point definitely is) Nintendo has been there somewhat before with the ill-fated 64DD. Why'd it fail? For one it just simply took too long to materialize, (3 years) was extremely costly as a standalone peripheral, was sold via a mail-order subscription plan, (the Randnet internet service alone was roughly $256 USD total for 1 year) was region locked, etc. Regardless of this, there was still talk specifically by Miyamoto in the GC's early days of introducing a possible HDD add-on, & showing 3rd party developer support what could be accomplished by Nintendo themselves leading the way with its own software & ideas. But missing out on all that profit brought in again by releasing incrementally larger 1st party flash memory cards, sticks, etc.? Is it necessary for their online platform community? Basically having to contract out a partner to produce specific 15gb HDD components for the next 5 years. I would generally say no, but it seems that Nintendo does have an interest here, as there have been talks ever since the failure of the 64DD. I still say it's chances are extremely slim, as it isn't truly a necessity, & added cost must always be taken into consideration.
The wire-based & wireless based controllers comes as no surprise, we are talking about the king of peripherals here. The talk of the GB Evolution I find intriuging though. When the Revolution launches in the 3rd-4th qtrs. of '06, the DS will already be 2yrs. old. About the same time the SP launched after the GBA. Was the talk of the DS being a "third pillar" legitimate? The third pillar talk was indeed genuine until they saw the demand. Nintendo simply did not foresee the sales success of the DS, which constantly caused them to revise sales projections. The future introduction of MP3 & movie playback functionality, (Play-yan, & other 3rd party solutions) worldwide internet service, extended PDA type features, etc, shows that Nintendo is seriously contending with the PSP, at least function-wise despite having the weaker hardware. (& I remember when Nintendo said that they would be satisfed if the NDS garnered 10% of marketshare)
This unanticipated success in effect delays the Evolution. With all that being said, the miniaturization/enhancement of the GC's internal architecture becomes increasingly cheaper & more feasible, portable hi-res screens become more economical, battery life grows longer. The DS is providing Nintendo with both profits as welll the all important further R&D time for Evolution. I can easily see the GB Evolution possibly launching over the holidays in '07, perhaps early-to-mid '08 at the very latest. This of course will be determined ultimately by the PSP's success. While Nintendo & 3rd parties can still support the DS's fanbase due to its overall cost efficiency in game development & components. Although Nintendo would be foolish not to link the two, the DS could be used in a variety of ways especially when the Revolution is online, & Reginald Fils-Aime did hint towards this possibility.
Nintendo's Revolution design being sleeker & much more appealing? A definite if the SP & DS's design are of any indication. This Reggie quote from his 1-UP interview gave me a laugh:
This was posted at the NintendoPower forums in mid January:
Mason bold-faced the information that was confirmed by Iwata at the GDC, & I bolded one line regarding the future Revolution software based upon comments made by Miyamoto/Iwata. (& one private source to boot) I also italicized those statements which I found to be quite interesting, although not yet officially confirmed. Regarding the software side, Nintendo execs. vowed never to launch a system without a Mario platformer ever again, & Mario will appear as a Revolution release title as it is currently under development now. It obviously may, or may not be Mario 128 but I do not think it is. The same goes for SSB:M2, with the exception that it will feature online play & even more Nintendo branded mascots than its predecessors. (an obvious progression for the series, with the possible inclusion of a close 3rd party's popular mascots, whether it be Sega or Namco is unknown at this point) The Revolution LOZ will follow its latest GC predecessor as a more mature themed, or older version of Link. Retro appears to have been coaxed into developing the next-gen Metroid & this is underway as well. (shock!)
Much of this didn't require much digging obviously, as there had been speculation floating around for some time. Still good to have some secondary reliable sources.Gyroscopic control has long been rumored as Nintendo's new controller input, especially after the investment in Gyration Inc. In contrast however, Iwata stated at the GDC that the interface in fact had not yet been finalized, & that various concepts were still being considered for the Revolution's implementation. This may have been untrue however, & Nintendo & Iwata simply may not have wanted the competetion to know their input solution. People must know that the investment in Gyration Inc. is 4 years old now. It was made on September 24th of 2001. Although the initial conceptualization of the GC's successor began around that same time-frame, so the age of the investment may well be inconsequential. I've been hearing/reading a lot of misconceptions of what gyroscopic control would entail, like flailing arms wildly etc. to control a game. Untrue. Here is one of the best interviews/insights by the now defunct GameCubicle with Gyration's Marc Harris:
Although another scenario is that close 3rd parties (Capcom, Namco, Sega, etc.) perhaps did not find the initial "innovative" input scheme translated well into actual game control development. (yes, the japanese studios were privy to the 1st & 2nd stage Revolution development kits first) Thereby forcing Nintendo to reconsider, (or redesign) or simply create various input options more suited to their needs. While simultaneously not abandoning their base concept. Because despite what some may think Iwata knows that without significant 3rd party support that the Revolution is destined to lose even more marketshare, & Nintendo declining profitability next-gen. Given the recent comments made by Iwata, it almost sounds as if the controller may be one of an almost user configurable design to simplify the number of buttons needed to execute control commands. This would not inhibit the developer as the ability to map or designate a button functionality interface would ultimately lie in the hands of the gamer. (for a universal appeal) But this is my own speculation fueled by the GAF topic, one has to surmise realistically that with backwards compatability a certain amount of buttons must be retained, & at least remain somewhat recognizable. I remember a quote from Miyamoto around the launch time of the Gamecube that the GC-esque type controller would remain the Nintendo standard for the next "10 years." (this gen. & the next obviously) Although these decisions are not determined by Miyamoto, (nor are the designs) & it seems that Iwata is intent on simplifying & innovating, or at the very least not making the Revolution's controllers any more complex but streamlining them. Gyration tech. could be for added functionality. Nintendo knows that this will be one of the Revolution's differentiating & hopefully attractive aspects. And therefore they must attempt to appeal to both the hardcore, as well as the novice & even traditionally non-gamers. At any rate it won't be anything so radically different as to alienate 3rd party developers.
I am completely dismissing the EA touch-screen on the controller rumor for obvious reasons. Cost association, & Nintendo's flat out denial that this DS type control scheme would be a part of their home system. Also despite being well known for quality manufactured products, the durability (these controllers cannot be thrown in frustration, spilled on, etc.) & inherent problems with touch screen tech. (dead-pixels etc.) would cause their customer service centers to literally implode imo.
The dual-processor rumor was first brought to light iirc by Smith Gregg of N-Sider. This appears to verify that very same type of Cpu configuration. The original rumored specs for the dual processor were:
Now other than quite possibly the Cpu, we now know that much of this information is completely inaccurate. As is almost the prospect of any type of HD/DVD compatability. I would venture to say that the Revolution won't even support DVD playback, but again opting for an equivalent or larger proprietary format to protect against piracy. (& of course, Nintendo's past aversion to paying unnecessary non-gaming related royalties to the CD/DVD consortiums) Given the widespread availability of $40.00 DVD players, this isn't even truly a highlighted selling feature on next-gen consoles imho. (barring the PS3's BR functionality) Screen supported resolutions, audio, & most importantly the online component is what the consumers will be looking for. Considering all things more or less being much more level visually across the board next generation, the software's quality & diversity is definitely what will drive the systems. (as it has done for the PS2) Although some time ago I tried to look into the feasibility of the Revolution supporting Blue-laser disk tech. Only & only if NEC & Toshiba are proactive against Blu-ray & willing to absorb, split, or assume the majority of the costs of integrating this technology into the Revolution, (somewhat akin to what Panasonic did with the Q) it may in fact be a viable possibility. In an uncharacteristic move, Iwata may even have Nintendo help further divide the financial risk. Especially since they can use existing dvd plants for future HD/DVD movie pressing, but they would have to have an ironclad confidence in the Revolution's potential market penetrability & range of demographic appeal if in fact this were to happen at all. It also appears Nintendo may have developed some technical partnerships outside of what we know thus far, different from those they have utilized in the past. (Panasonic as a disc drive developer/supplier no more?)
There won't be any usage of GDDR3 memory, as Nintendo is going with XDR. It's safe to assume also that they would be forced to, or simply just include 512mb as well. Porting potential software to a system with a shortage of 112mb of available ram is simply not going to happen. Some developers were complaining about it being prohibitive this gen. with the GC, where the memory discrepancies between systems were relatively not that large. So take these complaints & multipy them x100 for the next generation, & many studios will not even deal with the compression & software alteration issues. Remember the specs. being floated for System 1 included 512mb of ram with a single 2.7 ghz PowerPC G5 processor. I believe the dual processor speed has been increased, as well as the number of pixel pipes. (using studio references regarding the 1st stage Revolution dev. kits as either being on par, or even slightly less powerful than the XBX 360's nigh finalized kits)
Finally, the 15gb HDD rumor. Seeing as how its competitors in all likelihod will not be supporting this, Nintendo may very well grasp it if they've found an efficient & cost effective hw provider. MS said their HDD was underutilized, & cost prohibitive to produce. (which a 10gb or 15gb HDD at this point definitely is) Nintendo has been there somewhat before with the ill-fated 64DD. Why'd it fail? For one it just simply took too long to materialize, (3 years) was extremely costly as a standalone peripheral, was sold via a mail-order subscription plan, (the Randnet internet service alone was roughly $256 USD total for 1 year) was region locked, etc. Regardless of this, there was still talk specifically by Miyamoto in the GC's early days of introducing a possible HDD add-on, & showing 3rd party developer support what could be accomplished by Nintendo themselves leading the way with its own software & ideas. But missing out on all that profit brought in again by releasing incrementally larger 1st party flash memory cards, sticks, etc.? Is it necessary for their online platform community? Basically having to contract out a partner to produce specific 15gb HDD components for the next 5 years. I would generally say no, but it seems that Nintendo does have an interest here, as there have been talks ever since the failure of the 64DD. I still say it's chances are extremely slim, as it isn't truly a necessity, & added cost must always be taken into consideration.
The wire-based & wireless based controllers comes as no surprise, we are talking about the king of peripherals here. The talk of the GB Evolution I find intriuging though. When the Revolution launches in the 3rd-4th qtrs. of '06, the DS will already be 2yrs. old. About the same time the SP launched after the GBA. Was the talk of the DS being a "third pillar" legitimate? The third pillar talk was indeed genuine until they saw the demand. Nintendo simply did not foresee the sales success of the DS, which constantly caused them to revise sales projections. The future introduction of MP3 & movie playback functionality, (Play-yan, & other 3rd party solutions) worldwide internet service, extended PDA type features, etc, shows that Nintendo is seriously contending with the PSP, at least function-wise despite having the weaker hardware. (& I remember when Nintendo said that they would be satisfed if the NDS garnered 10% of marketshare)
This unanticipated success in effect delays the Evolution. With all that being said, the miniaturization/enhancement of the GC's internal architecture becomes increasingly cheaper & more feasible, portable hi-res screens become more economical, battery life grows longer. The DS is providing Nintendo with both profits as welll the all important further R&D time for Evolution. I can easily see the GB Evolution possibly launching over the holidays in '07, perhaps early-to-mid '08 at the very latest. This of course will be determined ultimately by the PSP's success. While Nintendo & 3rd parties can still support the DS's fanbase due to its overall cost efficiency in game development & components. Although Nintendo would be foolish not to link the two, the DS could be used in a variety of ways especially when the Revolution is online, & Reginald Fils-Aime did hint towards this possibility.
Nintendo's Revolution design being sleeker & much more appealing? A definite if the SP & DS's design are of any indication. This Reggie quote from his 1-UP interview gave me a laugh:
