Nintendo Revolution Controller Revealed

[gokickrocks]

And from what I gather this thing isn't Gyro either. You have two sensors that sit beside the TV.

it has a built in tilt sensor

 

[KimB]

I'd just like to interject one more thing.

It seems to me that many devices of this nature in the past have been somewhat finicky and sometimes a pain to use. This controller needs to be absolutely rock-solid reliable for Nintendo to have a chance in hell. But if they pull it off, and some good games can come out that really shine on these controllers, Nintendo could have something fantastic.

Of course, I think they also need to get much more serious about the young adult gaming crowd.

 

[dubyateeeff]

Ported games? Not a problem, everyone expects Rev to be less powerful anyway - so the controller really doesnt make it lose much on those anyway.

FPS? Gamespot commented on playing Metroid 2 and it seemed more precise than a regular gamepad.

It looks a bit scary at first but very fun. Hopefully it wont scare anyone away.

I hope it works with CRT, plasma and LCD technologies.

Did it make me want to buy the Rev more? Just buy a little bit.

 

[aaronspink]

it has a built in tilt sensor

Its not a tilt sensor but an accelerometer, most likely a tri-axial accelerometer. A tri-axial accelerometer can measure movement changes (forward, back, up, down, left, right) as well as (with a little math) pitch and yaw.

The technology of using an accelerometer isn't new per se and a large part of the research that Nintendo most likely did had to do with the interpretation and linearization (filtering) of the data produced by the accelerometer.

Done extremely right, it could result in a lot of interesting advances in game control. Not done extremely right, it will suck.

 

[Guden Oden]

I don't think Shigs would allow a controller that sucks for his next Mario game. He knows this type of gameplay requires absolute precision, even more so than a FPS.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Have Nintendo ever released 'concept' controllers before that weren't accurate or effective enough for real use? I trust with all the work invested this'll be done as well as it can.

 

[Powderkeg]

Lol In case you haven't noticed there are more buttons on the right hand controller/remote. Unless your right hand would be busy doing something else at the time ...

In case you haven't noticed, that is an accessory, and doesn't come with the controller. It has to be bought seperately. It's an add-on.

And we all know how well add-ons get supported, right?

 

[Powderkeg]

Does a laser pointer require you to wave your arms like a monkey? What's stopping a smart person from resting the arm with laser point in hand on their lap and just moving their wrist or even fingers? Know how to use a pen or pencil? Know how smart people rest their writing hand on something to write more accurately? Know what a hand holding a pencil on lap looks like?

Interesting point.

Have you ever attached a pencil to the top of your gamepad, and pressed the point against a piece of paper to see exactly how much unintentional hand movements you make while playing?

If you try it, I think you'll be surprised as to how much you do move around without thinking about it.

 

[Nightz]

It's been tried before with the powerglove. All of these "move your arm around" devices result in one thing: arm fatigue. Try getting one of those mice that you hold in your hand and wave your hand around and use it for a few hours. Then you'll realize how much you 'rest' your hands on your mouse. Next time you place on your console, think about how often you rest the controller between your leggs, or put your elbows on your thighs, etc.

This controller is the stupidest think I've seen in alot time, and the WIRE between the pieces of it are doubly stupid.

In terms of ergonomics normal people can play tennis for long extended periods even for hours and a tennis racket is much heavier than this controller. In the comfort of your living with no scorching sun and sitting the sofa this should alright. Most people should be able to adapt within a few play sessions. Personally i would even attach weights to it to incorporate fintess elements.

 

[µCOM-4]

Interesting point.

Have you ever attached a pencil to the top of your gamepad, and pressed the point against a piece of paper to see exactly how much unintentional hand movements you make while playing?

If you try it, I think you'll be surprised as to how much you do move around without thinking about it.

When I play games I rest my hands on my lap so the controller doesn't move much at all. I play games in a relaxed seating position. In fact I hardly ever rest my elbows on my knees hunched forward let a lone hold the controller up in the air without support. If I don't have problems playing lightgun games then this controller would work just as well.

 

[Qroach]

Honestly. I think it looks cool, but won't be practical. anyway i think all the complainers and apologizers here need to shut up until they have tried it. anyone can come up with some sort of reason to like or dislike something like this.

The only valid impressions of what it would be good for will come from the people that tried it...

 

[a688]

In terms of ergonomics normal people can play tennis for long extended periods even for hours and a tennis racket is much heavier than this controller. In the comfort of your living with no scorching sun and sitting the sofa this should alright. Most people should be able to adapt within a few play sessions. Personally i would even attach weights to it to incorporate fintess elements.

You do realize that there is a big difference in the percision necessary between tennis and using a pointing device don't you. Also, in tennis, people swing the racket, they don't keep it up at all times.

 

[BlueTsunami]

The only valid impressions of what it would be good for will come from the people that tried it...

Yep, people can complain about the "look" but as far as its ability during gameplay can only be commented if you acutally used the device. I'm psyched about this controller. The 360 and PS3 will have the same old faithfull controllers...but I have the Revolution to have a different experience. I'm going to have fun messing around with a tottaly new controller design that breaks the mold

 

[pc999]

It should open to some very interesting games having features like this.

But it’s what you don’t see on the surface of this controller that makes it special, and reason enough Nintendo opted to hold the release of the design back from the public until it could be effectively demonstrated, and not easily replicated by its competitors. As oft speculated, the controller does feature built-in motion sensing--combined with a point-and-click functionality (think light gun technology), this controller has the highly unique ability to sense depth and motion

Now bring up the games
I really want to try this, thought it should be strange at first.

 

[Pozer]

I like the concept. It can open up new doors of immersion.

However I thought the same about the DS touch LCD. Then I tried one and very much disliked it.

I need to play on it first before I can give an opinion. I think it will either be their finest hour or their waterloo. But atleast they're being ambitious. For every NES Advantage theres a power glove, virtual boy, and robbie da robot. Nintendo has a bad track record on gimick peripherals.

 

[wco81]

Well that trailer implies all kinds of different game genres, many of which haven't been featured heavily on the GameCube or N64.

Wish they showed screen movements corresponding to gestures with the controller. Maybe they're still refining it.

Nintendo might have to depend on developers to realize all the different kinds of games they implied in the trailer. Sure the first-party games will make maximal use of the controller but the potential in sports, fighting, FPS and other genres which Nintendo itself doesn't develop will remain with the third-party developers.

Is there an opportunity cost here? Did they spend so much effort and resources into this thing that they didn't advance the graphics and other HW capabilities of the Revolution? Or that these things will cost so much that they couldn't use as good a GPU as they might have?

 

[gkar1]

This is for those narrow minded that continue to bash. The angular shape of the controller is a design decision. It will fit into shells with other shapes(think light gun shell or many other kinds). You only wish you were that innovative.

Continue bashing now.

 

[pc999]

IFPS's more than any other game require a per-pixel accuracy, which would be near impossible to do with a controller based on hand movement. Any tiniest twitch of your hand would cause you to miss.

And most people instinctively jerk their hands when they hit a button in stressful situation.

That is way none ever killed anyone with a gun.........wait.... it is something wrong here .

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Gun's are hopelessly inaccurate if you've never trained to ensure you don't move your hand while pulling the trigger(forgetting recoil and being able to point in teh right place anyway). Same with photos, lots of people move the camera when they press the button.

Using the controller as is, without putting it into a shell, it won't be comfortable to use for long periods IMO. Just putting the TV reomte in my hand now I can see every time I press a button the end dips forwards slightly. Using a trigger this won't happen so much I guess, but it's still not an ideal design. Seems to me Nintendo chose form over function this time around.

 

[Ragemare]

I honestly thought it was a joke when I first saw it, but after reading the 1up article it seems like it has alot of potential. Revolution is definately the console I'm going to buy regardless of graphics.

It's small and it has a unique funky controller... I'm sold. On the other hand this isn't going to sell to the kids who called the GC a kiddy's console, which is a large chunk of the market. I can see it having serious image problems with a controller that looks like a TV remote, the legacy of the game cube and less processing power than the other two consoles.

Hopefully the Nintendo ******s will come out en mass and buy at least 3 revs each in order keep the only innovative console creator alive.