One of the biggest developments at the Tokyo Game Show 2005 has been Nintendo's keynote address, in which company president Satoru Iwata revealed the controller for Nintendo's next-generation console, the Revolution. We also had a chance to take an up-close look at the hardware. What do the controller and Iwata's remarks mean for the future of Nintendo and games? GameSpot editors respond.
Count me among the many who were very surprised by what they saw of the Revolution's controller. I expected it to be unusual but also to resemble past Nintendo controllers' form and functionality to the extent that it will have to work with older games. It's both those things, but still, just seeing it was odd. It looks like a remote control, especially with that power button (which is a neat touch, actually). So at first I cynically wondered to myself where exactly I have room for yet another remote. Also, while the industrial design of the thing is attractive--we can all thank Apple for setting the standard for what modern electronics are supposed to look like--it kind of looked like a back massager to me. It's just weird. I kept staring at it. I didn't really get it.
Where was the right analog stick? The single-analog design of the Sony PSP has proven to be to that system's detriment, since so many of those games run into camera control issues. Where are all the buttons? Sure, it'll work like a Nintendo Entertainment System controller if you tilt it sideways, but what about six-button Super NES games? And what's with all those attachments?
Then I learned about how it's actually a pointing device--you just aim it at the screen. And then I got it. And then my curiosity became excitement. The dual-analog standard that exists today is merely a competent way of translating mouse-and-keyboard controls to video game consoles--which itself is really just a fluke. This setup may end up working much more fluidly and may allow for much more precision than what we're used to today. And it does seem like it could be quite intuitive.
The opportunity (and the risk) of this control system is that it's very different. I'm impressed that Nintendo didn't settle for convention, and I'm hopeful for the prospects. When the Nintendo DS was first announced, I was very skeptical, but today it's the game system I play the most. So these days I'm happy to give Nintendo the benefit of the doubt.
The first time I saw the Revolution controller, I didn't know what to think. I'm guessing you had the same reaction: It looks like a TV remote control, with the D pad up near the top, and if you're holding it in one hand, how would you reach the face buttons? You can turn it on its side to approximate an old 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System controller, but how would that affect the wireless controller's laser-pointer-like functionality? Also, the plug-in analog stick just seemed crazy.
;)
Then again, Iwata has claimed that with the Revolution, Nintendo will try to focus on games and the experience of playing them, rather than on powerful hardware (like the PS3 and the Xbox 360). The slim Revolution controller--which has fewer buttons and sticks than the standard GameCube controller and will apparently come in a bunch of candy-colored varieties, much like the iPod Mini--may also help appeal to new players (like, let's say, women) unused to using the C stick to rotate a camera or pressing the Z button to pull up a map. If the design were nothing more than a ploy to make the controller look chic enough to appeal to more female players and simple enough to appeal to beginners, I'd say it was a step in the right direction.
Of course, there's more to the controller than its looks--the button layout and wireless input apparently allow for highly nuanced input, like twisting a shot on a video game hockey puck to put "English" on it or, with the analog attachment, using the controller in your right hand basically like a mouse in a first-person shooter. I'd have to see and hold the controller myself to judge, but the idea of using a floating cursor to give yourself precise control in a console shooter (and probably a severe case of tennis elbow) sounds very intriguing. The DS's touch pad, microphone, and dual screens seem to have opened up new opportunities for gameplay. Maybe the Revolution controller is an equally promising sign of things to come.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I don't think I was expecting that. Even after months of fervent speculation--including rumors of a built-in gyroscope or DS-touch-pad functionality--the Nintendo Revolution controller still managed to surprise me. It's hard not to come right out of the gate talking about the awesome gaming potential of the controller, but before we talk function, I'd like to spend a moment on form. After the last two Nintendo console controllers--the N64's triple-pronged monstrosity and the GameCube's surprisingly nimble take on the dual analog stick configuration--the Revolution's controller is a serious throwback, one that eschews strange polygonal shapes for a simple rectangular look that's clean and attractive.
;)
But is it, as Iwata claims in his TGS keynote address, a more approachable controller? Let's look at the numbers. Or rather, let's look at the number of buttons. The GameCube controllers had a total of eight buttons (including the center start/pause button), a directional pad, and two analog sticks. The Revolution controller, according to the photos, features seven buttons (including the select, home, and start buttons) and a directional pad. Toss in the "nunchaku" expansion, and you add two more shoulder buttons and, of course, an analog stick, for a total of nine buttons. One more button than the GC controller, and one less analog stick, though it could be argued that the very cool direct pointing capability makes up for the loss of the C stick. But of course, you're going to have quick access only to half of these buttons if you hold the remote in pointer/trigger mode.
Indeed, it seems that Nintendo is expecting players to hold the controller vertically in order to take advantage of the direct pointing feature, and why not? Just thinking about all the genres a control scheme like this could enhance--tennis, driving games, sword-fighting, and even drumming simulators--has me excited to see what's next. It's clear that Nintendo, in designing the Revolution controller, clearly had form at the front of its mind. Time (and play testing) will tell if the function part pans out, and if it does, fun is sure to follow.
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