Witnessing the Revolution

[PS3 News]

Chris Morris of http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/15/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm writes: "I recently had the chance to get some hands-on time with the company's next generation console to see whether the Revolution was, in fact, revolutionary. While the controller I used was still a prototype (the final one will be a bit larger and will include a button to power the machine on and off), it gave me a good chance to see what to expect when the system launches next year." To quote further:

Shaped like a television remote control, the Revolution controller uses internal sensors to translate your wrist, arm and hand movements on screen. It's easy to use, but takes a few minutes to adjust your playing style. (I initially found myself waving my arms wildly, resulting in the onscreen pointer whizzing back and forth at blinding speeds.) Nintendo wasn't kidding when it said it wanted to change the way people play, though. Once I figured out that subtle movements made for simple gameplay, I went through eight demos demonstrating a variety of features and possible uses. A simple point and shoot demo (like any of the thousands of Web-based Flash games) was more fun than I expected. I effortlessly pulled off loops and flight stunts I've never been able to manage with today's standard controller in a flying demo, simply by holding the controller as I might a paper airplane. (Star Fox fans should start getting excited.) Other demos allowed me to telescopically zoom in and out on the screen, simply by moving the controller forward and backward and try some fishing by 'feeling' fish nibble on the line (via a rumble effect), then yanking the controller up in the air to hook them. (Animal Crossing fans, you might want to get excited, too.) By adding an auxiliary thumbstick controller, I was able to play through a level of a retrofitted Metroid Prime 2 (a GameCube game). Confession time: When it comes to console shooters, I'm terrible. I can finish them, but I'm nowhere near as competent as I am with my mouse/keyboard setup for the PC. In the early stages of the Metroid demo, it looked like this trend would continue, as I was all over the screen. By mid-way, though, I was better able to move and aim – and enjoyed the game far more than I did with the GameCube controller. (Metroid fans... well, you're probably already pretty excited.) It turns out I'm not the only one who has this problem with standard controllers. I was a developer for many years before my current role, but I've never been a very good gamer, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told me. I've never been able to control a first-person shooter, but as soon as I used the Revolution controller, I found it very easy to control the game. So, I think that's a genre that's particularly well suited for the controller. Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, said he hopes to see another type of game really take off with the Revolution. I hope [massively multiplayer online games] are really explored on this system, he said. That's a genre, from the home console standpoint, that really hasn't been explored very well. One of the problems the Revolution faces is dislodging the idea of the standard controller from people's minds. Mention home video games to most people and they'll conjure a mental image of someone sitting on a couch, both hands gripping one of today's standard controllers and not moving much. So the idea of moving your arm in a virtual sword fight or taking virtual aim at onscreen monsters might be hard to get across.

[Xak]

I am really interesed in trying this new console out. Wonder hoow they're going to pull it off for in-store demos. I guess a special wired version of the controller?

[CJPC]

Well, probably the wireless controller, but with like some crazy security bolt going through the middle, hooked into a chain, onto a bolt driven 6' into concrete

[HitCon]

I think the revolution controller will be great for First Person Shooters, but I think that's the only genre they can do good with this controller which isn't bad really.