I'm not gonna say "wow" I'm just gonna say BOY...where to begin!?!
I really don't know what to think as I like some aspects of this idea, yet loath some others of it 'cos I know I have better ideas for it. I would like to point out first of all that in my many posts/theories/ddodles I was right about a couple of things:
1) They wanted to reduce the number of thumb possitions
2) They wanted a controller that could be held in a variety of ways
3) They wanted to make the D-PAD more primary again
4) They were afraid to show it 'cos it looks TOO dumbed down
Not saying I was right in a na-na-na-boo-boo sort of way, but I was right on those points. And what do all those points have in common...they're all benificial to the look & feel of the non-gamer. This is who Nintendo's been going after all along. And ultimatly with it's one-handed design and familiar remote control feel they've done just that...and I think alot of casual, drop-out & non-gamers will EAT THIS UP! Add to this everyday hand gestures & motions that we all can understand thanks to it's 3D spacial recognition and it truly is a controller that's catered to the non-gmaing masses.
My gripe is, that I think they could've been a lil' bit more functional and a bit more ergonomic in it's design. It should be noted that this is not the final controller design and Nintendo is still toying with attachments and such for it so I resserve judgement. However, I drew up (in a past design) a bone-shaped controller that could also be held in a variety of ways (like a gun/remote control or traditionally like a normal controller). Basically the idea was to take a NES "bone" controller (the newer NES redesign came with this controller) and hold it like a gun (or remote) vertically instead of horizontally. The idea was to fit one controller into each hand to give more free-range movement thanks to dual gyro motion control. It's said that this Revolution "remote-controller" can do this too and/or have an attachment that adds this sort of function. Two more gripes though: 1-With an attachment, they're still sorta tethered together making it less practical to use. 2-There's only 4 wireless channels basically reducing the ammount of players when one players uses 2 "remote-controllers".
I like the simplicity, I like that Nintendo is breaking the trends and traditions they created, but with the above gripes plus nothing new to help with keeping it functional & simple (iPod click wheel, toggle wheel, trackball, jogball, microphone, etc.) I'm a bit dissappointed. Again, the design isn't completly done yet, plus there could be later attachments to add such things...but I was hoping for more function, more ergonomics and more than just 4 player channels.
One this is for sure, it doesn't look like a toy, which is one step in the right dirrection...in fact I think it looks very "adult" and more serious. Not just serious in a cool way, but also in that I could see OLD relatives of mine (who still consider video games as toys) using this and not thinking of it as a game controller, but more an "interactive entertainment remote"! I think the whole "game wand" feel of it could also be used as an arcade joystick for retro gaming as well.
What I'm hoping for is a "basic controller" design in much the same look/feel of this "remote controller" as to phase out the GCN pad for traditional games. This could be something to use seperatly or with the more simplistic "game wand" design of the "remote-controller".
To those complaining about fighting games...ya know, serious fighting gamers buy official arcade sticks or pads anyways. And to those worried about ports from other systems...f*ck that, seriously, how many games were once GCN exclussives just to be ported months later despite how well it did or did not sell. With Revolution, an exclussive game made for the system would ultimatly stay exclussive 'cos they couldn't be done on the other 2 systems. Ports from other systems could be a problem, but if they're not willing to do a legit Revolution version of a game (that takes advantage of the new control scheme) than f*ck 'em!