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Revolution to feature no D-pad or A/B buttons - thats f'd up!

H

Hollywood

Banned
Revolution Controller Breaks Tradition?
Japanese weekly reports next console controller does away with staple features.
By IGN Staff
December 23, 2004 - Earlier this week, the respected Japanese business magazine Shuukan Diamond reported in its 2005 Preview Edition that the Nintendo Revolution Controller will not feature a directional pad or A and B buttons.


If the news turns out to be true, Revolution would be the first Nintendo console to not feature a D-Pad and the A/B button combo. Nintendo has long said that it seeks to innovate with new control mechanisms, as evidenced by the inclusion of a touch screen on the Nintendo DS.
Given the focus of setting the A and B buttons on the GameCube controller apart from the now industry standard four-button layout, it will be interesting to see what new setup Nintendo is planning to bring to the table.

According to Shuukan Diamond, the wait will not be long. The magazine reports that Nintendo will debut GameCube's successor at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, May 2005.

None of the magazine's claims were substantiated by Nintendo, but given the publication's track record of accurate business reporting since 1913, we'd be surprised if Diamond's claims turned out to be false.

More soon.


http://cube.ign.com/articles/575/57

d00med?
 
S

soundwave05

Member
Oh well. It does give me an excuse to post this again.

cs_seas2pics_11.jpg


Don't underestimate the Revolution. They got Prince on their team.
 
S

soundwave05

Member
I would also add this, I am a bit surprised that NCL hasn't sent out their PR guy Mingawa (aka: The Mouth of Yamauchi) to publically deny this report, so who knows it could very well be true.
 
H

Hollywood

Banned
Wait .. didn't they say it would be able to play GC games .. you know .. backwards compatable? How the hel lyou do that when you change the controller?
 
S

soundwave05

Member
I have no idea. Did they ever offically 100% state on the record that Revolution would play GameCube games?

It may not be entirely out of left field that the Game Boy Next will play GameCube games, but on the road, so they've taken Revolution is a more, uh "revolutionary" direction.
 
S

soundwave05

Member
I think with GameCube really not doing as well as Nintendo hoped, they're probably open to doing something more crazy rather than just making "GameCube 2".
 
S

={<SMOKE>}=

Member
but it doesn't say it won't feature an analog stick or sticks... plus, i'm sure the controller will still have buttons... maybe they just won't be called 'A' or 'B'?
 
W

Wuster

Banned
I think gamers from the Atari Era must have thought Nintendo was nuts and radical for introducing the D-pad. Granted Nintendo was an unkown back then and people basically treated their new control scheme with interest as there were no expectations.

But there's 2 line of argument one can follow

1) Go conservative. Nintendo needs to make a controller with standard features for a standard console that can go face to face with the competion.

2) Go radical. Re-invent the wheel.

Nintendo has been trying to re-invent the wheel every generation. They had notable successes with the Famicom, SuperFamicon and N64 controllers.

Whether being conservative or radical is the way to go is open to debate.

Hindsight is 20/20. If they go radical and fail, it is then apparent they misread the market. However, if they try something new and it catches on, everyone would quickly jump on the bandwagon by saying it is an 'obvious' innovation and downplay the risk and radicalism of the decision.

Just some food for thought.
 
S

soundwave05

Member
I don't see what Nintendo has to lose.

They know their marketshare is declining, and they probably sense that even if they released a "traditional" console that improved on some of the GameCube's weaknesses (like the GCN did with the N64), they probably still would lose marketshare.

I mean really think about it. The GameCube hardware-wise really brought nothing new to the table except digital click triggers. Otherwise it really stood out in no way.

They might as well try something different. If its something really radically different, even if its really wacky, at least it would get attention and maybe carve out its own niche without Nintendo having to worry about what the other guys are doing.
 
A

Any1

Member
I hope the Revolution is Nintendo making games that people actually want to play instead of telling the public what they want to play.







Just my little hope.
 
I

iapetus

Scary Euro Man
Nintendo's cunning scheme to make sure that all multiplatform games suck on their console finally comes to fruition...
 
S

soundwave05

Member
Well maybe don't focus on multiplatform games period. Didn't seem to help the GameCube that much. Nintendo may be better just "collaborating" with EA/Square-Enix/Konami/Sega/Namco/Capcom etc. on fewer third party games, but more unique types of titles.

I think Nintendo knows they not going to "out-Sony" Sony so any traditional console they make just isn't gonna get much of an audience.

If they do something crazy, at least it might get attention and be able to carve out a different or complimentary audience.

Just slapping the Nintendo name on a console and having Mario/Zelda isn't going to sell you a lot of consoles anymore.

And of course people say "well get more third party support". If it were that easy Nintendo would have done it already. No one's going to give them huge 3rd party exclusives, they understand this is a business and you gotta look out for yourself, especailly after the Capcom deal meltdown.

All they really gotta do is make sure the Revolution is economically designed so that it doesn't lose money (or little) off hardware. That way they're basically home free.

If it works, it works, if it tanks, it tanks and maybe its time to move to doing more stuff in the anime business like they've been gearing up for.
 
S

Socreges

Banned
It would seem that Nintendo, in terms of hardware, is going to go out with a bang.

'Bang' being the sound that bombs make, of course.

See how I did that? Thought I was going positive, but theeeeen TROLLTASTIC, WOO!
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
This wouldn't necessarily affect backward compatibility. They could use a unified port that'll work with GC and Rev controllers, so if you're playing a GC game, plug in a GC controller, if you're playing a Rev game, plug in a Rev controller etc. etc.

That said, I don't believe they ever confirmed backwards compatability?

Personally, I hope they start with a clean slate and go forward with whatever their best minds can conjure up. 9/10 times they hit the mark, imo (creatively, if not commercially, and personally I only care about my own enjoyment so =P). Can't wait for E3.
 
D

doncale

Banned
gawd, I cannot WAIT for morrrrre to be revealed about the Revolution. it and PS3 are ones that will probably shape the coming generation imho, not Xbox2. the new Xbox is just gonna be another console with nothing 'special'. just more of the same. whereas PS3 and especially Revolution have the possibility of taking videogaming in a new direction.
 
K

KingV

Member
the big problem I see with this is that no dpad + unstandard button layouts can make ports crappier as they were designed with more traditional control schemes in mind. With GC's lack of 3rd party support, this seems to be a dumb decision, if Nintendo is truly interested in expanding 3rd party support.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
KingV said:
the big problem I see with this is that no dpad + unstandard button layouts can make ports crappier as they were designed with more traditional control schemes in mind. With GC's lack of 3rd party support, this seems to be a dumb decision, if Nintendo is truly interested in expanding 3rd party support.
Click to expand...

Interesting perspective.


Still, this is just rumours. I'm sure there will be a control scheme rooted enough in tradition that games could still be ported over with relative ease.
 
O

Odnetnin

Banned
I don't really think this report is true - if it is, wouldn't we have heard about the news from more channels by now? Diamond Weekly + IGN (who'll report anything if its a slow news day)...

also... Nintendo is proclaiming touch is good... and then they remove the standard gameplay convention / controllers ? I really don't think it's right. If they make the controller too unique, it'll make porting titles and making them work on the REV-gamepad hard to work with. SSX on the cube is a lesser title because of the controller quirks.

We'll see I guess. E3 is not that far away.. Its going to be a huge one next year. Xenon, N5, PS3... the handhelf war will all be but forgotten
 
K

KingV

Member
Amir0x said:
Interesting perspective.


Still, this is just rumours. I'm sure there will be a control scheme rooted enough in tradition that games could still be ported over with relative ease.
Click to expand...

Most likely it will still work fine for most games, but lack of buttons has hurt a few GC ports in the past, IIRC SSX: Tricky had less tricks in the GC version due to lack of buttons and NBA Street Vol 2 had randomized fakes for some button combinations for the same reason.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
KingV said:
Most likely it will still work fine for most games, but lack of buttons has hurt a few GC ports in the past, IIRC SSX: Tricky had less tricks in the GC version due to lack of buttons and NBA Street Vol 2 had randomized fakes for some button combinations for the same reason.
Click to expand...

Yeh, that's true. Still, I wouldn't put much weight in this. There's no doubt this is going to be quite an interesting year for gaming. It will determine our gaming experiences for the next 6-7 years, so it should be fun
 
B

Blimblim

The Inside Track
doncale said:
gawd, I cannot WAIT for morrrrre to be revealed about the Revolution. it and PS3 are ones that will probably shape the coming generation imho, not Xbox2. the new Xbox is just gonna be another console with nothing 'special'. just more of the same. whereas PS3 and especially Revolution have the possibility of taking videogaming in a new direction.
Click to expand...
Care to explain why you think PS3 will move videogaming in a new direction ? As far as I know it's just "more of the same" with a lot more power, just like Xbox 2...
 
M

madara

Member
Think that is as close as he going to admit to being a graphic whore with regards to his Ps3 statement :lol Hopefully 05 E3 will not be all smoke and mirrors and we get some real facts, cant wait.
 
J

Jacobi

Banned
Blimblim said:
Care to explain why you think PS3 will move videogaming in a new direction ? As far as I know it's just "more of the same" with a lot more power, just like Xbox 2...
Click to expand...
Maybe he meant that "Eye Toy- Minority Report" thing
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Blimblim said:
Care to explain why you think PS3 will move videogaming in a new direction ? As far as I know it's just "more of the same" with a lot more power, just like Xbox 2...
Click to expand...

Well, Sony appear to be working on new types of interface also (at least along the lines of eyetoy/cameras), so I wouldn't count them out from doing anything "new" next gen either.

Another issue that should be considered with regard to all this is: Nintendo don't really want multiplatform titles. Or more correctly, they prefer platform exclusive titles. They have emphasised this on a number of occasions over GCN's lifespan, and it was the impetus behind all those deals/creative collaborations etc. By making a system that is different, and *requires* developers to design around the system specifically, they perhaps are ensuring that titles released on Revolution are more unique to that system. So the question facing publishers/devs might be: do we release a Rev-specific exclusive or version of game, or release nothing at all? As far as Nintendo is concerned, though, they are pretty clear about what they want on the system.

Of course, this is all still rumour, so none of this may be vaild..
 
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