CNN article on Nintendo's Revolution

[Brian]

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/10/comment ... tm?cnn=yes

[Dylan1CC]

This is kinda old news but thanks for the link. I used to get really annoyed with Iwata because before his GDC speech his interviews and press conferences were sooooo boring. The man was dry as dust. But at GDC he talked in depth about his history as both a game player and programmer for HAL/Nintendo and was really interesting. It was also great to hear Nintendo is finally going online (yeah some here will say, 'I don't need online!" but it is a nice extra) and will be free to boot. Pretty darn generous.

Iwata's sometimes vague vision of how games "should" change can be summed up really well by NOA marketing exec Reggie Fils-Aime here (Fils-Aime is the best thing to happen to NOA, so much better than dull old men of the past like Howard Lincoln and Arikawa *shudders*)

Reggie Fils-Aime puts Iwata's words into a nutshell:

"We (as an industry) are getting smaller in how we define progress," he said. "Making games look photorealistic is not the only way to define success. ... Some day, our games won't look any better. What do we do then?"

Exactly, at some point some games will either be photorealistic or games like Mario will (finally) look like Toy Story/Pixar CGI. Here's hoping whatever the Revolution does it isn't so different and gimmicky yet new enough to refresh things a bit. However I think Nintendo could try putting more effort into innovating inside the games themselves without sacrificing old school play or having to come up with an over the top controller. Metroid Prime is a good example of taking an old game series to new heights and new experiences without turning the past games' play mechanics upside down. I also think Mario Sunshine is a good example of this. Whether or not you like it or dislike it, the waterpack and its many multiple uses was a fresh new idea. That said however, they need to put enemy chaining and platform danger back into the series. Metroid Prime had amazing platform elements and it's a FPS, so there's no excuse.

[Blue Lander]

Fils-Aime is the best thing to happen to NOA, so much better than dull old men of the past like Howard Lincoln and Arikawa *shudders*

Yeah, but does Fils-Aime have a comic in Nintendo Power like Howard did?

"Reggie and Nester" just doesn't have the same ring to it...

[dave4shmups]

"Exactly, at some point some games will either be photorealistic or games like Mario will (finally) look like Toy Story/Pixar CGI."

I personally wouldn't want either. Obviously since I'm getting a US PSTwo, I don't mind realistic graphics-but making them that realistic, or making them look like a Pixar film would take all the fun out of it for me.

We live real life every day, and video games are a release valve, to a certain extent, from real life. I don't want them looking like it.

As far as interface goes, that's actually my biggest concern with the next round of consoles. I don't mind new innovative controls, like the touch pad on the DS, as long as they do not replace conventional controllers, which I am afraid that they will.

In any case-NINTENDO IS ACTUALLY MAKING A BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE CONOSOLE?!
*faints*

[judesalmon]

My favourite Revolution feature is the GCN backwards-compatibility - people can not play GCN games on Nintendo's new console too!

[Ganelon]

"When is the last time we invented a new genre," he asked.

Err, unless I'm mistaken, that was last year when Katamari Damacy came out...

Game graphics, animation, and memory still have lots of improvement to do before photorealism kicks in. A LOT of improvement.

I've envisioned an eventual sensual evolution of games into Matrix-like quality since before the movie came out but I don't care much for stunning realistic graphics either since I prefer the stylistic art that only 2D can provide currently.

[dave4shmups]

I just want my damn controller; as soon as consoles eliminate that form of interface in any way, I'm through with the "mainstream".

[dave4shmups]

"This is kinda old news"

Not exactly; I just read that article and it's not just about the Revolution. According to the article, Nintendo is not going to release a new GB anytime soon, and...the new XBOX is coming out THIS year?! Craziness!

Not that I'm at all interested in it; I'm not-buying and selling characters in your games?! Sorry, but to me, that's NOT videogaming!

[sethsez]

"This is kinda old news"

Not exactly

...

the new XBOX is coming out THIS year?!

Yeah, old news.

[BulletMagnet]

Yeah, but does Fils-Aime have a comic in Nintendo Power like Howard did?

You know, I always did kinda miss Nester... "What are you, Puff the Magic Chicken?"

[Dylan1CC]

Fils-Aime is the best thing to happen to NOA, so much better than dull old men of the past like Howard Lincoln and Arikawa *shudders*

Yeah, but does Fils-Aime have a comic in Nintendo Power like Howard did?

"Reggie and Nester" just doesn't have the same ring to it...

Nope, you're thinking of Howard Phillips (wonder whatever happened to him, I know he moved on to Lucasfilm games in '91) The guy I'm thinking of is in his early 60s by now and has part management of the Mariners. And man was he boring and visionless. He sounded like a nice enough guy but his interviews were so dull, my impressions is he just got his NOA post through rich friends and kissed NOJ's butt.

Howard and Nester could actually be pretty witty and had a nice yet laid back sketchbook/manga appearance to it. When Howard P. left it died though. Nester was a clueless, unentertaining schmuck without his straightman. Like Abbot without Costello or vice versa.

EDIT: And might I add, 2D visuals forever.

[dave4shmups]

"Yeah, old news. Razz" My bad! I just assumed that all 3 systems were getting a 2006 release.

I don't know about anyone else on here, but I'm REALLY stoked about the PS3! According to some articles I read on www.ps3portal.com last night, there will reportedly be 2 different versions of it- a cheaper version which is just made for playing games, and a more expensive version that will be able to do more then just that.

Plus, consider the following quote from an article from that PS3 site:

"Sony, IBM, and Toshiba co-developed and unveiled the specs on the Cell chip in early February. The 4 GHz architecture is comprised of a 64-bit Power processor core, which is surrounded by eight Synergistic Processor Units (which themselves house four Floating Point Units), for a chip capable of delivering 256 gigaflops at 4 GHz.

According to Dominic Mallinson, Director, Sony Computer Entertainment America R&D, “We can run multiple operating systems on the chip at the same time.” He later added, “Each operating system can protect the others from crashes or security problems.”

That last sentence leads me to believe that the first PS3's, will have far fewer bugs in them then the first PS2's did.

[Specineff]

Don't believe the corporate machine, guys. Blast processing, Debabelization, Total Reality immersion, the Emotion engine (HA!). I wonder what the next hyped statement will be made for the PS3. You know, kinda like when they said that the entire Phantom Menace could have been rendered with a PS2. (Yeah, right). Or the PS2 being able to guide a missile... (God forbid someone hooks up an Xbox to DEFCON.)

[dave4shmups]

Yeah, but Specineff, these PS3 claims are hardly that outlandish!

And regarding the PS3, if it is indeed true that “Each operating system can protect the others from crashes or security problems.”, then that would mean a pretty reliable console, would it not?

[BulletMagnet]

I don't know much about the way these things work, but the "separate operating systems" thing seems to refer mostly to preventing flubs when it comes to software operation. In the past most of Sony's problems seem to have been purely on the hardware end, with faulty parts or the like which prevented the system from being able to run stuff properly in the first place...to use a more contemporary example, the niftiest chip in the world doesn't correct the reduced button functionality due to the wonky placement of the square button on the PSP. For lack of a better word, Sony's problems in the past have been largely "physical" in nature.

The tidbit about having a low- and high-end PS3 sounds like good news though...though I can only imagine that most people who buy a gaming system are looking to play games, and don't really need a DVD recorder/VCR/toaster/lawnmower.

[dave4shmups]

Thanks for clarifying Bullet Magnet!

Well on the physical end of things, I'd say that Sony's already improved with the new PSTwo. I've been told, for example, that unlike earlier models of PS2's, that playing DVD's on the PSTwo does not wear it out/shorten it's life-span.

[BulletMagnet]

Take what I said above with a grain of salt: as I mentioned, I'm no expert, I'm just kind of guessing...it just doesn't sound like a processor is the thing Sony needs to reassure its buyers that its system will work reliably, as the processor has never been the problem in the past AFAIK.

[dave4shmups]

Well you still know a lot more about these kind of technical issues then I do, BulletMagnet!

In any case, if the processor is more reliable then IMO it would stand to reason that the rest of the console would be made so as well.

[Ganelon]

In any case, if the processor is more reliable then IMO it would stand to reason that the rest of the console would be made so as well.

No, a strong processor would not reflect on anything else. First off, IBM could be manufacturing them while Sony themselves manufactures most of the other stuff that often breaks.

And even if Sony made the processors really well, as BulletMagnet said, the problems have been with the laser, holding CDs down via magnets, and design problems where there's air displacement, not the CPU itself. People don't generally complain that a PS just started spewing out gibberish or anything.

The separate OS, from what I'm understanding will probably simply make mods harder since if you just disable the lockout on one OS, the other one might catch on and refuse to boot. Basically, a mechanism focused on security that won't help the consumer one bit.

Of course, my understanding of what Sony is doing could certainly be incorrect so I guess we can wait and see.

[Super Mega C]

I predict, that within the next two years sonys going to do what every successful game company has done after the release of two systems, fall flat on their face. And like both Sega and Nintendo they'll do it to themselves.

[Dylan1CC]

I predict, that within the next two years sonys going to do what every successful game company has done after the release of two systems, fall flat on their face. And like both Sega and Nintendo they'll do it to themselves.

Well, someone may be about to receive a blow of some kind, whether it be Sony or Nintendo. Over a month ago Jeff Gertsman of Gamespot said in one of his columns that at E3 a "major defection will occur that will shake the industry." He said "...it will be comparible in signifigance when Square left Sony." Obviously that has to be takenw ith a BIG shaker 'o salt. But it will be interesting to see what happens at E3.

That said, I don't think Sony can fail unless they get really dumb, really fast. And for all their arrogance, they still have the core mainstream audience and buyers masterfully hooked. I think it would take at least Square and Konami leaving to put any dent in them, but we know both those scenarios would never happen.

[Super Mega C]

I predict, that within the next two years sonys going to do what every successful game company has done after the release of two systems, fall flat on their face. And like both Sega and Nintendo they'll do it to themselves.

Well, someone may be about to receive a blow of some kind, whether it be Sony or Nintendo. Over a month ago Jeff Gertsman of Gamespot said in one of his columns that at E3 a "major defection will occur that will shake the industry." He said "...it will be comparible in signifigance when Square left Sony." Obviously that has to be takenw ith a BIG shaker 'o salt. But it will be interesting to see what happens at E3.

That said, I don't think Sony can fail unless they get really dumb, really fast. And for all their arrogance, they still have the core mainstream audience and buyers masterfully hooked. I think it would take at least Square and Konami leaving to put any dent in them, but we know both those scenarios would never happen.

Interesting, I wonder who it'll be? I doubt Nintendo will recieve any hard blows, they pretty much carry themselves now the way sega did in the old days. I don't think they're counting to much on capcom anymore either. Maybe Xbox, who's their main supporter? Lion head? THAT would be a blow.

[Dylan1CC]

I predict, that within the next two years sonys going to do what every successful game company has done after the release of two systems, fall flat on their face. And like both Sega and Nintendo they'll do it to themselves.

Well, someone may be about to receive a blow of some kind, whether it be Sony or Nintendo. Over a month ago Jeff Gertsman of Gamespot said in one of his columns that at E3 a "major defection will occur that will shake the industry." He said "...it will be comparible in signifigance when Square left Sony." Obviously that has to be takenw ith a BIG shaker 'o salt. But it will be interesting to see what happens at E3.

That said, I don't think Sony can fail unless they get really dumb, really fast. And for all their arrogance, they still have the core mainstream audience and buyers masterfully hooked. I think it would take at least Square and Konami leaving to put any dent in them, but we know both those scenarios would never happen.

Interesting, I wonder who it'll be? I doubt Nintendo will recieve any hard blows, they pretty much carry themselves now the way sega did in the old days. I don't think they're counting to much on capcom anymore either. Maybe Xbox, who's their main supporter? Lion head? THAT would be a blow.

I doubt "the industry shaking" defection would be Microsoft as even though they have secured a pretty solid 2nd place, this is just their first system. So unless it's Bungee which would have a major impact, I don't think it's related to XBox. Ever since the rediculous "megaton" Nintendo rumour Shonen Jump started a few years ago, I have taken "earth shaking" net rumours with a huge salt shaker. Gertsmann says though his source is an extremely reliable insider and he'd be in big trouble if he revealed it (well duh). Part of me is very intrigued, the other part of me says northing will come of it but we will see. I think the industry could use a major defection to shake things up a bit just so long as it's not EA buying Nintendo EAD.

[Super Mega C]

I just read in play that Hironobu Sakaguchi's mistwalker studio has become a microsoft first party developer for the xbox next. I don't know if this is supposed to be the big earth shatterer, but it's definitely surprising.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

^ I bet there was a lot of moolah involved. I'd not be surprised if Micro$oft offered Sakaguchi the funds he needed to start his own company. It just occurred to me how funny it is that Sakaguchi went from a SquareEnix slave to a Micro$oft sellout . He isn't in any better position now than before, so why the heck bother?

[BulletMagnet]

I bet there was a lot of moolah involved.

Methinks you've already answered your own question.

[BIG]

*yawn*

I'm buying a PS3.

BIG-