Pre-E3 2005: Breaking: Revolution Details

[manicdvln]

May 12, 2005 - The Electronics Entertainment Expo 2005 is still days away, but that hasn't stopped Microsoft from debuting its Xbox 360 console on MTV. And now Nintendo has followed suit, revealing some new, meaty details about its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution.

In a recent New York Times article, Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs Perrin Kaplan describes the console as "very, very sleek." The system, which is reportedly tiny, will stand horizontally. Its width will reportedly be no more than three DVD cases stacked flatly on each other, or slightly more than an inch. That makes the console theoretically smaller than Apple's recently released Mac Mini computer.

Although Nintendo has historically selected proprietary media formats, such as the GameCube Optical Disc, for its platforms, the publisher is with Revolution opting for a more standardized medium. The new console will play standard DVD media, according to the company. Nintendo has not yet revealed if Revolution will as a result be able to play Hollywood movies on DVD, but that seems very likely at this point.

At the Game Developers' Conference in March, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that Revolution would offer Wi-Fi online connections out of the box and would be backward compatible with GameCube, or able to play GCN software.

According to recent information, Revolution will also be able to play high-definition games and regularly go online.

Finally -- something of a no-brainer given the popularity of the Wave Bird pads -- Revolution's still-secret controller will be completely wireless. Controllers for Microsoft's Xbox 360 are also wireless. Upon hearing this news, puppies everywhere let out a collective cry.

More details to come at E3 2005. Stay tuned.

http://cube.ign.com/articles/613/613340p1.html

[zelmo]

Sounds good so far. I just love next gen console announcement time!

Sadly, I will miss all the breaking news. I will be away from the internet Mon-Wed next week, as we vacation in Saint Michael's on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The B&B we are staying at has no internet access in the rooms. :eek: I doubt they even get G4 on their piddly cable system. :(

[edesignuk]

Nintendo


lol


:D :p

[erikk18]

Well it seems as though they're finally figuring out how to put the G5 in a smaller enclosure...

Isn't the revolution supposed to house 2 G5's?

[faustfire]

Nintendo


lol


:D :p


Nintendo is the last gaming console with any bit of originality left in them.
They just make stupid mistakes sometimes.

They're like the Apple of gaming consoles. ;)

[SilentPanda]

I enjoy Nintendo quite a bit. Granted I own a lot more XBox games than Nintendo games but I'm a sucker for new controllers and styles of games. I find that Nintendo has very few games I want but the ones I want I really enjoy... XBox has a bunch of games and half of the ones I have are junk... maybe I'm just more picky for my cube. I like both systems though... don't have a PS2 at the moment mainly because it's "close enough" to the PS3 launch date (or so I keep telling myself) that I'll just wait for that. The cube and xbox I've had forever it seems.

[Phatpat]

Here's hoping Nintendo can get more than a few games for Revolution that I, a 20 year old college student, would enjoy playing.

I want to want Nintendo's new console.

[Poff]

No HD-DVD? :(

[Drgnhntr]

No HD-DVD? :(

There may not be a HD-DVD format in the near future. I wonder if "standard DVD media" just means they are not going to use mini disks again or something like that.

[AoWolf]

No HD-DVD? :(
:( If sony has blu-ray on the PS3 this is gonna suck. lets hope they just mean the same sized DvDs or something.

[AoWolf]

There may not be a HD-DVD format in the near future. I wonder if "standard DVD media" just means they are not going to use mini disks again or something like that.

Ah seconds two late. I wonder how big games are going to get in the next 6 years?

[Rovias]

You know, a lot of people diss Nintendo (and I used to be one of them, which is why I own an XBox at the moment), but with all of the new announcements concerning next generation consoles, Nintendo is the only one who really interests me. IMO, the XBox 360 is just meh, and will only let me play newer, prettier versions of existing games. Graphics are important, but I'll take something innovative and groundbreaking over them any day of the week.

All I can say is, I'll be in line to buy a Revolution on launch day, while Microsoft and Sony will have to wait for subsequent price drops to earn my money.

[Poff]

I'm starting to wonder if we will even need a new format to see HD-videos.

Take this quicktime7 video for instance: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/hdgallery/tobymacgone.html

It's a 720 video, 164 megs for 216 seconds.

164(megs) / 216 (seconds) *60 (secons) *180 (minutes) = 8 200 MB for three hours of video, or roughly 2,75GB/hour. Meaning you can get over three hours of H.264 video onto a dual layer dvd disc! Anyone know how compressed this is?

[Drgnhntr]

Ah seconds two late. I wonder how big games are going to get in the next 6 years?

I think they will get as big as they can. If PS3 does have blue-ray and nintendo doesn't use a similar size format, it could very well suck for Nintendo.

[GFLPraxis]

I think they will get as big as they can. If PS3 does have blue-ray and nintendo doesn't use a similar size format, it could very well suck for Nintendo.

Yes, Nintendo had better use HD-DVD or the Blu-ray/HD-DVD hybrid that *might* be made in their console.


I wouldn't actually mind minature HD-DVD disks (GC sized). The GC disks were single layer and held 1/3rd the stuff of a normal DVD.

1/3rd of a dual layer HD-DVD is 10 GB. IF they did it, it'd be hilarious to see Nintendo parading, "Our mini-disks have more space than the XBox's full sized disks!" And with tri-layer HD-DVD's, Nintendo could got to 15 GB.

Of course, Sony would be laughing at them both with 50 GB Blu-ray disks.

[GFLPraxis]

No HD-DVD? :(


This doesn't mean no HD-DVD.


All this means is that the Revolution can play DVD disks. This was a given, since GameCube disks are minature...DVD's.

So it could still be HD-DVD, just with backwards compatability to play GC disks/normal DVD's.

(btw, the GameCube's firmware can be flashed to let it read DVD disks)

[Mike Teezie]

Of all the systems coming out, my interest goes something like Revolution > PS3 > Xbox 360.

This is really cool news. Very cool about the Wi-Fi small footprint of the machine. Can't wait to see Nintendo's design. Though I too am hoping for Blu-Ray or a similar game medium. We'll see at E3.

I have a GC, PS2, and Xbox, and I can honestly say the little Gamecube piques my interest the most. I'm more about gameplay than graphics I guess, and feel a bit of nostalgia when I see the Nintendo logo. I just love the company!

I have an Xbox for one reason - Halo. None of the other more "mature" titles really do much for me, save Vice City......which I play on my PS2.

[GFLPraxis]

Same here. Rev > PS3 > XBox in terms of interest.

Nintendo has promised a complete revolution in features. Sony has promised new features and breakthrough graphics). Microsoft has promised better graphics (which ain't a bad thing, but not as good).



MORE INFO!

STRAIGHT FROM NINTENDO.COM:

http://www.nintendo.com/newsarticle?articleid=9594f668-5342-4b38-8eb1-d6bf479c4139&page=other

Big things to come in small package


Nintendo, the world leader in video game innovation, stated loud and clear that they are not to be overlooked in the next generation home console race with the revelation of several unique features of the company's next console system, code name Revolution, to key media outlets. According to the early information, Revolution will combine powerful technology and gaming-focused features in Nintendo's smallest home game console yet.



In its final form, Revolution will be about the thickness of three standard DVD cases and only slightly longer. The versatile Revolution will play either horizontally or vertically, allowing the user total flexibility in setting up a gaming session wherever they have a television.



Thanks to Nintendo's hardware development partners IBM and ATI, the small system will be packed with power that will enable it to wow players with its graphics. Nintendo's legions of loyal fans will be happy to learn that Revolution will be backward compatible, playing both Nintendo GameCube 3-inch disks along with its own standard, double-layered DVD disks in the same self-loading media drive.



In the next generation, the addition of the Internet will be important to all consoles and particularly important to Nintendo. Revolution will be wireless Internet ready out of the box.



There's much more to Revolution that will be revealed over the coming months, but the combination of its compact size, wireless Internet, backward compatibility, quick start-up time and quiet, low-power operation add up to the start of a great game system. Get ready for the Nintendo Revolution in 2006!

Sounds good so far :D

[Poff]

I like the small size it will have. It'll show off nicely beside our TV.

[Drgnhntr]

Nintendo's legions of loyal fans will be happy to learn that Revolution will be backward compatible, playing both Nintendo GameCube 3-inch disks along with its own standard, double-layered DVD disks in the same self-loading media drive.

So is this DVD-9, or the same thing media as xbox360? It was my understanding that Revolution and PS3 were slated for late next year. The last rumor I read (http://cube.ign.com/articles/611/611577p1.html) was Revolution will be out by mid next year, and that PS3 will be out before Revolution. Could it be possible that both Revolution and Sony have dropped HD-DVD, or Blue-ray to rush their products to market?

[GFLPraxis]

So is this DVD-9, or the same thing media as xbox360? It was my understanding that Revolution and PS3 were slated for late next year. The last rumor I read (http://cube.ign.com/articles/611/611577p1.html) was Revolution will be out by mid next year, and that PS3 will be out before Revolution. Could it be possible that both Revolution and Sony have dropped HD-DVD, or Blue-ray to rush their products to market?

No, this doesn't necessarily mean the Revolution is using DVD-9. All we know is that the Revolution can play DVD media, but that was a given since it could play GameCube games and GameCube games are DVD's.

It might be DVD-9...or it could be a backwards compatible HD-DVD drive.

Nintendo's statements are that they will launch on the same timeframe as Sony and not let the PS3 beat them to the market. The PS3 is supposed to launch in 2006.


However, it should be noted that the PS3's rumored spring 2006 launch is for Japan only, and the US release date will be a while after that, so its possible the PS3 might launch first in Japan and last in US.

[eva01]

as long as nintendo has zelda i am all for anything they do. I <3 Nintendo

O_O MMORPG Zelda game >_>

[0s and 1s]

Zzzzzzz......

[DISCOMUNICATION]

"In its final form, Revolution will be about the thickness of three standard DVD cases and only slightly longer. The versatile Revolution will play either horizontally or vertically, allowing the user total flexibility in setting up a gaming session wherever they have a television."

They are describing a PStwo almost exactly. Well, the PStwo is only 2 standard DVD cases thick, 1 inch exactly. 3 DVD cases are 1.5" thick.

"Nintendo's legions of loyal fans will be happy to learn that Revolution will be backward compatible, playing both Nintendo GameCube 8cm disks along with its own 12cm optical disks in the same self-loading media drive."

I don't think the actual format of disk really matters as Nintendo spokespersons have repeatedly stated that they have absolutely no interest in adding movie or music capabilities. They want a device that is built purely for gaming. Of course a better format means more space, larger levels, and faster loading times.

"self-loading media drive."

Does this mean slot-loading? Can slot-loading drives even load different physical sizes of media?

"In the next generation, the addition of the Internet will be important to all consoles and particularly important to Nintendo. Revolution will be wireless Internet ready out of the box."

I read about this too. Free online gaming, by building a wireless network with your neighbors?!? Sounds like huge security issues. Especially since Nintendo is supposed to be kid friendly. Great feature in the cities, but what about the burbs and even more rural areas.

Even if they never become #1 in the console wars I think Nintendo will have the most original and innovative ideas built into their machine. They refuse to take the same road as Sega. "The day we stop making game hardware is the day we quit the business." You gotta respect that type of thinking.
Thinking Different.

[DISCOMUNICATION]

Thinking different and building a pure gaming device could shoot them in the foot though as the next gen seems to be even more about convergence. Convergence is the only reason Microsoft got into the console business. And that's the reason some software publishers refuse to make games for the xbox. They don't care about games. They're only interested in protecting their monapoly. If you could surf the web and do some basic task on you console without dealing with the blue screen of death why would you put up with Windows at home away from your place of work?

[ReanimationLP]

The PS3 will probably use standard DVD, as the prices of Blu-Ray currently are thru the ROOF. X.X Plus that way, they can get it out quicker, I heard that Sony is considering the end of this year to get the PS3 out. I kinda hope they dont, when they did that with the PS2, there was shortages, problems with the machines themselves, and a real lack of good games to play. :(