Nintendo Wii
- Trådstarter Psycho Mantis
- Startdato
Aner ikke, jeg bare postet det her i stedet for å lage en ny tråd. Ryktene sier at det er fra E3, men se på denne siden. Var den jeg brukte som kilde. Klippet skal vist nok være kjørt fra et overklokket GC dev kit. Tenk på det som et ekstremt tidlig Revolution alpha kit.
Ingenting nytt egentlig. Det samme Metroid-klippet ble vist på Nintendos pressekonferanse på E3 for over en måned siden, men dette ser ut til å være fra en annen konferanse. Tror dette er fra en PR-greie Nintendo holdt i Europa nylig.
Interessant det Reggie sier om "spec sheets" på slutten av videoen. Det kan tyde på at Revolution vil bli kraftigere enn hva mange tror. Forhåpentligvis langt bedre enn dette klippet viser, for det der fikk meg ikke til å si "wow" akkurat...
Interessant det Reggie sier om "spec sheets" på slutten av videoen. Det kan tyde på at Revolution vil bli kraftigere enn hva mange tror. Forhåpentligvis langt bedre enn dette klippet viser, for det der fikk meg ikke til å si "wow" akkurat...
Ja, det er det jeg tror dette er, en techdemo, som Zelda-promoen der. Trenger ikke nødvendigvis vise hvordan neste Metroid blir. Bare en kort teaser fra Retro Studios for å gi oss en smakebit på neste generasjon. Når Revolution dev. kits ikke er ute ennå og de bruker overklokkede GC'er til utvikling, sier det seg selv at dette ikke er særlig representativ for grafikken på Revolution.
Da har det dukket opp enda en kar som sier han har "inside information" om Nintendo Revolution. Fyren poster i en eller annen blog, og sier at han jobber for en europeisk utvikler. Her kommer det frem detaljerte "fakta" om kontrollen. Høyest sannsynelig bare bullshit, men jeg synes allikevel det var interessant å lese gjennom det. Dessuten virker fyren veldig troverdig, og det gjør lesingen ekstra interessant.. Her er det han har skrevet til nå:
Første bloginnlegg
Jul. 5, 2005 - It's about time..
It's about time for the truth to be told. It's
about time for the lies to be squashed. It's about time some real
information was released. It's about time Nintendo gave it's fans a
reason to be excited, to be exhilarated, and to believe again.
Sadly,
Nintendo aren't offering their fans that. Not yet, anyway. Fans have
been looking to "sources", various people on the internet posting in
message boards, weblogs, and IM services, claiming to work directly
for, with, or indirectly with Nintendo. Many of which are rather..
shall we say.. "questionable" sources to say the least. I'm going to
put an end to all of that (and yes, I realise the irony of posting in a
blog whilst at the same time suggesting the others are "fakes").
In the future, I will be able to reveal details about the Nintendo Revolution. I will answer questions that you may have about the Nintendo Revolution. And I will speak only truths. For now, I will tell you about myself and how I know about the Nintendo Revolution.
I
don't work for Nintendo. I work for a third party developer. I can't
really tell you which, suffice to say that it has offices in Europe.
That might help. Yes, I have signed a confidentiality agreement.. but I
don't believe that I can be "tracked", so to speak, as long as I don't
give out too much info about myself or my work. I'm just so sick of the
lies that certain members of the online community are speading. It's
degrading to the commited fans of Nintendo that follow the information
"leaks" (the most notable of whom are the members of the Moz La Punk
weblog forums, who have tentativly name all of this the N-Game... yes,
I have enough free time to follow message boards).
Yes, I have
seen the controller. Whilst it was only a prototype, we've been told
that it's very close to the final design. The only changes would most
likely be cosmetic.. I have not held, or felt the controller. I have
been shown a demonstration of it, and have read docu.mentation on it's
operation and functions. For the sake of dramatic buildup of tension,
I'm not going to explain it in full in my first entry, there's no
point. There is more to the Revolution then just the controller, trust
me.
I think I should leave this post at that much. It's late, and I have job
to go to tomorow morning. Keep an eye on this address, and don't
believe everything you read (that is of course, unless you read it
here).
King Dea
PS, Ignore the period in docu.mentation, as apparently theblogs.net has a language blocker
Andre bloginnlegg
In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, a blog called Revolution Truth (although, I'm not sure what "truth" he has or can supply about the Nintendo Revolution) which is made by the user moku from the Moz La Punk forums, is taking shots at me claiming I am a "CONFIRMED FAKE. Fastest one ever." Nice of him not to confirm it, wasn't it?
So, as for me having "forgotten to bring his camera, cell-phone, anything that takes a picture" when I saw the controller in action, I'd just like to call you an idiot.
For
a start, bringing a camera into a room with 20 people in it, whose eyes
are being treated to one of the biggest secrets in videogame history,
would be professional suicide. Not to mention cameras and the like are
not allowed into our offices. Being caught with one is very good
grounds on which to be fired (so is posting cla.ssified information on
the internet, but there's less chance of being caught doing that).
How long in the future you ask? Well, I'll tell you what, because of you putting "some heat on this guy",
I'll make you wait a little longer for everything I have to say. I
respect the guys over at the Moz La Punk forums, and you're right, they
do do real investigating. But of all the people there, I respect you the least.. I think it's only right I point out that your "list of all U.K. based videogame developers" is badly incomplete. I can name one huge oversight, but I wouldn't want to embarra.ss you more.. You'll figure it out.
Well,
now that I've gotten that out of my system.. Time to actually talk
about the Revolution. Thanks to your mate moku, I'm only going to
explain about what I saw of the controller. You've ruined it
now, I'm not even sure you're ready if you can't even suspend disbelief
in a blog before any information even arises.
The job I hold
involves creating a physics engine for various games (we're not working
on one specific game), which means knowing how the controller operates,
and it's various functions. So my department was shown a demonstration
of the controller in action, someone playing tech demo of a yellow
rubber duck with a bazooka and sungla.sses (an obvious parody of Sony's
PS2 and PS3 tech demos). The controller shown in this video (yes, it
was a video demonstration for some reason) was white, but we were told
it was only a prototype colour.. It looked damn cool nonetheless.. It's
a single piece controller, not two pieces held separately in each hand
like some mock-ups and theories state. It most definitely has
gyroscopic sensors in it, although they aren't used to the extent some
people theorised they would be. For example, the sensor is not accurate
enough to be able use the controller as a gun.. It's more for things
like pulling quickly to dodge sideways, or to spin an Arwing in
Starfox. I can also confirm that the controller had a microphone,
although there's no holograms coming from it, so there'll be no
blowing to roll bowling balls, sorry. It's more for voice commands and
such, much like the DS's. Apparently it can also be used like the voice
communicator for the Xbox, eliminating the need for one. The controller
also features what I like to call Directional Haptic Feedback
(I'm not sure on the technical term of it, however I'll try to bring it
up at work and get an answer for you). Basically, it's a rumble pack
that can pull your hand in a certain direction.
(I am aware
that most of you already know about these things, but this is what the
controller is. No duel parts, no holograms, no touch screens, no brain
reading, nothing like that)
So, after that we were shown a
controller up close, this one with a clear case so that all of the
components could be pointed out to us. We weren't allowed to touch it
though, we tried to convince the Nintendo rep, but he insisted it
wasn't necessary.
After that, we were given 'technical information
kits'.. basically a CD with a PDF version of a manual. No pictures or
anything, just information on how the controller works (how it
sends/receives instructions, for example). It's not very interesting,
and please don't ask me to send it to you. Even if I wanted to, it
would be almost impossible to get a copy out. I myself don't have a
personal copy, I have access to one though.
After those were given
out, we were shown sections of it as well as being shown some diagrams
and having some of the technical aspects explained to us. It was really
boring actually. I spent most of this time wondering how I could steal
the prototype and get out of the building with it.
Before I knew
it, the meeting was over and we were signing annoying pieces of paper
that said we wouldn't talk about what happened in that room (they
worked, didn't they?).
Back on topic, what I saw in that room
was amazing. Looking at it as an avid gamer, I can imagine that playing
games with this thing is going to be a dream. It's not going to blow
the other two consoles completely out of the industry, but it's going
to make for some very exciting, interesting, and unique games on the
Revolution.. as well as the joy of playing all of the next generation
multi-platform games, and the Nintendo games of the past. This is truly
a great time to be a gamer.
In my next post (as long as no
more unnecessarily aggressive blogs are posted), I'm going to reveal
some details (and some rumours) that I've picked up by keeping my ears
open and my beak sticky in the office.
Au revoir.
King Dea
Tredje bloginnlegg
Jul. 7, 2005 - Questions answered, details revealed, rumours stated.
Great,
we've got some comments going and people asking some very cleaver
questions. I'm more then happy to answer a whole bunch, which I'll do
before going on further.
Firstly, "I'd also like to hear some more about the tech demo... but I guess you can't tell... ".
Well, not true. I'd love to share some info about the demo.
"Can
you describe the tech-demo in a little bit more detail? What facets of
the controller were best exemplified in this particular video and what
facets were yet to be seen?"
- My favourite function of the
controller, definitely had to be the gyroscopic controls. It just seems
to have so many possibilites.
"What can you say about the detail of the tech demo? Was it impressive?"
-
Well, it was only a tech demo aimed at displaying the controller's
functions, and not the system's graphical capabilities. The demo
consisted of a desert-like scene (mountains and such in the background,
all looking very nice), and about 100 feet in front of where the duck
was, was a gun turret.
The gyroscopic sensors were demostrated
with the player dodging machine gun fire from the turret.. diving left
and right with pulls on the controller.
The Directional Haptic
Feedback was demostrated with the turret switching to grenades fire,
and landing shots next to the player, forcing his hand sideways.
Two other functions of the controller were demostrated, but I'll explain that later in the post.
"is the button layout on the controller similar to the GC's layout, or is it more symmetrical like the dual-shock 2?"
-
It's definitely closer to the GC controller then the DS2, but the
layout has been shifted around to make the buttons easier to reach. The
A button has been made smaller, and the kidney buttons have been
reshaped a bit and made easier to reach.. But it really is essentially
the same layout. (I remind you that what we saw was a prototype.. the
buttons and functions are final, but the cosmetics could be subject to
change. I'm a.ssuming the controllers won't be white when you buy a
black console, for example).
The poster dj asked a question about "do [games developers] want movie directors?".
-
The skills that movie directing develops will definitely help you if
you want to become a video-game director. Team and people management
skills; the ability to get the best possible performance from people;
the ability to corralate various aspects (sound, visual, effects,
story, etc) with one another; and the ability to apply a creative
vision to a piece of work, are all important skills to develop if you
want to direct either movies or games. However, it would be best to
gain experience in the development of games before moving into a
directoral position, and developers look for that when hiring
directors. I suggest taking on an extra arts subject or something, and
get into the industry and work your way up that way.
"But
whats the next part of the rev...does it have anything to do with
stereoscopic view without gl***es, like the kind NASA is making?".
- No.
"one wonders what the "revolutionary" part of the console is".
- There is no one revolutionary part. The console is revolutionary.
"In your next talk could you describe what makes this controller gain the ability to play games from NES,SNES,and N64?".
- Basically, you could
use the GC controller to play these consoles. It would take a little
while to get used to a different layout (especially with the 64), but
it's absolutely possible. The Revolution's controller is not very far
off the GameCube's controller (there's another way to play NES and SNES
games too, I'll explain that later). There is one particular aspect of
the Revolution's controller that I don't think is going to work,
because it makes emulation of the 64's controller difficult to day the
least (you'll see what I mean soon).
"And why there are gcn ports? I mean, the rev controller, according to you, aint so different, so why do they ned gc ports?".
-
The GameCube dock is used for two reasons. One, to use extra GC
controllers when playing emulated GC games with multiplayer. Two, it is
how the controller plugs in to charge. There is a rubber stop over a
small connection on the controller, where a cord can be plugged in and
connected to the Revolution. You can play with the controller plugged
in too, but the information is still sent wirelessly.
"Was that you, Dea?".
- No.
"lets
say you put your rev in the stand, the gc ports will be dacing upwards.
Itd be rly weird to have to connect your controller to the top...I
think this element of the design should be changed".
- Not a
question, but I agree. Hopefully Nintendo do something about this. I
haven't seen the console, and as far as I know no-one has one except
Nintendo themselves.
"Will there be some type of screen?".
- On the controller? No.
Somebody on Moz La Punk's forums has mentioned posting an ID card as proof of Identity.
-
For a start, my ID card has my picture, my name, and my company's name
on it. To protect myself, I'd have to block all of that out, and that
would leave you with what? A blurry square that gives you no
information? Secondly, I could just take a photo of my driver's licence
and blur that out. So there's no point, sorry.
Right, so now
that I've answered some questions, I'll make good on my promise of
facts and apparent facts that I've heard. Including some information
about the controller that I've held on to.
- There are areas
on the controller that have the ability to heat up or cool down. In the
tech demo I saw, the duck caught on fire after a grenade explosion, and
the controller heated up sharply (not to extreme heats, but enough to
make it known to the player).
- There are areas on the
controller that you can "grip" (ie, squeeze in) to perform actions.
These areas also have force feedback of sorts, it can "push" back
against your hand.
- The controllers don't use bluetooth to
connect to the console, they connect to the Revolution's Wi-Fi.
Apparently this cuts down on cost a little bit.
- The
controller, whilst not straying far from the GameCube's design, has
been given a visual upgrade, making it on the whole more "sleek" and
supposedly more attractive to casual gamers. The Z-trigger has been
moved under the controller, returning to more of a trigger then the
GC's controller. There is now a left trigger as well. The buttons have
been made to look less like candy, and the analogue stick has been made
lower and wider.. It looks very cool. The C-Stick has been replaced,
in it's place is kind of egonomic trackball, which you can control with
your right finger much like a mouse. The way it was displayed in the
video made it look very easy to use, but not having held the controller
myself I can't really comment much further then that.
I guess you
can see how this might make the emulation of the 64 a little harder.
While the controller has the right number of buttons (I counted), it's
going to take a while to get used to a new layout for cl***ic games.
- As I said before, the GameCube's ports are used to charge the Revolution's controllers.
Now for some things that I have heard
around work. Some of these may not be entirely true, or in fact true at
all. I have no personal proof, but have no reason to doubt any of this.
- There will be a video camera peripheral, able to be used for
EyeToy style games, and for video chat over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
- There will be a wireless mouse and keyboard released, to do with what is being called Nintendo's "lifestyle" software.
-
Nintendo's "lifestyle" software is aimed specificly at non-gamers.
Things like a word processor, a web browser, video player, chat
program, and a music player will be available.. presumably with the
console itself, but I don't know.
- And the last, and arguably
coolest thing I've heard, is that the Revolution can wirelessly send
video feeds to DS handhelds. Apparently, it allows you to play NES and
SNES games on the DS (as long as you are in the Revolution's Wi-Fi
range, and have the software needed). I also heard that you can send a
DVD feed to the DS, using it as a small portable television. I find
this one hard to believe, but it sounds pretty damn cool.
So, before I leave you once more, I'd like to propose a moments silence in light of what has happened recently in London.
...
...
...
...
...
Feel free to post some more questions. I'll try my best to answer them all from what I know.
King Dea
Fjerde bloginnlegg.
Jul. 12, 2005 - More questions answered, plus sketches.
Good evening everyone. Sorry about the delay in making a new post, I
had orginally promised quite a few people an update on monday, which
obviously didn't happen for various reasons. Sorry again.
First call of duty, answering questions.
A lot of people have put it to me that Iwata has stated that
there'll be no face buttons firstly, and others have pointed me to a
quote from a recent interview.
"There are too many buttons and sticks on controllers for
novice players, which is likely to discourage them from ever playing
games at all,"
Many people (including IGN themselves) are suggesting that this
quote indictates that this would mean the controller has less buttons
and less control sticks. Ask yourselves, how would this work? Reggie
himself stated that the controller will be able to play NES, SNES, and
64 games. There's no way to reduce the amount of buttons and maintain
this functionality.
People have misinterprited this quote. The point that Iwata was trying to get across, is that current controllers look intimidating and difficult to use. If the controller looks and feels
simple in a user's hands, then they are more likely to want to use it.
What is there that is more accessable then a mouse? There's very few
people that struggle badly or don't know how to use a standard computer
mouse. The trackball works very much the same as a mouse would, and the
controller seems to be very comfortable to hold.
"If you have access to next-gen systems, how far along is Nintendo compared with Sony?"
Well, because the application of our engine is planned for all
platforms, we've been told to create it to be compatable with the
lowest technical specifications. Because we both haven't been told the
finalised specs, and because we don't have a final development kit
(before you ask, the ones we're working with now are heavily modified
Gamecube kits) to work from, our target is have a final build running
at full capacity on the Xbox 360. From there optimisation for each
platform will begin, but right now I can tell you that it equals the
performance of the 360. We can't tell if the Revolution will reach the
same potential as the Playstation 3.
"Is Nintendo's developer API as simple as they say? Will it be cheaper to make a revolution game than a xbox360/PS3 game?"
What we're currently working with is very similar to the Gamecube
in terms of API, and we're told final kits won't be drastically
different either. This is good news for developers who have been
working on Gamecubes for some time, as we'll be able to get more out of
the system sooner. In terms of Nintendo's claims of being able support
smaller developers and cheaper productions, you have to keep in mind
that the Revolution is going to be able to play NES, SNES, and 64
games. Nowadays it's both common and easy for a single person or a
small developer group to create games for NES and SNES emulators.
"Iwata has publicly stated that the Rev will be a game
system exclusively. Doesn't the "lifestyle" software contradict
Nintendo's stated vision of the next-gen?"
To counter this, I'd like to quote good old Reggie Fils-Aimes. "We're throwing open the doors of gaming to wider audiences, from casual players to hard-core gamers"
Nintendo is definintely "about the games", but what better way to
attract new gamers then to offer them something they already use, but
no other console offers? Just because there is going to be alternate
software (PictoChat is a perfect example) doesn't mean Nintendo are
shifting their view from gaming.
"u said there would be no screen on the controller. What about the system itself?"
You've seen the system. The answer is no.
"Can you comment on the adverts at all?"
I've no idea about these. The orginal one definitely seemed to me
like something Nintendo might try to use to attract a more mature and
sensible audience, but the rest look to me like knockoffs of that idea.
All I can tell you is that they didn't come from us.
And finally,
On the topic of the durabilty of the controller, I'm sure that it
won't be a problem, as Nintendo have obviously taken into account that
their products are used by a younger generation (going with flash
memory for durability is a good example) so I wouldn't worry too much
about that. I can't tell you for sure though, as you know I've never
held the controller in my hands (I couldn't even tell you the weight of
it).
So, now that's out of the way, I'll show you what I promised I would.
I've done a very rough sketch of the controller I was shown
using Paint. It's not very clear and very much out of proportion, but
it should suffice until someone offers to do a better looking version
of it for me. You should be able to work all the parts out from what
I've said (slighty larger and flatter left stick, trackball on the
right, two triggers and two shoulder buttons, and grip buttons). It's
all very simple, and as I've said not overly removed from the
Gamecube's controller. Oh, and it seems I've forgotten to mention that
the select button is back, I just ***umed that was a given, sorry.
Top view
Side view
No doubt you've all got a few questions now, so I'll leave it at that until next time.
King Dea
Dette er alt fyren har skrevet til nå. Tror jeg skal følge med litt videre på det han skriver. Forresten. Her er link til blogen: http://theblogs.net/user/kingdea/1486/
Første bloginnlegg
Jul. 5, 2005 - It's about time..
It's about time for the truth to be told. It's
about time for the lies to be squashed. It's about time some real
information was released. It's about time Nintendo gave it's fans a
reason to be excited, to be exhilarated, and to believe again.
Sadly,
Nintendo aren't offering their fans that. Not yet, anyway. Fans have
been looking to "sources", various people on the internet posting in
message boards, weblogs, and IM services, claiming to work directly
for, with, or indirectly with Nintendo. Many of which are rather..
shall we say.. "questionable" sources to say the least. I'm going to
put an end to all of that (and yes, I realise the irony of posting in a
blog whilst at the same time suggesting the others are "fakes").
In the future, I will be able to reveal details about the Nintendo Revolution. I will answer questions that you may have about the Nintendo Revolution. And I will speak only truths. For now, I will tell you about myself and how I know about the Nintendo Revolution.
I
don't work for Nintendo. I work for a third party developer. I can't
really tell you which, suffice to say that it has offices in Europe.
That might help. Yes, I have signed a confidentiality agreement.. but I
don't believe that I can be "tracked", so to speak, as long as I don't
give out too much info about myself or my work. I'm just so sick of the
lies that certain members of the online community are speading. It's
degrading to the commited fans of Nintendo that follow the information
"leaks" (the most notable of whom are the members of the Moz La Punk
weblog forums, who have tentativly name all of this the N-Game... yes,
I have enough free time to follow message boards).
Yes, I have
seen the controller. Whilst it was only a prototype, we've been told
that it's very close to the final design. The only changes would most
likely be cosmetic.. I have not held, or felt the controller. I have
been shown a demonstration of it, and have read docu.mentation on it's
operation and functions. For the sake of dramatic buildup of tension,
I'm not going to explain it in full in my first entry, there's no
point. There is more to the Revolution then just the controller, trust
me.
I think I should leave this post at that much. It's late, and I have job
to go to tomorow morning. Keep an eye on this address, and don't
believe everything you read (that is of course, unless you read it
here).
King Dea
PS, Ignore the period in docu.mentation, as apparently theblogs.net has a language blocker
Andre bloginnlegg
In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, a blog called Revolution Truth (although, I'm not sure what "truth" he has or can supply about the Nintendo Revolution) which is made by the user moku from the Moz La Punk forums, is taking shots at me claiming I am a "CONFIRMED FAKE. Fastest one ever." Nice of him not to confirm it, wasn't it?
So, as for me having "forgotten to bring his camera, cell-phone, anything that takes a picture" when I saw the controller in action, I'd just like to call you an idiot.
For
a start, bringing a camera into a room with 20 people in it, whose eyes
are being treated to one of the biggest secrets in videogame history,
would be professional suicide. Not to mention cameras and the like are
not allowed into our offices. Being caught with one is very good
grounds on which to be fired (so is posting cla.ssified information on
the internet, but there's less chance of being caught doing that).
How long in the future you ask? Well, I'll tell you what, because of you putting "some heat on this guy",
I'll make you wait a little longer for everything I have to say. I
respect the guys over at the Moz La Punk forums, and you're right, they
do do real investigating. But of all the people there, I respect you the least.. I think it's only right I point out that your "list of all U.K. based videogame developers" is badly incomplete. I can name one huge oversight, but I wouldn't want to embarra.ss you more.. You'll figure it out.
Well,
now that I've gotten that out of my system.. Time to actually talk
about the Revolution. Thanks to your mate moku, I'm only going to
explain about what I saw of the controller. You've ruined it
now, I'm not even sure you're ready if you can't even suspend disbelief
in a blog before any information even arises.
The job I hold
involves creating a physics engine for various games (we're not working
on one specific game), which means knowing how the controller operates,
and it's various functions. So my department was shown a demonstration
of the controller in action, someone playing tech demo of a yellow
rubber duck with a bazooka and sungla.sses (an obvious parody of Sony's
PS2 and PS3 tech demos). The controller shown in this video (yes, it
was a video demonstration for some reason) was white, but we were told
it was only a prototype colour.. It looked damn cool nonetheless.. It's
a single piece controller, not two pieces held separately in each hand
like some mock-ups and theories state. It most definitely has
gyroscopic sensors in it, although they aren't used to the extent some
people theorised they would be. For example, the sensor is not accurate
enough to be able use the controller as a gun.. It's more for things
like pulling quickly to dodge sideways, or to spin an Arwing in
Starfox. I can also confirm that the controller had a microphone,
although there's no holograms coming from it, so there'll be no
blowing to roll bowling balls, sorry. It's more for voice commands and
such, much like the DS's. Apparently it can also be used like the voice
communicator for the Xbox, eliminating the need for one. The controller
also features what I like to call Directional Haptic Feedback
(I'm not sure on the technical term of it, however I'll try to bring it
up at work and get an answer for you). Basically, it's a rumble pack
that can pull your hand in a certain direction.
(I am aware
that most of you already know about these things, but this is what the
controller is. No duel parts, no holograms, no touch screens, no brain
reading, nothing like that)
So, after that we were shown a
controller up close, this one with a clear case so that all of the
components could be pointed out to us. We weren't allowed to touch it
though, we tried to convince the Nintendo rep, but he insisted it
wasn't necessary.
After that, we were given 'technical information
kits'.. basically a CD with a PDF version of a manual. No pictures or
anything, just information on how the controller works (how it
sends/receives instructions, for example). It's not very interesting,
and please don't ask me to send it to you. Even if I wanted to, it
would be almost impossible to get a copy out. I myself don't have a
personal copy, I have access to one though.
After those were given
out, we were shown sections of it as well as being shown some diagrams
and having some of the technical aspects explained to us. It was really
boring actually. I spent most of this time wondering how I could steal
the prototype and get out of the building with it.
Before I knew
it, the meeting was over and we were signing annoying pieces of paper
that said we wouldn't talk about what happened in that room (they
worked, didn't they?).
Back on topic, what I saw in that room
was amazing. Looking at it as an avid gamer, I can imagine that playing
games with this thing is going to be a dream. It's not going to blow
the other two consoles completely out of the industry, but it's going
to make for some very exciting, interesting, and unique games on the
Revolution.. as well as the joy of playing all of the next generation
multi-platform games, and the Nintendo games of the past. This is truly
a great time to be a gamer.
In my next post (as long as no
more unnecessarily aggressive blogs are posted), I'm going to reveal
some details (and some rumours) that I've picked up by keeping my ears
open and my beak sticky in the office.
Au revoir.
King Dea
Tredje bloginnlegg
Jul. 7, 2005 - Questions answered, details revealed, rumours stated.
Great,
we've got some comments going and people asking some very cleaver
questions. I'm more then happy to answer a whole bunch, which I'll do
before going on further.
Firstly, "I'd also like to hear some more about the tech demo... but I guess you can't tell... ".
Well, not true. I'd love to share some info about the demo.
"Can
you describe the tech-demo in a little bit more detail? What facets of
the controller were best exemplified in this particular video and what
facets were yet to be seen?"
- My favourite function of the
controller, definitely had to be the gyroscopic controls. It just seems
to have so many possibilites.
"What can you say about the detail of the tech demo? Was it impressive?"
-
Well, it was only a tech demo aimed at displaying the controller's
functions, and not the system's graphical capabilities. The demo
consisted of a desert-like scene (mountains and such in the background,
all looking very nice), and about 100 feet in front of where the duck
was, was a gun turret.
The gyroscopic sensors were demostrated
with the player dodging machine gun fire from the turret.. diving left
and right with pulls on the controller.
The Directional Haptic
Feedback was demostrated with the turret switching to grenades fire,
and landing shots next to the player, forcing his hand sideways.
Two other functions of the controller were demostrated, but I'll explain that later in the post.
"is the button layout on the controller similar to the GC's layout, or is it more symmetrical like the dual-shock 2?"
-
It's definitely closer to the GC controller then the DS2, but the
layout has been shifted around to make the buttons easier to reach. The
A button has been made smaller, and the kidney buttons have been
reshaped a bit and made easier to reach.. But it really is essentially
the same layout. (I remind you that what we saw was a prototype.. the
buttons and functions are final, but the cosmetics could be subject to
change. I'm a.ssuming the controllers won't be white when you buy a
black console, for example).
The poster dj asked a question about "do [games developers] want movie directors?".
-
The skills that movie directing develops will definitely help you if
you want to become a video-game director. Team and people management
skills; the ability to get the best possible performance from people;
the ability to corralate various aspects (sound, visual, effects,
story, etc) with one another; and the ability to apply a creative
vision to a piece of work, are all important skills to develop if you
want to direct either movies or games. However, it would be best to
gain experience in the development of games before moving into a
directoral position, and developers look for that when hiring
directors. I suggest taking on an extra arts subject or something, and
get into the industry and work your way up that way.
"But
whats the next part of the rev...does it have anything to do with
stereoscopic view without gl***es, like the kind NASA is making?".
- No.
"one wonders what the "revolutionary" part of the console is".
- There is no one revolutionary part. The console is revolutionary.
"In your next talk could you describe what makes this controller gain the ability to play games from NES,SNES,and N64?".
- Basically, you could
use the GC controller to play these consoles. It would take a little
while to get used to a different layout (especially with the 64), but
it's absolutely possible. The Revolution's controller is not very far
off the GameCube's controller (there's another way to play NES and SNES
games too, I'll explain that later). There is one particular aspect of
the Revolution's controller that I don't think is going to work,
because it makes emulation of the 64's controller difficult to day the
least (you'll see what I mean soon).
"And why there are gcn ports? I mean, the rev controller, according to you, aint so different, so why do they ned gc ports?".
-
The GameCube dock is used for two reasons. One, to use extra GC
controllers when playing emulated GC games with multiplayer. Two, it is
how the controller plugs in to charge. There is a rubber stop over a
small connection on the controller, where a cord can be plugged in and
connected to the Revolution. You can play with the controller plugged
in too, but the information is still sent wirelessly.
"Was that you, Dea?".
- No.
"lets
say you put your rev in the stand, the gc ports will be dacing upwards.
Itd be rly weird to have to connect your controller to the top...I
think this element of the design should be changed".
- Not a
question, but I agree. Hopefully Nintendo do something about this. I
haven't seen the console, and as far as I know no-one has one except
Nintendo themselves.
"Will there be some type of screen?".
- On the controller? No.
Somebody on Moz La Punk's forums has mentioned posting an ID card as proof of Identity.
-
For a start, my ID card has my picture, my name, and my company's name
on it. To protect myself, I'd have to block all of that out, and that
would leave you with what? A blurry square that gives you no
information? Secondly, I could just take a photo of my driver's licence
and blur that out. So there's no point, sorry.
Right, so now
that I've answered some questions, I'll make good on my promise of
facts and apparent facts that I've heard. Including some information
about the controller that I've held on to.
- There are areas
on the controller that have the ability to heat up or cool down. In the
tech demo I saw, the duck caught on fire after a grenade explosion, and
the controller heated up sharply (not to extreme heats, but enough to
make it known to the player).
- There are areas on the
controller that you can "grip" (ie, squeeze in) to perform actions.
These areas also have force feedback of sorts, it can "push" back
against your hand.
- The controllers don't use bluetooth to
connect to the console, they connect to the Revolution's Wi-Fi.
Apparently this cuts down on cost a little bit.
- The
controller, whilst not straying far from the GameCube's design, has
been given a visual upgrade, making it on the whole more "sleek" and
supposedly more attractive to casual gamers. The Z-trigger has been
moved under the controller, returning to more of a trigger then the
GC's controller. There is now a left trigger as well. The buttons have
been made to look less like candy, and the analogue stick has been made
lower and wider.. It looks very cool. The C-Stick has been replaced,
in it's place is kind of egonomic trackball, which you can control with
your right finger much like a mouse. The way it was displayed in the
video made it look very easy to use, but not having held the controller
myself I can't really comment much further then that.
I guess you
can see how this might make the emulation of the 64 a little harder.
While the controller has the right number of buttons (I counted), it's
going to take a while to get used to a new layout for cl***ic games.
- As I said before, the GameCube's ports are used to charge the Revolution's controllers.
Now for some things that I have heard
around work. Some of these may not be entirely true, or in fact true at
all. I have no personal proof, but have no reason to doubt any of this.
- There will be a video camera peripheral, able to be used for
EyeToy style games, and for video chat over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.
- There will be a wireless mouse and keyboard released, to do with what is being called Nintendo's "lifestyle" software.
-
Nintendo's "lifestyle" software is aimed specificly at non-gamers.
Things like a word processor, a web browser, video player, chat
program, and a music player will be available.. presumably with the
console itself, but I don't know.
- And the last, and arguably
coolest thing I've heard, is that the Revolution can wirelessly send
video feeds to DS handhelds. Apparently, it allows you to play NES and
SNES games on the DS (as long as you are in the Revolution's Wi-Fi
range, and have the software needed). I also heard that you can send a
DVD feed to the DS, using it as a small portable television. I find
this one hard to believe, but it sounds pretty damn cool.
So, before I leave you once more, I'd like to propose a moments silence in light of what has happened recently in London.
...
...
...
...
...
Feel free to post some more questions. I'll try my best to answer them all from what I know.
King Dea
Fjerde bloginnlegg.
Jul. 12, 2005 - More questions answered, plus sketches.
Good evening everyone. Sorry about the delay in making a new post, I
had orginally promised quite a few people an update on monday, which
obviously didn't happen for various reasons. Sorry again.
First call of duty, answering questions.
A lot of people have put it to me that Iwata has stated that
there'll be no face buttons firstly, and others have pointed me to a
quote from a recent interview.
"There are too many buttons and sticks on controllers for
novice players, which is likely to discourage them from ever playing
games at all,"
Many people (including IGN themselves) are suggesting that this
quote indictates that this would mean the controller has less buttons
and less control sticks. Ask yourselves, how would this work? Reggie
himself stated that the controller will be able to play NES, SNES, and
64 games. There's no way to reduce the amount of buttons and maintain
this functionality.
People have misinterprited this quote. The point that Iwata was trying to get across, is that current controllers look intimidating and difficult to use. If the controller looks and feels
simple in a user's hands, then they are more likely to want to use it.
What is there that is more accessable then a mouse? There's very few
people that struggle badly or don't know how to use a standard computer
mouse. The trackball works very much the same as a mouse would, and the
controller seems to be very comfortable to hold.
"If you have access to next-gen systems, how far along is Nintendo compared with Sony?"
Well, because the application of our engine is planned for all
platforms, we've been told to create it to be compatable with the
lowest technical specifications. Because we both haven't been told the
finalised specs, and because we don't have a final development kit
(before you ask, the ones we're working with now are heavily modified
Gamecube kits) to work from, our target is have a final build running
at full capacity on the Xbox 360. From there optimisation for each
platform will begin, but right now I can tell you that it equals the
performance of the 360. We can't tell if the Revolution will reach the
same potential as the Playstation 3.
"Is Nintendo's developer API as simple as they say? Will it be cheaper to make a revolution game than a xbox360/PS3 game?"
What we're currently working with is very similar to the Gamecube
in terms of API, and we're told final kits won't be drastically
different either. This is good news for developers who have been
working on Gamecubes for some time, as we'll be able to get more out of
the system sooner. In terms of Nintendo's claims of being able support
smaller developers and cheaper productions, you have to keep in mind
that the Revolution is going to be able to play NES, SNES, and 64
games. Nowadays it's both common and easy for a single person or a
small developer group to create games for NES and SNES emulators.
"Iwata has publicly stated that the Rev will be a game
system exclusively. Doesn't the "lifestyle" software contradict
Nintendo's stated vision of the next-gen?"
To counter this, I'd like to quote good old Reggie Fils-Aimes. "We're throwing open the doors of gaming to wider audiences, from casual players to hard-core gamers"
Nintendo is definintely "about the games", but what better way to
attract new gamers then to offer them something they already use, but
no other console offers? Just because there is going to be alternate
software (PictoChat is a perfect example) doesn't mean Nintendo are
shifting their view from gaming.
"u said there would be no screen on the controller. What about the system itself?"
You've seen the system. The answer is no.
"Can you comment on the adverts at all?"
I've no idea about these. The orginal one definitely seemed to me
like something Nintendo might try to use to attract a more mature and
sensible audience, but the rest look to me like knockoffs of that idea.
All I can tell you is that they didn't come from us.
And finally,
On the topic of the durabilty of the controller, I'm sure that it
won't be a problem, as Nintendo have obviously taken into account that
their products are used by a younger generation (going with flash
memory for durability is a good example) so I wouldn't worry too much
about that. I can't tell you for sure though, as you know I've never
held the controller in my hands (I couldn't even tell you the weight of
it).
So, now that's out of the way, I'll show you what I promised I would.
I've done a very rough sketch of the controller I was shown
using Paint. It's not very clear and very much out of proportion, but
it should suffice until someone offers to do a better looking version
of it for me. You should be able to work all the parts out from what
I've said (slighty larger and flatter left stick, trackball on the
right, two triggers and two shoulder buttons, and grip buttons). It's
all very simple, and as I've said not overly removed from the
Gamecube's controller. Oh, and it seems I've forgotten to mention that
the select button is back, I just ***umed that was a given, sorry.
Top view
Side view
No doubt you've all got a few questions now, so I'll leave it at that until next time.
King Dea
Dette er alt fyren har skrevet til nå. Tror jeg skal følge med litt videre på det han skriver. Forresten. Her er link til blogen: http://theblogs.net/user/kingdea/1486/
Må si jeg er en smule lei av såkalte "insiders"...
Nei, litt fakta:
Nintendo on Revolution Controller
Iwata: "There are too many buttons and sticks on controllers for novice players, which is likely to discourage them from ever playing games at all."
"We want the Revolution's controller to be relevant to everybody and we really want people to feel like they want to touch and play with it."
Så mindre knapper, færre analogstikker og touchpad? Greit nok, det strider litt i mot bakoverkompabiliteten. Men kanskje en touchpad kan fungere som erstatning for en analog og en eller flere knapper? Spekulasjoner, spekulasjoner...
Nei, litt fakta:
Nintendo on Revolution Controller
Iwata: "There are too many buttons and sticks on controllers for novice players, which is likely to discourage them from ever playing games at all."
"We want the Revolution's controller to be relevant to everybody and we really want people to feel like they want to touch and play with it."
Så mindre knapper, færre analogstikker og touchpad? Greit nok, det strider litt i mot bakoverkompabiliteten. Men kanskje en touchpad kan fungere som erstatning for en analog og en eller flere knapper? Spekulasjoner, spekulasjoner...
Interessant Sega-intervju:
http://www.gamersmark.com/news/2005/07/1/6341
"As the Revolution is a mystery to fans, it is also a mystery to higher ups in Sega North American division as well. Supposedly, according to Jeffrey, the company knows no more about the console than we do"
Litt merkelig at en så sentral utvikler som Sega ikke vet noe mer enn oss. Da er det kanskje ikke så rart at ingen spill har blitt annonsert til nå...
" Jeffrey also added that it would be an interesting idea to be able to download classic Sega games on the Revolution, however, the company has no such plans. Additionally, Nintendo has only stated that games will available for download for past Nintendo consoles only. So, that rules the possibility of downloading classic Master System, Genesis, and Saturn games; that is unless the two companies enter an agreement to do so."
Det hadde vært meget spennende med nedlastede Sega-spill. Spesielt Saturn-spill siden det er en konsoll jeg har lite kjennskap til. Men slik det ser ut nå er det vel lite sannsynlig.
http://www.gamersmark.com/news/2005/07/1/6341
"As the Revolution is a mystery to fans, it is also a mystery to higher ups in Sega North American division as well. Supposedly, according to Jeffrey, the company knows no more about the console than we do"
Litt merkelig at en så sentral utvikler som Sega ikke vet noe mer enn oss. Da er det kanskje ikke så rart at ingen spill har blitt annonsert til nå...
" Jeffrey also added that it would be an interesting idea to be able to download classic Sega games on the Revolution, however, the company has no such plans. Additionally, Nintendo has only stated that games will available for download for past Nintendo consoles only. So, that rules the possibility of downloading classic Master System, Genesis, and Saturn games; that is unless the two companies enter an agreement to do so."
Det hadde vært meget spennende med nedlastede Sega-spill. Spesielt Saturn-spill siden det er en konsoll jeg har lite kjennskap til. Men slik det ser ut nå er det vel lite sannsynlig.
Intervju med Iwata fra EGM: (dette er ikke hele intervjuet, men jeg antar at det er det mest interessante)
Å si at TP har next-gen grafikk er vel å gå en smule langt. :rulleøyne:
Redigert:
Jeg fant noen scans fra EGM. De har visst intervjuet både Miyamoto og Iwata.
Intervju med Miyamoto
Intervju med Iwata
Å si at TP har next-gen grafikk er vel å gå en smule langt. :rulleøyne:
Redigert:
Jeg fant noen scans fra EGM. De har visst intervjuet både Miyamoto og Iwata.
Intervju med Miyamoto
Intervju med Iwata
Vet ikke helt om jeg skjønte DVD-strategien, men kanskje det blir som på Xbox? Altså at du er nødt å kjøpe en fjernkontroll til 300 kroner for å ta i bruk DVD-funksjonaliteten.
Ellers tolker jeg det som at både kontrollen og maskinens ytelse ikke vil hindre multiplattformspill i forhold til PS3 og X360.
Men så er det dette med denne såkalte revolusjonen da som vi fortsatt ikke vet noe om hva innebærer. Jeg tipper Nintendo vil annonsere noe i oktober/november for å ta litt av oppmerksomheten bort fra X360-lanseringen...
Ellers tolker jeg det som at både kontrollen og maskinens ytelse ikke vil hindre multiplattformspill i forhold til PS3 og X360.
Men så er det dette med denne såkalte revolusjonen da som vi fortsatt ikke vet noe om hva innebærer. Jeg tipper Nintendo vil annonsere noe i oktober/november for å ta litt av oppmerksomheten bort fra X360-lanseringen...