Blog Jones

You want to see something strange? Check out this photo of the controller for Nintendo’s upcoming video game console, the Nintendo Revolution:

That’s just crazy. A controller that looks like a TV remote? It’s much, much simpler than any of its predecessors, except for the original NES. Here’s the other bit o’ weirdness:

The controller for Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution home console system is a cordless remote-control-like device designed to be used with only one hand. Two small sensors placed near the TV and a chip inside the controller track its position and orientation, allowing the player to manipulate the action on screen by physically moving the controller itself. For example, you could slash an in-game sword by actually swinging the controller from side to side, turn a race car just by twisting your wrist, or aim your gun in a shooter by pointing the controller where you want to fire.

The story at 1UP.com describes how well it plays with some of the various demo games that members of the press got to play:

DEMO: BLOCK BUSTER
A firing-range-like contest where two players compete to see who can shoot randomly appearing squares first. Aiming is done by pointing the controller itself at different points on screen, pulling the B trigger to fire.
IMPRESSIONS: A great demonstration of how intuitive the controller can be-pointing it to aim felt perfectly natural, right from the very first second, just like with a light gun. It always shot exactly where it felt like I was aiming, and was incredibly responsive to even slight wrist movements-I barely had to move my hand at all.

So why has Nintendo decided to brazenly break with tradition and the conventions of every other modern console in creating the Revolution controller? According to Mr. Miyamoto, it was part of a conscious decision to make something simple and straightforward enough to reach out to a new audience. “We want a system that takes advantage of new technology for something that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can pick up and play. [Something with a] gameplay style that people who have never played games can pick up and not be intimidated by. We wanted a controller that somebody’s mother will look at and not be afraid of.”

This has potential… Nintendo has demonstrated some talent in the field of unconventional controllers–just look at the Nintendo DS!

I know I’m looking forward to playing with it.