Short video of how controller will work in FPS games

[kracken]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...405&q=nintendo

[{{909}}]

sadly its only a mockup, nothing official

apparently at the TGS, nintendo showed metroid prime being played on the revolutions controls and everyone was stunned bow how good it was

[Goldberg]

I'm sure it will work very well, will be the closest thing to using a mouse without using one.

[{{909}}]

they said in the report that it is far better then the old kb and mouse combo, which for me is the only way to play a fps (at the mo)

[{{909}}]

Nintendo has been hyping the controller for the Revolution, their next generation system, for months now. After daily rumors and speculation, they have finally taken the lid off of it tonight.

The controller is wireless and shaped like a TV remote. Like a TV remote, it is meant to be held with one hand. It contains sensors that understand movements, such as up, down, left, right, forward, backward, and so on. You can tilt or rotate it to do certain moves.

For example, you could point where you want to shoot your gun in a first-person shooter, swing your sword in the newest Zelda game, et cetra. The possibilities are endless.

There is an expansion port at the bottom of the controller where you can attach accessories, such as another controller you hold in your other hand, with an analog stick and two trigger buttons. Yes, it will have a built-in rumble feature and run off batteries.

Nintendo also had playable demos on hand to play that did not use the Revolution's graphics capabilities, so that is still an unknown factor. Here we'll go over the demos available.

Shooting Demo
The main controller was used to move a cursor around on the TV screen, not unlike a laser pointer, and you could shoot square blocks with it. The product apparently responded to movements very well.

Fishing Demo
This demo let players use the controller to move around in 3D with different layers of depth. Players used the hand cursor on the screen to grab a fishing pole and sink the line into a lake full of fish. When a fish bit, the remote rumbled. You would then have to tug back on the controller to reel it in.

Stick Demo
In this demo, you moved a rotating stick through a cave, collecting coins, and trying not to hit the walls. If you hit the walls, it would send your stick flying in another direction.

Air Hockey
In this interesting demo, players hit the puck back and forth by twisting their wrist left or right, which would angle the stick to send the puck flying off in another direction.

Basketball
The basketball demo had players move a basketball around the cort using the laser pointer. By pressing the B-trigger in the back of the remote, you could drag the ball along the ground and with the A-button, send the ball up toward the hoop. It was apparently easy to keep track of where you were on the court and worked well in two-player mode.

Toy Plane
This demo took place in Super Mario Sunshine setting and was easily one of the most unique. The remote could be held like a toy airplane and players could then tilt it up or down to gain or lose elevation. You could also twist left or right to turn as players tried to complete the goal of steering the plane through rings in the sky.

Find Pikachu
In this demo, a bunch of Pokemon were spread out on a flat map, where you used the controller to move left, right, and zoom in to try and find Pikachu, sort of like Where's Waldo. It was nothing amazing on its own until you think of how this could be used in first-person shooters.

Metroid Prime
The final demo was thrown together in a few weeks by the guys over at Retro Studios. It was Metroid Prime 2 redone to work with the new Revolution controller. The analog control stick was used to move the forwards, backwards, and side movements. The back triggers worked with scanning. The normal controller remote worked just like a mouse on a computer. While it did apparently have some hiccups, the potential is incredible.

It is also worth noting that the Revolution logo has been taken off all things related to the product: the controller, the console itself, and the analog stick accessory. This could mean a final name will be announced soon.

Finally, here are some quotes from developers on the controller.

Chuck Huebner, Head of Worldwide Studios, Activision: "What we're seeing from this controller is the same thing we saw with Nintendo DS. It's a system that's designed with an eye on enticing new players to the video game industry, and that's something we firmly support."

John Schappert, Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Electronic Arts Canada: "Game control is essential - it's the area where perhaps the most game-play improvement can be made. While our portfolio represents a full array of titles across all genres, I think our sports titles might be the first to immediately take advantage of what this novel 'freehand' type of control has to offer."

Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ: "Nintendo has long been a trailblazer, and this controller design reinforces that reputation. We enthusiastically support Nintendo's next console because we believe their approach of continual innovation is very much in line with our own strategy of creating unique and innovative games for the next generation of hardware."

Serge Hascoet, Chief Creative Officer of Ubisoft: "We were among the first publishers to see the control design in action. We're excited about the new controller and are looking forward to taking advantage of its innovative aspects."

[{{909}}]

this is what i was looking for when i fouind the above:


So what did you play?

I played the Retro-fitted version of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

And ...?

It played far better than the original controls. Turning and aiming were instantaneous. Control was absolutely precise.

At a certain point during the demo, one of our designers did a double-jump over a gap and spun a full 180 degrees in midair before landing on the opposite side. When I saw this my arm literally started shaking and had to grab and squeeze the cup holder on my theater seat like Doctor Strangelove to hold my arm steady.

Then he circle-strafed around a Space Pirate.

Yes, circle-strafed.

In Metroid Prime 2.

And that's without target-locking.

How were the controls set up?

It was set up in the "nunchaku" configuration described in the article. On the left controller, the thumbstick controlled player movement, the upper trigger button was assigned to visor-switching, and the lower trigger was assigned to the "scan" function and locking onto a target. On the right controller, the controller itself moved the player's gun independently of the player's view (yes, you could fire at any point on the screen without changing the player view -- the gun tilted to face toward the aim point), the trigger button fired the gun, and three of the buttons controlled jumping, firing missiles, and switching to morphball mode.

How does it compare to a mouse?

From what I experienced, it seemed to be more precise than a mouse, but it's also much faster because it requires only a much smaller movement of the hand to achieve the desired effect. You just instantly point the controller at any part of the screen and bam!, that's where you're looking.

There is no lag.

There is no error.

It took a while to get used to the idea of how little effort is required to play a game with this controller. I kept wanting to lean forward and move the controller closer to the screen, and it took some practice to just sit back and just calmly move my hand ever so slightly.

At one point, someone said, "If you were to play a game with this against someone using a mouse, they'd have no chance against you." I had to admit it was true.

I've been using a mouse and keyboard for gaming for almost as long as I've been a gamer. I've logged over 80 hours so far in Battlefield 2 and I have a level 60 World of WarCraft character. If somebody had tried to tell me before now that a better controller would come along, I would have laughed at them.

But it only took me 5 minutes with the Revolution controller to realize that I don't need to use a mouse ever again.

Let's take a first-person shooter as an example. With a flick of the wrist, you can completely change your aim point from one corner of the screen to the other. Changing your aim point that way would require you to move a mouse all the way across a gamepad and could potentially take up to several seconds of pushing on a thumbstick with a standard console game controller.

Add to that the fact that the controller can correctly interpret roll (rotation of the controller clockwise and counterclockwise) and movement toward the screen or away from it, and you start to get an idea of the universe of new gameplay possibilities that Revolution games will be able to explore.

Gizzard: I would worry that if its in any way sloppily implemented, it will suck bigtime.

No worries in that category. If there was any sloppiness whatsoever, I didn't see it.

I do not expect to be using any other controllers ever again once the Revolution comes out.

The Angriest Smurf: This is cool as a novelty, but how does this lend itself to extended play sessions?

Try it yourself. Then see if you can still call it a novelty.

Trust me, I was very skeptical going into this. That skepticism is gone.

The Angriest Smurf: Could you imagine playing an FPS for over an hour with this without your hands getting tired?

Hell yeah, brother.

I often play Battlefield 2 for up to 3-4 hours in an evening (yes, I'm an addict), and after 10 minutes with the Revolution I'm ready to throw my mouse out the window for good.

When you take into account that the Revolution controller is very light (it seemed to me a bit lighter than I'd expect a TV remote of the same size) and that it's basically effortless to play with it, extended play sessions are a non-issue.

EvaUnit02: My concern is with playing today's standard genres of games. How do I play a racing game? Do I spin the controller around like a steering wheel?

That would be one way to do it.

Given the number of buttons available in the "nunchaku" configuration, combined with the tilt/rotate/push/pull aspects of the controller, I can't think of a game you couldn't easily adapt to the Revolution controller.

EvaUnit02: It's just not going to work.

I have played it. It works brilliantly.

So now that you've played it, what kinds of things do you think are possible with it that weren't possible before?

Off the top of my head:

A tennis game where your motions control the racket directly, and you never have to press a button the entire game.

A Harry Potter game where you can control Harry Potter's magic wand with the Revolution controller, and cast "Expelliarmus" with a few flicks of the wand.

... and where you steer your Quidditch broom just by steering your controller.

A boat racing game that lets you steer entirely by rotating the controller clockwise and counterclockwise.

A fencing game where you can slash, parry, and stab with the controller.

A Nintendogs game that lets you pet your dogs, pull on a leash, or throw a frisbee with the Revolution controller.

A real-time strategy game ... yes, on a console.

Furthermore, I want this RTS game to have a special cargo helicopter unit. Move the controller forward, and the cargo chopper descends and grabs hold of a tank sitting underneath it. Pull the controller toward you, and the cargo chopper lifts the tank into the air. Then you tilt the controller wherever, and the chopper flies over there, and you move the controller forward a bit to lower the tank to the ground again.

[{{909}}]

heres a few more comments from game studios, my last pasting of today

Ken Sugimori (Game Freak, art director of Pokemon): Sugimori was surprised when he first saw the controller. He feels that many people have been thrown off from gaming due to increased button counts of controllers, but states that it takes a good amount of courage to actually decide to reduce the number. "You'll be able to do things with the Revolution that you could never do with consoles before," he says, adding with a laugh, "Personally, it's the kind of hardware where, more than making games, I'd rather play them."

Kouichi Suda (president of Grass Hopper Interactive, the studio behind Killer 7): "In truth, I have yet to get my hands on Revolution," Suda admits, but adds that he expects to get some hands on time shortly. Once he saw the controller at the product announcement, he felt that there was no choice but to make games for it. "I've already finalized a plan. Now, all that remains is to make it." Judging by Suda's comments, we can probably add Grass Hopper to the list of Revolution developers.

Toshihiro Nagoshi (Sega -- producer of F-Zero GX/AX and Super Monkey Ball): "I was surprised when I saw it, I was surprised when I touched it, and when I played the sample games, I was even more surprised!" Nagoshi states. "I doubt that there's a creator who doesn't get tickled after getting their hands on this. It combines all the elements required to let you enjoy games while feeling that you've become the character." Continuing, Nagoshi states that he expects the controller to open up new paths for all genres.

Tooru Iwatani (Namco -- father of Pac Man): Iwatani feels that the Revolution controller is one of the solutions to interface problems with games, adding, "Just as input with the Nintendo DS pen gave birth to new game contents, there are great possibilities hidden in this remote-like controller." He gives a couple of examples of game ideas, including a text input style game that targets people who've become used to inputting text with their thumbs on the cell phone. The controller gives the creative spirit of game creators a jolt, Iwatani states before finishing up his comments by asking that Nintendo continue from here on out to stimulate gamers and creators alike in new ways.

Hironobu Sakaguchi (Mistwalker -- father of Final Fantasy): "When I first saw it, I thought 'It's great!' and 'It's just like Nintendo!' It makes you feel like you're actually touching the screen. In that sense, you could say that it's an extension of the DS, but it's actually very different." Pointing out that the controller allows for a wide variety of actions, he adds, "When shown such a new concept, software makers are, even as just normal people, left excited."

Yasuhiro Wada (Marvelous Interactive -- father of Harvest Moon): Wada was at first taken back by the controller. He found it to be small and nicely designed, but as a controller, it crossed the bounds of his understanding. Once he got his hands on it, he suddenly got the idea and felt that it would work. This is similar to how he felt with the DS -- the feeling of various ideas appearing one after the other. "As a creator, this is the ultimate toy," he states with a laugh, but also adds caution, saying, "A number of basic ideas come forth, but placing those properly into a game and making players have fun is difficult." Wada seems to love the controller, though, as he adds, "Isn't this the thing that will cause a revolution to the game industry, which has slowly lost its way?"

Takanobu Terada (Banpresto -- Super Robot Wars producer): "To be honest, I was expecting the Revolution controller to have an even more unique form, so I was initially disappointed. However, that quickly disappeared. With good use of the expansion terminal, isn't it possible to make, for instance, a versus shooting game without the use of the monitor, where the fight is through the controller alone? I feel that it is a great controller that can inspire many ideas, even aside from videogames."

Hiroshi Tanibuchi (Konami -- Powerful Pro series producer): Tanibuch states that he was surprised when he first saw the controller, adding "In truth -- and this is just between us -- I was able to get my hands on the controller. The on-screen characters move in accordance with the controller's movements -- it's such a fresh feeling. Although you probably won't understand until you've tried it yourself." On the topic of Japan's favorite baseball series, he suggests good things for a possible GameCube version: "If we were to make it, we'd want to make a special Power Pro for the Revolution."

Masahiro Sakurai (Sora -- previous work on Kirby, Smash Brother and Meteos): "I'm sympathetic for Nintendo's stance of reducing hurdles for games. For that reason, I think it's good that the controller buttons have been reduced to just one. A long remote controller shape with just one button. This has impact. The DS, with its touch screen, made games a ways easier to understand. However, with the D-pad and buttons, and also the touch panel, controls actually became more complicated. I think it would be good if the same thing doesn't happen with Revolution."

Kouichi Ishii (Square Enix -- World of Mana project producer): "I believe creators will enjoy making games [with the controller]. However, you'll have to change game design methods from the core. For instance, you'll have to start by looking back at your play as a kid and think of what kinds of things you could do if developing for the Revolution. If you can do this, then surely you will be able to make a completely new form of play, different from current games."

The commentary from these ten developers, who represent everything from Pokemon to Killer 7, spells good things for Nintendo's Revolution in Japan. In particular, most of the developers are third parties, suggesting that even outside of Nintendo's studios, game creators in Japan are anxious to work with the Revolution and its new controller.

[Goldberg]

909, me and you are flying this flag! Wont be long before the narrow minded others jump on!! I'm going to keep a text record of all the 'Ninteno Doubters' then on release it will be interesting how they react!!

[mysterym]

no doubt if you're only playing the GC up until the release of the revolution you will be that bored that any revolution game will be lapped up.

Roll on 2007.