Nintendo gets Revolutionary
On Friday, Sept. 16, 2005, during a keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed THE must-play device of the decade. Nintendo, the perpetual innovator, was responsible for the first directional pad, the first pause button, the first platform game, the first adventure game, the first widely-adopted handheld gaming device, the first 3D adventure, and countless other staples of gaming and game design. Now, the standard-bearer has announced another industry first.
It begins
It has been over 20 years since the world's most-recognized mascot, Mario, came out jumping. Way back when, the Nintendo Entertainment System was the standard for video game controllers. Since then, every controller released by Nintendo and its competitors has been an improvement of the original N formula.
But this time, Nintendo has really gone and done it. The company's upcoming console is called "Revolution," and for good reason. Out of the box, the game machine features wireless internet capabilities. Nintendo plans to use the functionality to implement a game-on-demand service they are calling a "virtual console." The company's service will allow players to pick from and play any game Nintendo has made over the last 20 years ... for a small fee, of course. Some have suggested that on-demand game "credits" may be dolled out with the purchase of new games, magazine subscriptions, or even bottles of soda, a la i-Tunes. The machine is also backward-compatible with all GameCube software and hardware, and even functions as a DVD movie player.
Still, none of these features are as Revolutionary as the new controller.
During his Tokyo Game Show keynote, Satoru Iwata said that game controllers have become too complicated. He alleges that people who would not normally play a game are intimidated by all the buttons, thinking that it would be too complicated to learn. And he's right. Many non-gamers will look at one of today's controllers and give up before they even touch a button. In order for the industry to grow, Iwata says, game companies must find a way to attract new customers. Nintendo's goal is to expand the general definition of "game" and "gamer" by making their console's controller so intuitive and easy to learn that even your 80 year old grandmother would give it a spin. In this, Nintendo has succeeded. Big time.
Revolutionary control for revolutionary gamers? Yes.
The Nintendo Revolution, currently set to launch sometime in the spring of 2006, will mark a new era of game control. The new controller looks like a television remote, oddly enough. It has fewer buttons than any game pad since the NES. It does not feature an analog stick on the main unit. Instead, Nintendo chose a more ergonomic approach, utilizing a single directional pad, the 'a' and 'b' buttons, select, start and home. The unit also features a button that turns the console on and off, giving it a more 'remote' feel. But the Revolutionary bit sounds more like science fiction than next year's gaming standard. The Revolution controller can sense movement in the real world and translate it to movement in the game world.
To illustrate this, Nintendo let several journalists play around with their proof-of-concept demos that show off what the controller is really capable of. One demo let players pilot Mario's airplane around a tropical setting, whizzing through golden rings for coins. Reportedly, the player holds the Revolution controller like a paper airplane, using arm and wrist movement to manipulate the on-screen aircraft. Every flip, barrel-roll, loop-de-loop and dive is easily and accurately replicated on screen.
A video shown during Iwata's speech had an elderly couple playing a cooking game. A Japanese man used the controller like the handle of a utensil, scraping food off a digital grill. Another clip focused on a gamer holding two controllers like drum sticks, jamming along with the beat. Another had a player swinging Revolution's remote like a sword; a tempting proposition for any fighting game fan. Yet another showed a sports enthusiast holding the controller like a baseball bat, readying himself to knock one out of the park.
Game players used to a two-hand approach have not been forgotten either. Iwata focused on the expandability of the Revolution controller, showing video of a gamer holding a plug-in analog stick in his left hand and the Revolution remote in his right. A white cord connecting both devices combines the two for what Iwata called "nunchuck-style" control. This setup in particular promises highly entertaining first-person game experiences.
Colors. Revolutionized.
In a specific example of how the control would be adopted, Nintendo demonstrated a retooled version of last year's GameCube hit, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Players use the motion-sensitive remote for looking and aiming, with the 'a' and 'b' buttons being used for jumping and shooting. The attached analog was used for controlling movement, with the two buttons on the opposite side utilized for switching scan visors and jumping. While this sounds unorthodox, it offers a higher degree of control previously unknown to console gamers. Those who have played it say the nunchuck-style control is comfortable and intuitive.
Players with a good sense of the industry's history should be pleased as well. Not only will Nintendo's massive back-catalog of games be available on demand, Nintendo plans to release wireless versions of its old controllers for use on Revolution, naturally sold seperately. For those more frugal, the Revolution remote can be held horizontally, emulating, for all intents and purposes, the experience of using an NES pad.
How cool is that?
This clever innovation is a complete about-face for game makers. The company that set a 20-year standard for controllers has completely changed the how we think about manipulating digital worlds again. What was once an increasingly complex venture will soon become an easy-to-use, exciting innovation that can and will bring new faces into the world's largest entertainment industry. The only remaining piece of the puzzle is the requisite game software. But judging from the initial reactions coming from the development community, Nintendo's move to change the paradigm is causing a lot of excitement.
While the company has lost some of the popularity it laid claim to in the 80's, the move to simplify game controls could be enough to put them back on top. While there will be stiff competition, as always, Nintendo has claimed a major victory in the coming battle for the living room. The introduction of motion-sensing technology will bring interactive entertainment to a much wider audience than the gamers of today.
Next year, it may very well be your grandmother taking those "ub3r-l33+" game skills to task. Are you up to the challenge? We will march on a road of bones.
Mahalo.
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