Guess the Revolution

[Esrever]

So apparently, there is a good chance that we'll know at least some of the Revolution's "revolutionary" features before the end of the day. That may well make today our last chance to guess! I don't know about you guys, but I suspect I've had more fun speculating about this console then I ever will have playing it.

So, what do you think it will be? Who here is a betting man (or lady)? I've got five cases of Drano on a gyroscoptic controller and 3D glasses.

[Gwilym]

Drugs and a cardboard box.

[Esrever]

I think you're being too optimistic.

[Light Speed]

I'm guessing they'll have about 3 neat gimmicks and the rest will be just a slightly more powerful system than last generations. Either that or it will have a vagina.

[Baba O'Reily]

A boomerang with a switch on it, and a sphere-shaped console.

[Gaz]

I've got five cases of Drano on a gyroscoptic controller and 3D glasses.

3D glasses(or binoculars) are for PSP!

According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Konami's Metal Gear Acid 2 for the PSP will play with the use of a special peripheral called the "Solid Eye." By attaching the peripheral--which looks like a set of binoculars that matches the PSP's body color--gamers will be able to see portions of Metal Gear Acid 2 in 3D. The attachment will be bundled with Metal Gear Acid 2.

[Ritz]

I don't know, the whole thong/nipple suction-cup thing looked pretty cool.

[Psychobob2]

I think the gimmick of the control pad should be easily guessed by most people.

Third party developers have hinted that the pad will allow the player a greater freedom of control, while in interviews on the downloadable contented Miymoto san (I think it was him) attempted to provoke the reader; by asking just how one would play games with varied control configurations using one controller.

The answer is simple, the controller can be configured to whatever setup the player wants. I’m guessing the controller is one giant pressure pad, and that games will come with a customized configuration that can be downloaded to the pad.

[big_smile]

Touch-screens and pressure pads create usability issues, as they don’t provide the same feedback that traditional controller buttons offer. Controller buttons, however, have two main problems. Firstly, the player has to learn the actions each button performs. For example, when playing Sonic, there is no obvious relationship between the A button and the ability to jump. Secondly, a controller with too few buttons can be limiting for particular play experiences (as beat-em-ups released for the GBA prove), whereas a controller with too many buttons can lead to unused buttons that get in the way when playing simpler games.

The solution is to not have any buttons on the controller but instead to provide the buttons on a ‘plug-in’ unit. Each game would come with its own controller ‘plug-in’ allowing the buttons to be tailored to the actions of the game.

For example, a game such as Sonic could come with a ‘plug in’ that only contains buttons for jumping and spinning. Each button would be labelled with the name of the action it performs removing the need for the player to learn the functions of the buttons.

[Esrever]

I remember reading a quote from some Nintendo exec (can't remember who) commenting on how different the controllers for the NES, SNES, and N64 are from one another. But the revolution plays games for all of those consoles. The dude started hinting pretty broadly at that point... how could the revolution controller be versatile enough to replace all the others?

But all that hinting asside, I just can't believe that they would go with a touch-surface controller. There would be no tactile response, no way of knowing what you were pressing. We all make fun of Nintendo for being nuts, but I'm not yet convinced that they are THAT nuts. But they are certainly doing a good job of hinting that they are. :/

edit: The above was all written before I had seen Big Smile's post.

Plug in controller faces would certainly be one way around the tactile problem, but I'm pretty sure including a new button set with every new game would be prohibitively expensive, especially for a cheapskate company like Nintendo.

[chriscaffee]

Touch-screens and pressure pads create usability issues, as they don’t provide the same feedback that traditional controller buttons offer. Controller buttons, however, have two main problems. Firstly, the player has to learn the actions each button performs. For example, when playing Sonic, there is no obvious relationship between the A button and the ability to jump. Secondly, a controller with too few buttons can be limiting for particular play experiences (as beat-em-ups released for the GBA prove), whereas a controller with too many buttons can lead to unused buttons that get in the way when playing simpler games.

The solution is to not have any buttons on the controller but instead to provide the buttons on a ‘plug-in’ unit. Each game would come with its own controller ‘plug-in’ allowing the buttons to be tailored to the actions of the game.

For example, a game such as Sonic could come with a ‘plug in’ that only contains buttons for jumping and spinning. Each button would be labelled with the name of the action it performs removing the need for the player to learn the functions of the buttons.

And then you would have to learn a new set of commands for each game you play. It would be like having to take a seperate Driver's Ed just to drive a compact instead of a mid-size.

[Popcorn]

http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... orahna.jpg

This is my current favourite.

[Psxphile]

EDIT: Forget it.