Iwata: Revolution will bring a "paradigm shift" to gaming Quote:
Nintendo president confirms his company's next-gen console will be unveiled at E3, says it will lure retired gamers and nongamers to the market.
TOKYO--In a full-page interview in Thursday's Kyoto Journal, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata commented on the current state of the company's next-generation game console--being developed under the working title "Revolution."
Iwata said the Revolution will cause a "paradigm shift" in video gaming, and reconfirmed that details on the machine will be unveiled at the upcoming E3 in May. He added that the machine will most likely come out somewhere between 2005 and 2006, when Sony and Microsoft are expected to release their next-generation consoles. Currently very little is known about the Revolution except that it may not use a conventional controller and may be able to connect to a PC monitor as well as the traditional TV screen.
"The keyword for the DS was 'innovative product,' but it will be 'paradigm shift in [game] play' with the Revolution," Iwata said in his interview with Kyoto's popular local newspaper.
"The concept behind our new console, tentatively named 'Revolution,' is the same as the DS. We want it to broaden the [video gaming] audience range, and we don't want it to be something that people will see as too irrelevant to them, too difficult to use, or as something that wastes space. We'll announce specific details at the E3 ... It will most likely come out between this year [and] next year, which is considered to be the transition period for home consoles," Iwata said.
Iwata said the DS and PSP aren't directly competing, because Nintendo is aiming for nongamers and retired gamers with its handheld, while Sony is targeting the traditional gaming audience. He added that his company will also attempt to avoid competing in the next-gen console market.
"Similar to the relationship that the DS has with the PSP, we won't fight over the same share of the pie with another company. We have no intention of fighting over shares of the market in a way that will shrink it. For us, success will depend on whether we can call back people that have stopped playing games, and whether we can also bring in a new base of customers. That way, our share [of the market] will increase since the market will grow bigger," Iwata said.
Iwata also took time to comment on the success of the DS. "We shipped 2.8 million units in Japan and America by the end of last year, and most had reached the hands of our customers by early after New Year's. Its sales are very good when compared to the launch of other game machines we've sold in the past. We feel that the DS has gained a wide range of audience. Aside from video game fans, people that haven't played games in a long time, or never played games before, have been picking up the DS," Iwata said. "According to research, the sales of game hardware for one month, starting in late November, increased by 75 percent compared to the past year, and game software sales also rose by about 10 percent. I believe that the DS is hindering people from losing interest in video games."
When asked by the Kyoto Journal what he thought of the PSP, Iwata stated relatively bluntly that Sony is going in a direction that Nintendo doesn't believe in, though he softened that by saying he welcomes Sony's entrance into the market--since it should expand the total gaming audience.
"In the past, the video game industry grew on high-quality graphics and data volume," Iwata said. "We decided to move into a different direction, since we believe that those days have ended. But by watching the PSP, we see that there are also people that have different thoughts from us. But it's up to the consumers to make the judgment, and it'll also be good if we can expand the market size by bringing out our best points."
Iwata also commented briefly on Nintendo's entrance into the movie market, hinting that although the company is strongly considering the move, it isn't completely sure if it will be going into the business just yet.
"We're strongly considering the matter. I've been in contact with the script writers, directors, and the production companies. We're looking into the potentials between movies and video games. But if we decide to really go into the movie business, it will be around summer of 2006 at the earliest."
iwata is out of his mind. he, and several other nintendo higher ups. they've all made various crazy comments before. we'll havta wait until e3 in a few months to find out how crazy or predictive he is.
i've heard a few things the market wont be too thrilled about, tho, from the revolution not having a contrller (!!) to the games no longer being straight forward, etc.
on the one hand, thats fatal. especially in a time when the genre is exploding like it is.
on the other hand... it might be the best thing possible. looking at, say, the DS, for example... the sales of the system have been phenomenal, topping all other hardware sales, portable or home console. it had a better launch rate than the gba, which was the largest in record.
plus, more importantly, its fun as hell. its non-straight-forward and non-traditional style is what makes it appealing.
there are always possibilities. we'll just havta wait n'see how crazy they are.
I'm not worried about he non-traditional controller. The N64 was non-traditional and it was a great controller.
I'm all for nintendo trying something new. As long as the games are fun to play, I'll keep buying them. I hold all final judgement until E3 though.
i'm all for non traditional, too.
but to specify, the previous rumors were for "no controller" -- not just not traditional
Nintendo has to fight for "new blood". They have lost to much over the past 2 systems. With those in the game industry saying Microsoft will gain on Sony and Nintendo being a non factor in this race,,, what does Nintendo have to do? Expand the pie. lol I hope "N" can do it. After the last 2 systems I'm done with them. As for the no controller thing, Sony does that now. Nintendo is behind the competition. Right now they look a lot like Sega.
playstation has no controller...?
...thats... new.
Quote:
Rob Kamphausen said:
playstation has no controller...?
...thats... new.
That's right! We just use telepathy. Take that Gamecube! 
ZOD wants the fucker implanted into his brain!
The playstation 9 will be a brain implant.
John Titor, is that you...?
No, thats what the playstation 9 commercials said.
There are still commericials in the desolate future, John Titor? Wow...
Quote:
rex said:
The playstation 9 will be a brain implant.
I loved that commercial. I dun' know why.
another theory:
Nintendo's president avoids labeling its next-generation machine as the successor to the GameCube.
According to the Yomiuri Journal, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata avoided making concrete statements as to whether its next-generation game console, code-named "Revolution," will be the successor to the GameCube in his company’s strategy conference last week.
"A 'successor' is really just an issue about wording. Whether the Revolution is or isn't the successor to the GameCube isn't too important, but we can't say anything about that subject today," stated Iwata during the press conference.
The Yomiuri Journal goes on to say that Iwata hinted that the Revolution will not be replacing the GameCube once the machine hits the store shelves. Nintendo made a similar statement earlier this year when it said the DS is not the successor to the Game Boy Advance, even though the DS will play GBA games.
Marketing hype. It will be the successor to the gamecube.
or, more succinctly:
Quote:
Rob Kamphausen said:
iwata is out of his mind.
Quote:
Rob Kamphausen said:
playstation has no controller...?
...thats... new.
The "EYE TOY". Yep they do. Once again Nintendo is behind the rest of the pack. The crazy thing is, the eye toy works really well. 3 games thus far. More to follow. It's nice to see Nintendo wants to offer me something new with their next gen system. It's here right now on the PS2. This is the mentality that made me sell my GC last winter. 
the eye toy is a peripheral device. thats not the controller, its something that operates, as said, 3 games. its a neat device, to be sure, but its not part of this conversation.
if you're going to count the "eye toy," then you should also count the NES's "power glove" or even the "track pad." and, by that logic, SONY is way "behind the rest of the pack" (adding subsequent eye rolling smileys)
Yeah really, the thing was released how long ago and it only has 3 games? Powerful weak.
Well, technically, there's more than 3 games. There's Play, Groove, and AntiGrav, which are probably the ones you guys are thinking of, plus Nicktoons Movin and Sega All Stars, not to mention a few games that have Eye Toy minigames or features (such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). So, that's at least 5! In your face, space coyote!
Quote:
Rob Kamphausen said:
the NES's "power glove" or even the "track pad."
I bet you bought these the day they came out.
i never got the track pad. video games and exercise?
no thank you.
but the power glove looked so damn cool! i still remember the commercial, with the movie-theater-sized tv, and the guy walking in and playing super punch out with the glove. seemed like it'd be so sweet.
so i bought it.
and it sucked.
the sensors were awful. and, really, they only released one or two games for it. very disappointing.
Power glove!! Sucker! One a my boys begged his folks for that thing. I think you had to do like an inverted U shape with your arm from your chest to 2 feet away from your head just to emulate pressing the "B" button. A lotta kids got fucked by that rape artist.
However Fred Savage did rock that bad boy out in "The Wizard".
And Captain N made it look so easy...
Yeah I just had the zapper.
