major clues about Nintendo Revolution control

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Xenon - 26 Dec 2004 00:00 GMT

In 2001, Nintendo invested in a company called Gyration

http://www.gyration.com/intl/uk/pr-nintendo_uk.htm

"Partnering with the largest and most successful game console manufacturer
[Nintendo] in the world will give us an exciting opportunity to introduce
our amazing technologies to Nintendo's broad home video game market.

The motion sensor can take the place of a typical thumb pressure pad [as in
the D-Pad] allowing one-handed game play, or can be integrated into a
two-handed controller to add a dimension to game playing not possible with
traditional game controllers. "

" Gyration intends to be the first company to produce game controllers
enhanced with gyroscopic motion-sensors, which have a tenfold performance
increase over accelerometer tilt sensors and add the ability to sense yaw as
well as pitch. A gyro-equipped, motion-sensing controller provides a natural
method of game control that draws the player into the game and makes game
play more enjoyable. The motion sensor can take the place of a typical thumb
pressure pad allowing one-handed game play, or can be integrated into a
two-handed controller to add a dimension to game playing not possible with
traditional game controllers."

video of Gyration's mouse in action:
http://www.gyration.com/files/demos/Ultra_Pro_web.wmv

I think this is going to be one part of Nintendo Revolution's control
scheme, at least the part that replaces the D-pad.

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lighten up francis - 26 Dec 2004 01:49 GMT

*YAWN*

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Leon Dexter - 26 Dec 2004 19:47 GMT

> In 2001, Nintendo invested in a company called Gyration
>
> http://www.gyration.com/intl/uk/pr-nintendo_uk.htm

Looks interesting. It could be very cool in _some_ types of games. But if
this is the main focus of their system, it's going to look like a stupid
gimmick. You can't design a system around a gimmick, just games. They need
to make clear--if this is something they're incorporating--that it's a new
feature, like rumble support, not something they're going to cram down
everyone's throat, like the lame GBA link.

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Ryan Cousineau - 27 Dec 2004 07:31 GMT

> > In 2001, Nintendo invested in a company called Gyration
> >
> > http://www.gyration.com/intl/uk/pr-nintendo_uk.htm

> Looks interesting. It could be very cool in _some_ types of games. But if
> this is the main focus of their system, it's going to look like a stupid
> gimmick. You can't design a system around a gimmick, just games. They need
> to make clear--if this is something they're incorporating--that it's a new
> feature, like rumble support, not something they're going to cram down
> everyone's throat, like the lame GBA link.

Nintendo has a pretty good history of doing interesting things with
unusual control systems. (Let's just get the exception out of the way
before I continue: Virtual Boy. Not a success. Oh yeah, and R.O.B., but
the history of that one is rather strange). The dual/touch screen for
the DS sounded downright odd to most reviewers before they saw the
launch games. Now the same reviewers talk about how well most of the
games (notably Metroid) use it as a configurable and analog control
surface, and how well the thumb thing worked out.

Meanwhile, I think the jab at the GBA link deserves a quick mention: I
nearly bought a Gamecube (I have a GBA) just for Pac Man Vs. That's a
pretty killer app. Admittedly, the concept was hobbled by the need for
more than one GBA for best use, but the idea was that you and your
friends all used the GBAs that (as Nintendo fans) you probably already
owned.

Odd input systems have been pretty interesting lately, and I think that
all of the console makers see them as a useful differentiator in a
market which gets dangerously close to being commoditized these days.
Most importantly, it doesn't matter what the speculation is: it will
either work or not, and we'll know pretty soon after the system launches.

But I want it now,

Signature

Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

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figmentpez - 27 Dec 2004 15:30 GMT

> Meanwhile, I think the jab at the GBA link deserves a quick mention: I
> nearly bought a Gamecube (I have a GBA) just for Pac Man Vs. That's a
> pretty killer app. Admittedly, the concept was hobbled by the need for
> more than one GBA for best use, but the idea was that you and your
> friends all used the GBAs that (as Nintendo fans) you probably already
> owned.

Pac-Man Vs. only uses one GBA. Are you referring to other games that use the
GBA link and expect more than one GBA like Four Swords Adventures?

--
figmentPez

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Ryan Cousineau - 29 Dec 2004 20:54 GMT

> > Meanwhile, I think the jab at the GBA link deserves a quick mention: I
> > nearly bought a Gamecube (I have a GBA) just for Pac Man Vs. That's a
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> Pac-Man Vs. only uses one GBA. Are you referring to other games that use the
> GBA link and expect more than one GBA like Four Swords Adventures?

Yes, and d'oh. I meant to use Pac Man vs. as an example of a game that
sold me (conceptually) on the GBA-GBC link, but Four Swords (and Crystal
Chronicles?) were games that, unlike Pac Man, could use more than one
GBA connected to the console.

Signature

Ryan Cousineau, rcousine@sfu.ca http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

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Aaron J. Bossig - 28 Dec 2004 04:11 GMT

> Nintendo has a pretty good history of doing interesting things with
> unusual control systems. (Let's just get the exception out of the way
> before I continue: Virtual Boy. Not a success. Oh yeah, and R.O.B.,
> but the history of that one is rather strange).

Even those, I think Nintendo did a good job with. ROB was a great
idea, but the technology of the time wasn't suited for the task.
It was slow and the robot had to be set up *just right* to get
the signal from the TV. Using today's technology, I think an ROB-
like device would be a hit.

VB was also a good idea, and the controller was really well designed
for a system that offered a "true" 3-D display. The reason it failed
was mostly that it took gaming in a direction that most gamers did not
want to go. Unfortunatly, that is part of the concern over the DS
and Revolution.

Signature

Aaron J. Bossig

http://www.GodsLabRat.com
http://www.dvdverdict.com

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Leon Dexter - 28 Dec 2004 13:05 GMT

"Ryan Cousineau" <rcousine@sfu.ca> wrote in message news:rcousine-

You must be the only one. Pac-Man Vs. was so lame, they didn't even try to
sell it. It's an okay little game, but they were dead-on in thinking nobody
would pay for it. And you can't play it with more than one GBA, can you? I
don't think you can.
Four Swords is a much better example of a "killer ap" for the GBA link. I
have it, and my friends and I played it by getting 5 Gamecubes together. 4
of them have Game Boy Players, 2 have LCD screens attached and the other 2
are hooked up to monitors with ViewSonic N6's. It was quite a setup, and a
blast to play all the way through without having to use puny GBA screens.
But just because I have the resources to do that doesn't mean I'm any fonder
of the GBA link. It was a stupid idea, and promoting it as a substitute for
online gaming is part of the reason Nintendo's mindshare is in the toilet.

> Odd input systems have been pretty interesting lately, and I think that
> all of the console makers see them as a useful differentiator in a
> market which gets dangerously close to being commoditized these days.
> Most importantly, it doesn't matter what the speculation is: it will
> either work or not, and we'll know pretty soon after the system launches.

Yes. I agree, weird control systems are becoming more common (EyeToy, DDR
pads, Donkey Konga and Taiko Drums, Samba de Amigo Moraccas, Steel Battalion
mech controller), and they'll probably continue to do so, but it's still a
niche market.
What I'm saying is that Nintendo having a cool new feature for the
Revolution that can be used for that type of game (and maybe create new
genres) is good. Nintendo making the Revolution completely focused upon a
gimmicky controller is bad. I hope they do it right--the DS looks like the
right idea (aside from its faults, but that's another topic). It can play
"normal" games, but also has a unique feature that enables very original
ones that can't be done on other systems. If the Revolution is like that,
great. But with all this talk of no D-pad, lost buttons, etc, I'm worried
that Nintendo is going to hamstring the Revolution by removing its ability
to play "normal" games. You know what I mean?

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Tom 288 - 28 Dec 2004 13:32 GMT

> You must be the only one. Pac-Man Vs. was so lame, they didn't even try to
> sell it. It's an okay little game, but they were dead-on in thinking nobody
> would pay for it. And you can't play it with more than one GBA, can you?
> I don't think you can.

Pac-Man Vs supports up to 4 players with 4 GBAs hooked up. It is a great
game.... very underated. I think people just don't like using the GBA when
they are in the mood for a large screen gaming experience. The small controls,
the small screen, and the extra time to set up the GBAs is annoying.

I think the dream setup would be 4 TVs with four GameCubes and four GameBoy
Players so you could have you linked up games on big screens and still sit back
with your Wavebird controllers.

Tom

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KK - 27 Dec 2004 16:47 GMT

I want to learn how to write nes games, anyone can tell me where to download
the character chr editor?

KK

"Xenon" <xenonxbox2@xboxnext.com> ???g???l???s?D

:yt-dnV0OD4QDY1DcRVn-qw@comcast.com...
>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> I think this is going to be one part of Nintendo Revolution's control
> scheme, at least the part that replaces the D-pad.

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