UPDATED: Mario Revolution to Emerge on December 2?

Miyamoto confirms attendance at Rev-focused keynote set.

Posted by Staff
UPDATED: Mario Revolution to Emerge on December 2?
There is interesting chatter consuming our friends in Japan this morning, with talk of an early and somewhat low-key showing of the Mario game currently underway for the Nintendo Revolution.

A Nintendo-focused set of keynote addresses has been organised for December 2 in Kyoto at Ritsumeikan University. Part of the Digital Interactive Entertainment Conference 2005, the National Symposium about videogames will see a 30 minute address from Shigeru Miyamoto.

Several well-known independent sources contacted SPOnG to tell us that they had been hearing gossip for some days which pointed towards some sort of Mario showing at the university event.

Of course, this is to be treated strictly as an unconfirmed rumour for now. We’ll keep digging and try and bring you confirmation from a party close to Nintendo in the coming week or so.

UPDATE: We managed to get hold of Nintendo who said it’s more than unlikely current gossip in Japan is legitimate. According to NCL, Miyamoto will be talking about ‘game design and technology now and in the future’ though most of his talk will be outlining Nintendo hardware innovation relating to games from the company’s rich history.

Shame really. Still, that’s rumour for you.

Comments

majin dboy 31 Oct 2005 13:27
1/16
hmmmmmmmm. will be interesting to see how the company that r&d'd the revo controller will actually utilize it.
TwoADay 31 Oct 2005 13:32
2/16
Nintendo had better show something soon if the rumors about a spring/early summer release of the Rev is true.

What thunder Nintendo may have gained from (finally) showing its controller is fading fast, if it isn't gone already. We need graphics, some general specifics, and pricing info. Until then, people won't be comparing systems and deciding which one(s) they will buy.

I realize that Nintendo isn't trying to play the comparison game, but people will regardless. Sending out info along the lines of "April 13th, 200 bucks! use your (American) tax refund dollars on a Revolution" would be a good idea, because it could delay people buying a 360 until they issue a price cut, and get early adopters to their platform at the same time (That's my plan, at least. 400 is too much for a system that has very few interesting games. Next year, perhaps...)
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TwoADay 31 Oct 2005 13:39
3/16
I truly hope they show something other than a "...Party" or "...Smash Brothers."

While they have their places, neither is a system mover. Hopefully the Mario Revolution will not only be televised, but playable, if you will.

Hey, that's a good marketing slogan, if Ninty will keep the Revo name (doubtful, I guess) "The revolution will be digitized / playable /ect."

In sum, a Mario Revolution would be a good move. A new title from either a new IP or a classic, unused IP (Kid Icarus, for example) would be fantastic. But it should be a "whole game" not a collection of mini-games.
supadupagama 31 Oct 2005 15:12
4/16
I couldn't agree with you more TwoADay.

I'm always the first to say Nintendo is the only profitable gamesystem maker out there, their financials speak volumes over any popularity Sony & MS may have in this industry.

BUT, I'm getting a bit annoyed with their laidback approach to mass market appeal. Oh yes, the Revolution is perfect to reach the mass market and that is their intention, but right now they have shown us nothing. If I'm going to be saving up for a Revolution with a bunch of first & third party titles, show me exactly why I shouldn't pickup an Xbox360 in a few weeks from now.
ann0uk 31 Oct 2005 15:47
5/16
Yeah, as much as i am excited by the prospects of the new controlling mechanics I am also a little concerned as to the games.
I want a full game from Mario, I want an adventure with a story that has a beginning a middle and an end. I do not want a Mario themed game that just concentrates on the controller.
This is my fear.
Smelly 31 Oct 2005 17:57
6/16
but right now they have shown us nothing.



Maybe they dont want to show you bloat ware, and just tell you meaningless specs? Maybe (unlike the other 2) they actually want to show people GAMES RUNNING on the hardware when they show it properly - to show things off properly?

Got to be better than a load of pre-rendered fps footage or some ducks surely?
Kidfried 31 Oct 2005 19:08
7/16
False, it's not true.

Interview with Jim Merrick today:
"http://meristation.com/v3/des_articulo.php?pic=NRV&id=cw4364e1acb0d17&&iframe=1"

No games until 2006. And now you're news about the universal release is false too, cause Jim Merrick talks about a delay between Europe and America. So don't expect the Revolution in juni, 'cause the universal news was false too.
YenRug 31 Oct 2005 21:20
8/16
Kidfried wrote:
False, it's not true.

Interview with Jim Merrick today:
"http://meristation.com/v3/des_articulo.php?pic=NRV&id=cw4364e1acb0d17&&iframe=1"

No games until 2006. And now you're news about the universal release is false too, cause Jim Merrick talks about a delay between Europe and America. So don't expect the Revolution in juni, 'cause the universal news was false too.


Zeo, per chance? Hmmm, well, for starters it would help if you quoted a source which actually backed up your claim of disproval. With regard to the Revolution launch, Iwata has already stated that they intend to make as near simultaneous a worldwide release as possible. Jim Merrick is only the Marketing Director of Europe, not the company President of the main Japanese company, so his line about the Revolution being launched worldwide "in a maximum term of 14 weeks" does not disprove anything. He doesn't say it will be 14 weeks between launches, just that that is the maximum timeframe. Now, if you were aware of certain things called "Quarters", businesses work on plans that fit into these quarters of the year; they have to announce their business plans for each quarter and predict what their income will be. Now guess what 14 weeks just happens to be? Oh, that's right, it's a business quarter, so Jim Merrick is simply stating that the Nintendo launch will fall wholly within one of them, barring problems.

As to the "no games being shown until 2006", he does say that, but it's still possible he's not privy to the plans of exactly what is going to happen at a developer conference. It's also possible that what Miyamoto might demonstrate is not a finished game, he could simply be intending to show some work-in-progress that demonstrates the control methods being developed for future games, especially Mario. Oh, don't forget that Spong did actually state that this is a rumour, at present.
OptimusP 31 Oct 2005 22:05
9/16
Someone is afraid if Nintendo would make a new Mario that would completly be built around the controller...newsflash...Nintendo has always done that, but the other way around too (make a controller around a game).

Its always a very symbiotic relation. Super Mario 64 would not have worked with the N64 controller and vice versa. So yes Nintendo will build its next Mario around the new controller, they have been doing that for bloody 20 years.

Irrational fear can make people say the most irrational things...
majin dboy 31 Oct 2005 22:41
10/16
i dont think that guy is ze(r)o.he is registered over a year ago.so unless zeo built a time machine(or had a different user name from different IP) its some other guy.i want the revo asap.smash bros revo will probaly b more of a priority than mario.
Zeo2 [banned] 1 Nov 2005 05:13
11/16
Wow, how sad. Someone trying to prove a story wrong is automatically Zeo (or Zero ROFL seriously, you're too witty for me).

And no, I wouldn't try and call Spong out for lying. They did the right thing and said it was nothing more than a rumor. Saying it was fact would be bad reporting, but they didn't.

On that note, a lot of people seem to be taking that new interview as real, so I'm more likely to believe that no Revolution games will be shown this year, although I'd love to be proved wrong.
acidviper 1 Nov 2005 06:49
12/16
Yet another in a long line of spong bs. Where is my Palm software for DS? Sorry but according to NOE preseident no Rev software in 2K5.
config 1 Nov 2005 09:05
13/16
Read, fools;

"Of course, this is to be treated strictly as an unconfirmed rumour"


It's a rumour, and a clearly stated rumour. And what is the response;

"SPOnG lies!"

What the fsck is up with you people? We're reporting current gossip as as just that.

YenRug 1 Nov 2005 13:17
14/16
majin dboy wrote:
i dont think that guy is ze(r)o.he is registered over a year ago.so unless zeo built a time machine(or had a different user name from different IP) its some other guy.


Eh? Kidfried registered yesterday, not a year ago!

acidviper wrote:
Yet another in a long line of spong bs. Where is my Palm software for DS? Sorry but according to NOE preseident no Rev software in 2K5.


That was NoE's Director for Marketing, not the President. Not sure if NoE even has a President, actually, I think that post is purely held by Iwata as head of the parent company.
Kidfried 1 Nov 2005 18:49
15/16
YenRug wrote:

Zeo, per chance? Hmmm, well, for starters it would help if you quoted a source which actually backed up your claim of disproval. With regard to the Revolution launch, Iwata has already stated that they intend to make as near simultaneous a worldwide release as possible. Jim Merrick is only the Marketing Director of Europe


I know the interview with Jim Merrick is being held. The whole Iwata-thing is only a rumour.
I trust a Marketing Director more than a rumour, what would you?

It's a rumour, and a clearly stated rumour. And what is the response;

"SPOnG lies!"


I never said Spong lies, only that the rumour is false. You posted it was a rumour, I tried to prove it's being wrong.
I rather do not hope, than have a false hope.
YenRug 2 Nov 2005 14:08
16/16
Kidfried wrote:
YenRug wrote:

Zeo, per chance? Hmmm, well, for starters it would help if you quoted a source which actually backed up your claim of disproval. With regard to the Revolution launch, Iwata has already stated that they intend to make as near simultaneous a worldwide release as possible. Jim Merrick is only the Marketing Director of Europe


I know the interview with Jim Merrick is being held. The whole Iwata-thing is only a rumour.
I trust a Marketing Director more than a rumour, what would you?


Personally, I take the Iwata statement over Jim Merrick. It's generally best not to claim things are a rumour when they're not:

http://cube.ign.com/articles/661/661553p1.html

Nintendo Seeks Worldwide Revolution
Iwata sets high stakes for next-generation console
by Wade Steel

October 26, 2005 - Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced today in an interview with Nikkei Business that his company plans a simultaneous global launch for its upcoming Revolution next-generation gaming console. Iwata went on to state that while the console is planned for a 2006 release, it will not be available prior to the end of the company's fiscal year which ends in March.

The Nintendo president also raised the corporate stakes for the console's success by stating that if the Revolution did not outsell the company's current GameCube console, which stands at 18.76 million units sold to date, the next-generation platform would be a "complete failure."


http://www.gamespot.com/news/6136453.html

The Revolution will be globalized
Nintendo prez targets simultaneous worldwide release sometime after April 2006; says Rev will be "complete failure" if it doesn't outsell the GameCube.

TOKYO--Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the company is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release of its next-generation gaming console, the Revolution. Iwata also confirmed that the system will be coming out after March in 2006.

Talking about the Revolution in an interview with Nikkei Business, Iwata stated, "I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible."

Since the current fiscal year for Nintendo ends on March 31, 2006, it means the Revolution, as predicted by analysts, will likely be released somewhere between April 1 and December 31, 2006.

When asked by Nikkei Business if he has any specific sales figure targeted for the Revolution, Iwata stated that he hopes the console will sell at least more than the GameCube, which has shipped 18.76 million units as of June.

"It [the Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube," said Iwata.

The system's controller, which was revealed in September, was the focus of much of the console's buzz. Surprisingly, Iwata revealed to Nikkei that Nintendo's former president, Hiroshi Yamauchi, was not involved in any way with the creation of the Revolution's controller.

Iwata told Nikkei Business that the Revolution's controller uses several different types of technology, though he did not go into specifics. However, he did note that the controller can be used with any kind of monitor, even digital projectors.

By Hirohiko Niizumi -- GameSpot
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