Over in the United States of Americaland, various magazines are reporting that the Revolution controller will feature a touch-screen rather than the expected analogue stick and buttons combination.
Game Informer claims that the controller will have no buttons at all and will see all control through a DS-inspired touch panel.
This gossip is lent weight by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s recent comments to Nikkei Business Daily, where he is reported to have said, “A goal of Nintendo’s with Revolution is to expand the target market for games. The current consoles are constantly getting more complicated. The number of buttons on controllers has been increasing steadily in recent years, for instance. Hardcore players can still manage, but for inexperienced people and beginners the degree of complexity is too big of a barrier. In order to reach these people and to motivate them to play games, Revolution will have a "User Interface" that everyone can manage.”
Although tragically, it would appear that the spark of this current inferno of tail-chasing came from an Internet blog site whos author claimed to have been told by a “friend who worked at EA.”
SPOnG does believe that the Revolution controller might well feature some touch-panel functionality, but, given the fact that backwards compatibility with GameCube has been confirmed by Nintendo, all the standard ‘Cube buttons will be operational and in full effect.
Game Informer claims that the controller will have no buttons at all and will see all control through a DS-inspired touch panel.
This gossip is lent weight by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s recent comments to Nikkei Business Daily, where he is reported to have said, “A goal of Nintendo’s with Revolution is to expand the target market for games. The current consoles are constantly getting more complicated. The number of buttons on controllers has been increasing steadily in recent years, for instance. Hardcore players can still manage, but for inexperienced people and beginners the degree of complexity is too big of a barrier. In order to reach these people and to motivate them to play games, Revolution will have a "User Interface" that everyone can manage.”
Although tragically, it would appear that the spark of this current inferno of tail-chasing came from an Internet blog site whos author claimed to have been told by a “friend who worked at EA.”
SPOnG does believe that the Revolution controller might well feature some touch-panel functionality, but, given the fact that backwards compatibility with GameCube has been confirmed by Nintendo, all the standard ‘Cube buttons will be operational and in full effect.
Companies:
Nintendo
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Comments
Ditto 29 Mar 2005 15:23
1/8
Or you could take the touch screen out and plug the Cube controller in.
I can't imagine using a touch screen controller for "real" gaming. Ninty would have a hard time selling that one to the public.
I can't imagine using a touch screen controller for "real" gaming. Ninty would have a hard time selling that one to the public.
kid_77 29 Mar 2005 16:03
2/8
Having a controller without the standard stick + buttons would result in the big publishers/ developers dropping Evo development. Big profit comes from multi-platform development, and that just wouldn't be possible if the Evo only had a touch-screen and stylus.
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shearDS 29 Mar 2005 17:28
3/8
it would be hard to play with touch screen has u will not be able to feel if u are pressing a button or not!
i have full faith that nintendo can come up with something very easy to control and original, they did come up with the gamepad and analogue stick after all
i have full faith that nintendo can come up with something very easy to control and original, they did come up with the gamepad and analogue stick after all
Joji 29 Mar 2005 18:01
4/8
I'll try to withhold my judgement until E3 but I do understand where you guys are coming from.
Developers and publishers might not accept what they see that is always a possibility. If the controller or whatever it is has a lcd screen or something that I could deal with but touch button would never work if you are playing beat em up and stuff. A controller has to be able to handle different types of gameplay.
It possible Nintendo might keep the GC controller sicne they have changed it constantly or perhaps adjust it (that's what I'd like to see)
If the Rev itself has touch screen options on the unit or when its hooked to a tv or monitor that would change things. But when is too much change too much of a good thing.
Developers and publishers might not accept what they see that is always a possibility. If the controller or whatever it is has a lcd screen or something that I could deal with but touch button would never work if you are playing beat em up and stuff. A controller has to be able to handle different types of gameplay.
It possible Nintendo might keep the GC controller sicne they have changed it constantly or perhaps adjust it (that's what I'd like to see)
If the Rev itself has touch screen options on the unit or when its hooked to a tv or monitor that would change things. But when is too much change too much of a good thing.
shediesinred 29 Mar 2005 18:50
5/8
I'm not going to decide on whether or not this is a good thing or bad thing until E3.. However, playing metriod prime on a touch screen, felt extremely precise, it felt as though I was using a mouse and keyboard setup.. So it could turn out to be an awesome idea. I highly doubt Nintendo is going to use a stylus, that’s just ridiculous, I’m sure the controller will have some face button in conjunction with a touch panel in replace of an analog stick.
Joji 29 Mar 2005 19:29
6/8
Yeah, but all the speculation in the gaming world can never really match what they have in mind.
Pandaman 29 Mar 2005 21:41
7/8
Q: Will Revolution feature screens on the console or the controller?
Fact: No. At a June 2004 analyst briefing in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have no intention of making a two screen console akin to the [Nintendo] DS."
Rumors/Speculation: It is instead highly likely that Nintendo will allow the Nintendo DS to wirelessly connect with the Revolution. Connectivity is here to stay afterall and even Sony is supporting it with its PSP and PS3 initiative.
http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=344
Fact: No. At a June 2004 analyst briefing in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have no intention of making a two screen console akin to the [Nintendo] DS."
Rumors/Speculation: It is instead highly likely that Nintendo will allow the Nintendo DS to wirelessly connect with the Revolution. Connectivity is here to stay afterall and even Sony is supporting it with its PSP and PS3 initiative.
http://www.n-sider.com/articleview.php?articleid=344
ann0uk 30 Mar 2005 10:38
8/8
Nintendo said that current controllers are getting too complicated with too many buttons. I dont think that programmable controllers and touchscreen are really going to simplify the controller, if anything it will make it more complicated. How can they make controlling games more simple without going back to a 2 button system or radically changing the the controller, which if too different will alienate them from the rest of the market. This is an interesting one and I cant wait to see what nintendo pulls out of the hat at E3.