Thanks for my new signature of the week.

ahahahah!! that's great!

then most likely the controller will be configurable with the user being able to move the buttons around or some sort of Transformer type controller.

Holy crap! This is legit! The new revolution controller! Mindblowing!

right...

Still nothing but rumors flying about, but two major people that have actually seen the Revolution made some interesting comments.

Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog: "I am under a strict NDA, so I can't really say much. But I have seen the Revolution and I think everyone will be very pleasantly surprised, when Nintendo reveal[s] everything."

Peter Molyneux: "There is a line at the end of the book 'Game Over' and it is: 'Never underestimate Nintendo'. That is all I can say about the controller."

I keep wanting to think the whole "Controller" thing is overblown hype that will amount to nothing, but if people like that are impressed it really has me wondering if Nintendo might pull off something solid with the Revolution.

Now if only Nintendo would stop screwing around and show the thing.

The line should read, "Never overestimate Nintendo".

Wow. It's almost like clockwork.

I'm very skeptical that a controler will indeed "revolutionalize gaming". Especially one they are reluctant to show.

If it is revolutionary they would of course be reluctant to show it until MS and Sony are committed to their current designs to keep them from stealing their idea.

I'm skeptical as well, but if anything, their reluctance to show it gives me some hope that it will at least be unique if not revolutionary.

It doesn't matter what the controller is, your thoughts on it are pre-determined (and possibly scripted).

I don't see a rant about how Nintendo is the only company that can provide unique games and how Sony and Microsoft are ruining gaming on this page yet. You may want to remind everyone how much you hate the competition in light of these new testimonials.

Study history much?

Prior to N64 launch Nintendo debuted the N64 controller with analog control. BAMN Sony copied it. Nintendo demonstrated the Rumble Pak, BAMN Sony copied it. Is it that hard to assume that the new technology could not also be copied easily?

The wheel is not hard to reproduce, but it sure as hell revolutionized how people travel. Point is, technology does not have to be insanely advanced to be a break through technology.

However I am a bit skeptical of Peter Molyneux, that man is the king of overblown hype.

I seem to remember that the PlayStation originally launched with regular controllers, and the Dual Shock was introduced after the launch.

The point being, if it really is useful, Sony will copy it anyway, no matter if it is before launch or after. All they have to do is say they are working on a similar product, and people with stall their purchases.

The playstation launched before the N64 so of course they couldn't steal the analog controller before launching it and had to put out the Dual Shock later.

Nintendo wants to make sure their new idea is the only one on the market when the Revolution launches. They can't do anything to keep people from copying it other than trying to get strict patents.

I should have been more clear in my history lesson. Not only did Sony copy it, but they copied it and got it to market first. The showing of their ideas to early is a mistake that still haunts Nintendo to this day. I know many people that claim Sony was the originator of bringing that technology to market.

In addition, once the technology was known, developers for Sony began to develop software for said hardware, only furthering the cut into any technological lead Nintendo's hardware ideas could have brought them.

Jeff,

Didn't the dual shock come out after the launch of the N64? That's how I recall it anyway. I know I bought my Playstation at least a year after my N64 (if not longer) and it came with the regular non-dual shock controller.

Sony did have the twin analog sticks first though didn't they, which is a pretty nice innovation. Of course Microsoft probably had the first 1st party console controller to have analog sticks with any real fidelity.

At this stage I imagine the revolution controller will be gyroscope based, like warioware twisted, which could work well in action and party games. Also if they could fit in a small touch screen similar to the DC VMU that could give a lot of flexibility.

If the revolution controller proves to be useful in a way Sony can not compete, they will design a similar style controller and say that GT4, God of War 2, and FFXIII will all make use of their new controller. It won't matter if Nintendo has their version on market for a year before Sony. People will still hold out for the Sony version.

I think sometimes people forget how popular the PlayStation franchise has become. If history has taught us anything, its that the industry leader has to do something really stupid to give up their lead. Nintendo putting out a new type of controller is not a mistake on Sony's part.

I do agree with part of that. Nintendo would still be on top if they hadn't made the N64 cart based and had kept their partnership with sony rather than backing out. Sony will have to do something similarly stupid to lose.

However, Nintendo needs ever edge they can get. Of course sony will eventually copy it if it's successful, but Nintendo needs to get every customer they can to buy a Revolution before Sony or someone else puts out something similar.

And remember, Nintendo isn't trying to be number 1. They're happy making huge profits in their Niche market. But like any company they want to expand those profits and would like to carve out a bigger niche by having innovative gameplay to attract some more users.

So Nintendo should just give up since they can't win anyway? I'm lost on your Sony fanboy logic. I think the very solid sales of Resident Evil 4 on a pretty much dead console show people will not always wait around for the Sony version.

I have no idea if this controller will even be worth copying by Sony and MS, but Nintendo apparently learned a tough lesson with the N64 controller and want to wait as long as possible to show this one to give themselves some chance to succeed.

I'll be the first one to say Nintendo has an almost impossible task ahead of them, but for Nintendo to not even try to compete with Sony is downright stupid. They have spent a lot of money on the Revolution hardware and that darn controller so they are wise to do everything possible to keep it a secret and give themselves a chance to somehow stand apart from the competition.

All three are bringing great things to the table this next generation and if we are wise we will hope all three are successful. Competition is always good for gamers in the long run. This may be the last time there are three strong competitors in the market.