...Comes from the fact gamers are so used to two-hand controllers that anything radically different won't be to their preference. I think Nintendo went this route because they want gamers have more "natural" arm movements in games on the Revolution system.

I for one would LOVE to see the Soul Calibur series of games ported to this platform, that's to be sure!

I agree with that, but I'm thinking how this can be done in mid air. With a PC, the mouse usually controls the aim/camera. You look where you are going to shoot (movement with WASD). To look up and down, you push the mouse up or pull it back. Easy to do with this controller by just pointing up and down. To look left and and right, you move the mouse left and right. Easy to do by just pointing it left and right. To spin around, you jerk the mouse left or right really fast, and multiple times. You can't do that with a pointer because of the trianglization. It would be too easy to accidentally spin around by moving the controller to fast in any direction. At least, that is the way I think it will be. Maybe not, we'll have to wait and see how they pull it off.

If anyone has noticed, they have taken away the "Revolution" off of the side of the console. Maybe they do not like the name Revolution, or that they feel it is not revolutionary enough.

I am expecting a name change.

It's basically instead of moving a mouse, you just tilt the control up and down, left and right and etc. to move the aiming cursor.

The gyroscopic control in Warioware Twisted is extremely responsie and accurate, so I can see this working very well.

Maybe not as well as a mouse, but I imagine I'll be better with it than the two analog stick scheme that I couldn't never get very proficient at.

Note: take the "Xbox360" out of the first post

I imagine you'll just be able to tilt it up and down, left and right to move the controller. i.e. I imagine it will mimic using the analog stick for camera control.

So my question becomes, if I aim the controller left, will it continue to spin left until I move it back to center (similar to a analog stick)? or will it stop at some point left, where I can bring it back infront of me to get the forward view again?

I imagine it will be the first way, but would have liked to seen it the second way if at all possible (which I'm not sure it is). Though, a stick auto centers, and this controller would force me to center (similar to the abomination that is the Atari 5800 controller).

The issues I see with this controller are:

a) The lack of resistance. We need tactile feedback from a controller to let us know we are pushing/pulling similar to an analog stick. It'll be hard to judge if you are moving a little or a lot without any tactile feedback.

b) The lack of hard stops. You can only push an analog stick so far until it stops at it's limit. How are we supposed to judge how far we can go?

I'm too sure about the new Nintendo Controllers - There will be some games that will totally bring out a new gameplay experience like FPS and RPG games. But, with fighting games and sports games such as Mortal Kombat or Madden respectively, it's going to be interesting how developers will incorporate it w/their games.

Also, I think - this is Nintendo last console. If the "Revolution" sell as well as the Gamecube - there won't be another console to compete w/the PS4 and XBox3.

I have no doubt Nintendo will have some great 1st party stuff for the Revolution and I think the controller is going to respond a lot better than people think. The thing I can't figure out is how and the hell they can market this to Americans. I just don't see how they are going to sell Americans on this console.

The really need a major league killer app ready for launch.

Let's hope the technology has gotten better than my new Gyration Mouse. I like the idea behind it, just not the execution.

I'm guessing it's the first as well. A limited range of motion would help greatly with the centering problem.

Thanks for you insightful contribution to the thread.

My mind was far from made up. I played the PS2 more than the GC, so the PS3 was in serious consideration.

Here's a good article on the controller, with good descriptions in how it worked in the various tech demos.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3143782

If you can simply just put one end of the controler on your lap and move it then it should add the resistance that it lacks? Here is a quote from 1up with a view point that may help with your question. It doesn't talk specifically about resistance but here you go.. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3143782
b) for this it will most likey be the same as if you were using a mouse to play games on the pc. Unfortunately I don't see how they would mimic a hard stop like you do with analog.

I like the controller and the potential it has. It really is up to the gamer to decide how to use it. It is good for both the left-handers and right-handers because it really doesn't limit which hands have to be placed where on the controller. Basically if you have the analog attachment on it you can use your left hand to control the analog stick and in the right hand have the main controller or switch. But then again we can all speculate but until we really get to see it in action nobody knows what its full potential is. Your thoughts are welcome since it is all basically speculation.

My initial impression is that this thing is going to be great. Then I thought about it read through all these posts and have come to a couple of different conclusions.

This controller really is revolutionary. Once again Nintendo has taken somewhat familiar technology and failed past products and have combined them into something very unique and innovative. I think it will be great to develop for and create unique games for. There is the problem though. In today's market where the casual gamer reigns supreme will EA and the likes really want to take the effort and time to come up with unique games for it? When they can just simply do what they are doing now and release rehashes of the same game. Why take the effort if Madden 200x or Tony Hawk whatever or time splitters whatever is selling quite a bit of copies.

In that is Nintendo's "problem". They are really good at developing for the nongaming masses and the hardcore gamers (most of us) who are willing to try something new and innovative. But since they are so focused on what they want to do they alienate (not purposely) the mass of the mainstream gaming audience; the people who stand in line for the next sequel or who just want to play what is popular. Unfortunately those are the kind of people who make up the bulk of the dollars, especially in America.

So will this make or break them? Probably not, with today's audience I don't think this design philosophy will really make a big difference. I think they will be successful but will not be number one again. However, I don't think that is their goal. They have said throughout this development period that they are not in direct competition with Sony or MS. Basically the days of one company dominating the market are over. There are many more gamers now then ever before and therefore more dollars to cover more gaming platforms. Even though they are not number one I think they are still making more money now then before just because of the swelling of the market.

As for the controller itself I like the looks of the simplistic design but am conscerned about how it will actually perform. I don't think there are enough buttons. They should add some on the side just to add more functionality.

I like the idea of being able to add whatever functions you want with an add on but this could prove confusing. How can they get developers to be able to come up with attachement for their specific game? I think they need to standardize the analog thingy and maybe one or two other attachments to make up a core group that developers and the buying public can stand behind. If not they face the problem that I think MS has by creating two different audiences, in their case with and without HD.

I think they also need to have development software to make it easy to program for. That way they will not lose 3rd party support (which it almost seems that they are already). I also think they need to stress that the controller is optional and you can still use a GC controller for more traditional gameplay. So developers and casual gamers alike can get behind the system without much effort.

Either way they have an uphill battle in terms of getting people to look at this as a better control method. I'm already behind it but what will the casual gamer and developers think?





Couple more things:

I know the wavebird will work with it somehow but I hope it is built in.
I hope they are still behind the idea of DS connectivity. That excites me quite a bit.
Anyone else intrigued by them releasing retro controllers? I hope this isn't a Japan only thing. If it is I'm glad I got the Hori digital controller and that it will still be functional with this platform.

I would think that we'll be able to get around that by using a controller extension cable between the revolution and the Wavebird's receiver. I haven't tried that with a Gamecube since it's unnecessary, but I can't see why it wouldn't work.

Iwata's speech: http://www.irwebcasting.com/050916/03/index.html

~30min is the controller introduction.

To the people who are talking about the possible lack of third-party support think about this. If it supports the old controllers they have no need to do anything different. Just port it over, and let the people use their old controllers. Companies can be lazy if they want. Now think about a game designed for the Revolution. How easy would that be to port over? This could actually result in more games for the Revolution.

I've tried that and it does work.

They should ship them with the old controller then, to expect everyone who buys it to already own the old controller to play 3rd party games is a bit much.

I think this will do really well in Japan and bomb here.

Many of you have rightfully pointed out the potential difficulty in "porting" games over. This may or may not be the case, but lets ignore this and the "business" side of the industry for a moment and consider this question:

If you are a game developer what next generation system would you be excited about making games for? Why?

PS3. Why? $$$$