The Revolution Controller

By Mayur Gandhi

The moment you've all been waiting for... Get ready for a Revolution.

Ever since the Revolution was semi-unveiled at E3 earlier this year no other next generation console has had such a flurry of rumours and speculation surrounding it. Sure this is partly because Nintendo purposefully chose not to fully reveal their machine whereas their competitors Sony and Microsoft went the whole nine yards with their presentations, but it’s more to do with the impossible-to-guess-what-they're-thinking brains behind Nintendo.

The controller was not shown at E3… at all. What was it? Some speculated that it’d be similar to the DS with its touch screen panels. Some even suggested it’d be a plush ball… and there were those who told a tale of a VR Headset whose primary motive (though ulterior) was to take over the minds of children all over the world.

Well everyone was wrong.

What the Revolution controller is can be summed up in a single word, a “surprise”. But is this surprise revolutionary? Shigeru Miyamoto (king of Nintendo Japan) asked us a question at E3 “Are you ready for a Revolution?” We sure as heck are, but is this it? Let’s take a look.

Tokyo Game Show 2005, none other than the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto led the show and tell for the controller. Softly-spoken and as modest as ever, he unveiled what could be his twin in hardware form, a modestly simple device that one could not faulted for mistaking as a DVD remote. But just like Miyamoto there’s a lot more than meets the eye to the device.

So why so simple? When competitors are using boomerang shaped controllers and glowing green lights, why would Nintendo take the path of simplicity? Miyamoto himself said that he wanted to do something “different” after hearing what gamers around the world had to say about their consoles. Instead of having massive consoles with add-ons and cables to make its size rival that of a freight train, Nintendo set out to create a platform for casual gamers and hardcore gamers whilst still retaining expansion functionality. An all-in-one package to suit everyone is the most humble looking console ever made.

Taking a look at the controller you can’t help but feel a little befuddled. At the top left of the controller is a power button which surprise surprise let's you power on or power down your console. This feature alone makes me want one of these bad boys! A stock standard D pad sits just below the power button and vaguely resembles that of a NES. Though not as green as the GameCube A button one of a similar size rests below the D pad and just above the trio of select, home, and start buttons. The home button would imply a sort of dashboard for the system where one could access the vast catalogue of old school Nintendo games you’ve downloaded. Nintendo would however neither confirm nor deny this. Below the select, home, and start buttons is another set of vertically aligned buttons labelled X and Y.

Some prototypes on display at the TGS had a small B next to the X button and an A next to the Y button. Hinting at the possibility of turning the controller sideways to emulate the original NES controller. Below these buttons appears a row of coloured lights. These no doubt will correspond to the controller you’re using on the system. At this stage a maximum of four are planned.

The controller can even be turned into a “Nunchaku”, not in the Bruce-Lee-Enter-The-Dragon sort of way, but through a peripheral add-on at the base of the controller. Once the analog stick attachment is made the reasoning behind the cheeky nickname becomes clear. If anything it proves the versatility of the controller itself, and though Miyamoto did not say much else in the way of other attachments that would be available he did say it could be possible to plug in entirely different configurations into the port. What does this mean? You could potentially plug a SNES controller into your Revolution controller (albeit with an adaptor of some sort).

It has only been a couple of hours since the unveiling but there are already people calling the controller a laser-pointer or a Super-G-Con gun. Gotta love those fanboys. A feature of the controller that without a doubt will be used more than any other currently on display is the functionality known as a “pointing device”. After placing sensors around your screen the glassy top end of the controller transmits signals that based on your movements reflect change in the game on screen. The potential this feature has for first person shooters in my mind is revolutionary, but I won’t hold my breath until I see a demo for myself.

The controller reportedly has a very ergonomic design and feel in spite of its blocky look. The range of demos (which we’ll be covering soon) shows that a lot more physical exertion will be required when playing a Revolution title. Good news for fitness freaks and fans of EyeToy (however the Revolution promises to be less embarrassing). Without a shadow of a doubt the Revolution controller will change the way you play games. Will it change the way you think about them? That remains to be seen.

As with any hardware venture it’s the software that really drives it home, if Nintendo can spin out a flurry of innovative titles making good use of these unique features then they’ve got a winner. And if they’re lucky, they may just have a revolution on their hands.

Your views from the NZGamer Forums

• It is quite innovative and sounds like it could be a lot of fun. But I still can't help thinking maybe it would be better just to stick to the basics.
  -Chris Redfield
  
  
• The potential for a revolution in gameplay is certainly there. I can't wait to play an FPS with that controller!
  -Zeuradin
  
  
• I'M NOT GOING TO STOP TALKING IN CAPITALS FOR A WHILE.
  -Dannyboy
  
  
• I’m unsure if I should throw a tantrum or throw a party.
  -Supermario
  
  
• I love it. Very cool looking, unlimited expandability.
  -Jaz
  
  
• LOL, House of the Dead 4 on (the) Revolution: "Kill the zombies by clicking them with the remote of DOOM!!!"
  -Deatlhknight
  
  
• The only scepticism I have of the product is the likeness of the Revolution Controller to a (TV) remote control, if psychology has ever taught me anything it’s that it should make couch potatoes be more inclined to use it.
  -Spidey
  

So what do you think? Head over to our forums and share your thoughts, you might even meet a few cool people.

Stay tuned to NZGamer and we’ll bring you all the latest on the Revolution and it’s controller.

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