Saturday, October 29, 2005

More news very soon

A Spanish gaming site called MeriStation has interviewed Hideo Kojima who spilled a bean or two concerning when we might get new info on the Revolution. Here´s Revolution Report´s translation:
MeriStation: We saw statements (from [Nintendo President] Satoru Iwata's video conference) about the Nintendo Revolution controller. Has it been tested already? What opinion do you have of it? Do you have some ideas for future games?

Hideo Kojima: As the creator, my work is to create original and intuitive games, giving importance to the experience of gameplay. Therefore, innovation is very important. I believe the step has given Nintendo, in order to approach video games to a currently non-casual gamer public, has been huge. I have a couple of ideas to the ones that go through my head when I'm able, but of course, I cannot say anything. You will have news very soon.

Kojima is scheduled to speak at the Video Game Symposium on December 2nd of this year, immediately following Nintendo Game Designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s speech.
Check my older post Keynote speech to counter Xbox360? for all the info on the event. Also, check the comments. In them, gochie claims to be one of the organizers and he writes:
Hi. Falafelkid, the purpose of this event is to understand "interactive entertainment industry, past present and future = origins and history" through DIEC's speakers who witnessed TV game or interactive entertaiment history.

>Nintendo might choose your event to reveal further information regarding the Revolution?

No. That is wrong.
Because this is an academic event based on this purpose.

However, DIEC2005 is "totally precious!" I guarantee it, anyway;)
And, we will provide DIEC 2005's program details maybe in November.
I would expect that we will get new Revolution info in November, too. After all, Kojima did say ´very soon´.

And speaking of more news, this is my 99th post. For the coming anniversary I will be able to post an exclusive interview which, hopefully, will give us some interesting answers. Check back daily. I should have it up by Monday.

Sources: MeriStation, Revolution Report

Thanks to: Product_Number_18

78 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmmmmmm..."very soon" as in maybe a little before or after the launch of Xbox 360? It was no coincidence that when Microsoft did their X05 event during one of those days Nintendo did an unannounced DS press conference event in Japan. A lot of times when either of these console makers release a big announcement or a product launch, you can always expect some kind of announcement from another rival company to steal the hype.

Anonymous said...

same anonymous poster from the post above...maybe not before or after but probably on the same day of the xbox 360 launch

Anonymous said...

Can you tell us who the person is you'll interview before monday?

I think the very soon will be close to the launch of the XBox 360.
That would make sense. I wonder if Sony plan to release new Infos of the PS3 to encounter the XBox 360 Launch??

Anonymous said...

wasn't DIEC 2005 the conference in february where Nintendo showed the second Zelda trailer?

I'm probably wrong, so wich month can we expect DIEC 2005?

Anonymous said...

@stabby: i think the conference you mean is the GDC (games developer conference) wich is said to be a little preview of what we will see at e3. the gdc is always in march, if i remember correctly...

Anonymous said...

By the way, December 2nd is XBox launch in Europe.

I ran into this, too :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/bb_wm_fs.stm?nbram=1&news=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&nol_storyid=4387678

See after 1:05, it is stated that XBox 360 is launched 22 months before the PS3. That would mean that PS3 will launch in 2007. I wonder if this has a reliable source, or if it's merely speculation. Still, "22 months" seems to be an accurate statement.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Anonym: Good find, there. I am surprised about that quote. BBC nwes on consoles seems to have been surprisingly without any major mistakes, which is surprising for a general interest medium. Yet this they remain and I somehow cannot imagine them spilling the beans about the PS3´s launch date first. I´ll see if I can speak to that journalist.

Anonymous said...

Revolutionreports tysan right here love this site and urge people to come to revolution report it's preety cool got a podcast everynow and then and did i say i like this site it really is informative and nice to read up on the "REV insiders" or so they speak love this site and i'm off!

Anonymous said...

It would be a waist of time to release info to through of the 360 on the same day or after its release, people would rush in to buy it and hear about it later and go "stink oh well"

if this new info is important then i would release it a few weeks before the 360 so even people who arent frequently checking the web for new rev info will have time to hear about so it can way on their choice.

Anonymous said...

*throw

Anonymous said...

its always the same thing, yeah yeah new info coming SOON ... just how soon is that, and will it be real info this time. great blog falafel , keep up the good work
PS; i love falafels mmmm

Anonymous said...

For those who wish to contact Mr Mark Reign about Revolution :

http://gonintendo.com/?p=112

Anonymous said...

This is great news. Keep the support coming.

PS. Who thinks that the PS3 will have horrible load times like the PSP? It's off topic, but I'm just askin.

Anonymous said...

i dont recall a any playstation without horrible load times

Jason said...

I have a post on my forums of Revolution specs in French supposedly from Atari.

I don't know what to make of it. As one I can't read French and the bots do not translate very well and two they probably are fake but who knows.

There on my blog and forums.

Anonymous said...

gamestop.com have a list of rev games

Anonymous said...

is it santa

Anonymous said...

this is what it says:

Cpu:
Two core 2.4 - 2.5 Ghz
About equal to Xbox 360
30% increase of performance of classic games?
cpu own memory 28 MB + 8 MB 1T-Sram of Memory

Graphics
+/- 550 Mhz
128MB + 4 MB 1T-Sram
4:1 - I assume 4:1 compression
Allows 512 MB transfer thorough 128MB of Ram
Super Super Fast

Game Prices for Revolution equal to current games
Can optimise past games for graphics?
Developers can use GC coding for cheaper games

thanks to HereticPC from the link you gave us.

Anonymous said...

@Thunder Emperor
Here is the link to the french specs:
http://nintendocentrum.proboards61.com/index.cgi?board=rev&action=display&thread=1130575502

Anonymous said...

wth, I posted after HereticBP's message at 1:49, still mine appears 4 posts above :S

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, you have to copy and paste the link...

Jason said...

Just a piece:

Elles viennent de chez eden-studios(atari)

La révo embarquera le powerpc de la gamecube pour la rétro-compatibilité.
Mais ce CPU devrait voir sa frequence augmenter a +/-550 mhz.

Might be gibberish in French too though but I don't know.

Anonymous said...

I'm French, so I'll try to translate this for you guys :

[i]- Revolution will have GCN's PowerPC for backwards compatibility, but it will run at something like 550 MHz

- Revolution will also have a processor which is similar to the N64 processor but at a higher frequence and with more cache memory. This processor will allow perfect backwards compatibility for N64, SNES and NES games.

- The main CPU should be like X360's, based on PowerPC, but dual core. The way it works is different than the processors we currently know, due to the architecture.

- The main CPU runs at 2.4/2.5 GHz. This frequence is equal to the one of a ordinary PowerPC, but here it is actually 30% faster, [because of the different architecture : I'm guessing here, because even in French it's not very clear].

- As far as graphics are concerned; Nintendo has two choices :
Developing "Hollywood", which would raise production costs.
Or, after an agreement with MS, using the same GPU as X360. [I FIND THAT VERY UNLIKELY]

About compatibily with the GCN's CPU and the backwards compatibility for N64, SNES and NES games : 28 Mo of "classic" memory [WHAT THE HELL, WHAT DOES "CLASSIC", or even "ORDINARY" mean in that context ? Can't that guy be more accurate in his speech ?], and 8 Mo of 1T-SRAM memory.

- The main CPU will have 4 Mo 1T-SRAM to "stock the geometry of the polygons" [I MEAN, WTF, this doesn't even make sense in French]

- Last thing about memory : there will be 128 Mo of "gddr3" with a "chipset of compression hard" [as in, hardware ?] 1:4. This way, 512 Mo will fit in those 128 Mo.

- Games by little developers will use the GCN's CPU, be released at a lower price and benefit of the enhancements of the CPU compared to the original GCN.

- Revolution games will be at the same price as current gen games.

- N64, SNES and NES games will be able to be graphically enhanced.[/i]

Jason said...

classic or ordinary meaning normal Ram not 1T sram. Possibly. As for stocking geometry of polygons I do not know either. Thanks for a translation.

Anonymous said...

that's just bullshit. Why would the Rev need the same architecture as N64 to play N64, SNES and NES games? An N64 emulator worked flawless on the Gamecube (cfr Zelda collector's edition)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Hereticpb for the explanations. The guy wasn't very clear to me even in French, so I got a little pissed off while translating.

I would tend to call bullshit because of that, but to the anonymous who posted before me : N64 emulation wasn't exactly "flawless" on the GCN. Majora's Mask experienced some problems with the sound.

Anonymous said...

N64 emulation could still be perfected on the Rev hardware. Why would Nintendo base the Rev's architecture on that of the N64? It's not efficient and would keep the cost of the processor up.

Jason said...

Maybe because emulation is slower than actual hardware play?

The n64 processor was created when 1994 - 1996. That was well I'd say around 10 years ago. It would be cheaper than a lot of things these days.

Not saying the Revolution has a N64 processor or architecture though. It probably is a chip that equals a N64 processor that works with the other systems.

If the specs are true.

Anonymous said...

i think it could be true that rev has the n64 processor build in (or a "recreation" of it that is as cheap as possible and produces less heat than the original one). emulation isn´t the best solution for n64 games because there will always be glitches or something when emulating the hardware. i think only the snes and nes will be emulated since those emulators reached the point of nerly 100% compatibility over the years. but what makes me wonder is why there should be the gcn cpu in the revolution console? if i had something to say at nintendo, i would aks ibm to make the rev cpu compatible with the gcn´s cpu. that makes 100% compatibility for gcn games and reduces the costs for the hardware...

Falafelkid said...

@Anonym: Hi. The gonintendo.com thing has long since finished. And I wouldn´t expect Mark to answer soon. I have mailed him too and have had no answer yet. Your best bet is to mail him yourself:

Mark Rein
Epic Games
5511 Capital Center Dr Suite 675
Raleigh , NC 27606
Company phone: 919-854-0070
Company Fax: 919-854-0055
mrein@epicgames.com

Just one word of warning! Keep all complaints civil. Abuse will only lead to the Nintendo community being discredited, which will only reaffirm Mr. Rein´s views. Don´t yell. Please stick to polite language - and your voice will be heard.

@nz guy: *lol* Yup, you´re close. I´m actually waiting for an interview with the tooth fairy. She knows everything about the Revolution, because... well... the tooth is out there, you know!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I noticed it was finished after I posted it. Thanks for providing the e-mail.

And you're right of course, we must absolutely keep cool and civil.

Anonymous said...

i just sent an email to mr. rain. this is what i wrote:

Dear Mr. Rein

I read your comment on the Revolutions controller. I want to ask you if you had already the chance trying it out or if your comment is based on the TGS presentation? In my opinion you can only judge the controller if you had a chance to try this thing out. I think this controller cries for ego shooters! Ever thought of an Unreal game on a Nintendo console (Except the cancelled Unreal for N64)? Don´t forget that Nintendo is working on the "Classic Controller Shell Extension". I have one last question. No, i´m not asking for the specs of Revolution ;-) I just want to ask if you already know if Revolution could handle the Unreal Engine 3 (wich btw. looks DAMN impressive!).

Goodbye,
ColdBlooder

i hope he writes back. i will post the answer, if i get one...

Falafelkid said...

@coldblooder: Good letter. Here´s mine:

Dear Mr. Rein.

I am a television editor and games editor from Germany. In fact, we were scheduled for an interview at the Games Convention in Leipzig. Unfortunately, it had to be cancelled due to scheduling problems.

I would like you to comment on the controversy you caused at the recent IGN roundtable discussion, if you would. I understand you were quoted out of context - and I have done my part to set the record straight. You obviously meant to say that there will be a lot of games developed for the Revolution that will be gratuitous with respect to the controller functionality. You were not commenting on the console or its controller per se. Yet you made it very clear that Epic Games was not interested in developing for this console.

Yet will the Revolution controller not be the biggest milestone in hardware terms the genre has seen on console platforms? It is obvious that analogue sticks do not enable players to turn around in realtime. So far, this could only be achieved with a mouse. Hence, the development of an FPS for a console platform had to take account of the fact that players simply couldn´t turn as fast as they can on a PC. Now, the Revolution controller will not only enable this two-dimensional turning motion in realtime. It adds a third dimension, namely depth. With the analogue stick accessory controlling the player movement the old-fashioned way, you will be able to think up totally new features for the controller movement towards or away from the console. For example: It could be a jump in that direction, accelerating the movement input from the analogue stick. After all, a player´s reaction is always to lean away from or towards the screen, depending on what kind of situation he is in.

Do you really find this technology not very exciting? Is Epic Games really prepared to let this technological milestone pass? Are you not worried that your console products will be overtaken by games that will take advantage of the Revolution controller?

I would very much appreciate an official statement from you in this matter, which I can publish. Thank you very much for your time and effort.

Regards.

Anonymous said...

@falafelkid:

my email is a bit short but straight to the point. yours sounds more offical, like it should when you are a journalist!

i guess it will take a week or even longer for him to answer. i think he gets tons of emails a day...

Falafelkid said...

@coldblooder: I guess he does now ;P

Anonymous said...

What's that ? Some form of "BELIEVE" ?

Anonymous said...

Or, Jim Merrick ?

pn18 said...

believe

Anonymous said...

it says "merrick" wenn you read it from the bottom to the top...

and no, i won´t belive...

Anonymous said...

Simon says : BL33V

Shoxware Games said...

oh, falafelkid: please ask mr. merrick more concrete things than n-zone and/ or gamepro does.

i hope some new things will come up. i can't await, to see what he has to say.

by the way - is there an interview of shinji mikami or yu suzuki, where they talk about the remote?

Falafelkid said...

@Shoxware Games: I have sent NOE the questions already and there was only room for five, I´m afraid. I have focussed on a number of things that I felt didn´t add up. And yes, I´d love to hear what Yu Suzuki has in store for Rev owners, too. Shenmue is undoubtedly one of the best videogames ever.

Anonymous said...

wow, that was one fast answer... here is mark rein´s answer to my email :

Coldblooder,

I regret the stupid comments I made on that IGN Live panel.

No I have not had a chance to try out the Revolution controller but I do think it will be very cool and I wish I had prefaced my silly comments by saying that first. I think Nintendo (and some great 3rd parties) will make amazing games for it. I can think of lots of cool ways to use that controller in games. In fact I did say that Nintendo would make awesome games for it. For the record I didn't say the controller itself was a gimmick.

> I have one last question. No, i´m not asking for
> the specs of Revolution ;-) I just want to ask if you already
> know if Revolution could handle the Unreal Engine 3 (wich
> btw. looks DAMN impressive!)

I'd love to get our engine on the Revolution to see what could be done with it but we have no idea if it's even possible because we don't know the specifications for the system.


Mark Rein
Epic Games Inc.

@falafelkid: check your emails ;-)

Anonymous said...

coldblooder... You're kidding me, right ? ;)

Anonymous said...

if you don´t want to belive me then its ok. but you can write your own email to mr. rein if you want to ask exactly the same to see if its true...

Mark Rein
Epic Games
5511 Capital Center Dr Suite 675
Raleigh , NC 27606
Company phone: 919-854-0070
Company Fax: 919-854-0055
mrein@epicgames.com

good luck.

Shoxware Games said...

@ falafel: yeah, shenmue is THE game. i'd love to see it on revolution... by the way - it's not impossible, suzuki confirmed today, that he is not interested in developing games for PS3, xbox360 and Nintendo DS. Where's the revo??!!

- source: gamefront

but what about mikami-san? i think he is a nintendo loyalist, and sure will develop a game for revo. we'll see!

Anonymous said...

Don't take it so seriously coldblooder, I believe you. :)
I'm just very surprised because of the answer, he almost seems to apologize.

I'll send him an e-mail though, I have a few other points I'd like to ask him about.

Anonymous said...

yeah seems like hes "apoligising", but all he sais is that they would try unreal engine out on rev (or he just said it because he didn´t want to upset me) but not that they would plan to release an unreal for rev, even though its controller screams for ego shooters!

Falafelkid said...

Wow, nice job, coldblooder. I haven´t got an answer yet. But I sent him the same mail from work, too. I guess it´s less impressive from an AOL account. Hope I get an answer. If so, I´ll post it as soon as I can.

Anonymous said...

I use an AOL count, sent my e-mail after coldblooder had his answer, and got this :

"Hi L.J.,

Your English is very good.

I shouldn't have made those comments and I apologize if I offended you.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that all of the games for the device
are going to be gimmicky. In fact I said it was "a given" that Nintendo
would make awesome games for it. I also didn't say I thought the device
itself was gimmicky. In fact I think the controller is very cool and I
can think of lots of cool ways to use it. I would love to see what
people could do with our Unreal Engine on that platform but
unfortunately I have no idea if it would even run on there or not
because the specifications of the system have not been publicly
announced.


Mark Rein
Epic Games Inc.

Visit us at http://www.epicgames.com




> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dajoker256@aol.com [mailto:Dajoker256@aol.com]
> Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2005 2:25 PM
> To: Mark Rein
> Subject: IGN Live Panel ; comments about Revolution Controller
>
>
> Mr Rein,
>
> I'm a gamer known on most boards as L.J.. I've heard
> about the comments you made about the Revolution Controller.
> You said that Nintendo were certainly going to make great
> games that will take advantage, but then you added that
> "Nintendo fans [were] in for the most crappy, cheap,
> I-wish-I-hadn't-bought-it gimmick ever". Isn't that a
> contradiction ? I mean, if Nintendo makes great games, how
> could one possibly label them as "gimmicks" ?
> Some Nintendo fans were offended by these comments, as
> other ones, like myself, got a little confused. So I'd like
> to ask you : what was your point exactly ?
>
> - Did you think that 3rd party developers would fail to see
> the potential of the Revolution Controller, and wouldn't be
> able to create games that take advantage of it in a relevant way ?
> If that's the case, I'd like to draw your attention on the
> fact that many Japanese developers have shown enthusiasm
> about the Revolution Controller, and seem to be ready to pull
> the best out of it.
>
> - Or, did you mean that Western developers would not be
> interested in the Revolution, unlike Japanese developers,
> resulting in an important proportion of typically Japanese
> titles for Revolution, often viewed as "strange" by the
> American audience ?
> If this is what you were thinking, I believe that it's
> debatable. I know that you don't know the specs for
> Revolution, and you didn't have a hands-on with the
> Revolution Controller, but have you heard about the
> impressions of those who did ? They sound amazed. According
> to them, the Revolution Controller, among other things, seems
> to rival and even surpass the mouse-keyboard combination when
> it comes to controlling First Person Shooters. I think that
> you'll agree that a better control scheme for FPS is in no
> way "gimmicky". To my mind, that's a real improvement in the
> gaming experience.
>
> I hope (and so do most Nintendo fans out there) that
> we'll see the amazing result of your work on Nintendo
> Revolution, and I would appreciate if you could answer this
> e-mail, so things can be made clearer for people who have
> heard your comments out of their context. Thank you for your
> time, and keep up the good work !
>
> Regards,
> L.J.
>
> PS : I'm French, so English isn't my mother tongue. Please
> forgive the English mistakes I could have made."

Falafelkid : since you asked him for some official statement, I suppose that he is going to choose his words with caution.

Anonymous said...

Hey Falafelkid, nice play on words. The whole tooth truth thing. Yeah, very good for a non-native english speaker.

Anonymous said...

Stop with the insults, that's childish. :/
This is not the way Nintendo gamers want to be viewed.

Anonymous said...

and if anyone else contacts mark rein, please do it in a polite way. when he gets alot of "worse" emails from nintendo fans the chances that he´ll make a rev game someday shrinks to an even lower level than it is already!

pn18 said...

lower than zero?!
w00t

Shoxware Games said...

well, i really don't think that EPIC is up and about to develop a revolution game anyway. of course he apologizes - i guess he got hundreds of emails from nintendo-fanboys, telling him "you suck a$$,..." Oh man, that's so disgusting, and if he would say "and, the revo still SUCKS!!" he would get even more "hate" mails.

and some advise from me... you don't have to mail him, because you will ALL get the same answer in some way.
so just leave this man alone, he's just doing his job.

and comments like "i hope GoW bombs". That's really low.

Anonymous said...

Still, damage control is funny. ;)

Anonymous said...

Mark Rein is one who make game's engin. and game engin make better picture ... right?

Now revolution say some thing about ... better game don't need better pictuer (no need better engin for better game)

So revolution may effect his work. And make him say some thing like that.

... or he may say it becouse he really know something about revolution.

Anonymous said...

if a company knows more than i guess its only square-enix, sega (especially sonic team), retrostudios, etc... the ones that are closer to nintendo. others like ea, etc... may still no as much as we do!

Shoxware Games said...

@ coldblooder: and that's nintendo's problem!! if they don't reveal the specs to developers early, then they won't get a huge 3rd party support.

thq stated, that next gen development resources are as follows:

80 % -- PS3 / XBOX360 Development
20 % -- Revolution

ugh!

Anonymous said...

Ubisoft knows all about the Revolution too.

Nintendo, when they showed off the controller to third parties, also presented specific gameplay/control mechanisms for major franchises to these third parties.

There was a quote from Ubisoft after they had seen it, but before it was revealed. I believe it was along the lines of, "The experience of playing Splinter Cell would be very similar on Xbox360 and PS3, but on Revolution the interface would provide a different experience." When you see how the controller works, obviously Splinter Cell would work very well it.

In fact, weren't there rumblings that Ubisoft was doing some whispering to Nintendo about buying them, instead of Ubisoft being bought by EA? Feel free to shoot that down, Falafel Kid, but I'm pretty sure that happened even if it wasn't publicized.

And don't break it down like 80% PS3/Xbox360, 20% Rev.

more like 40%, 40%, 20%. and if it takes off, that can easily be bumped up to 33%, 33%, 33%.

seriously guys.. we need to see first party software, because Nintendo has to take the lead and get the ball rolling showing how to introduce new concepts and also building existing games with a (hopefully) more precise control scheme. if they are successful with that third parties will better understand the route they need to take on the system.

but personally, i'm not all that worried if shit ass companies like Eidos don't know a thing about the Rev. the companies I DO buy games from: Square, SEGA, EA, Retro, Konami/Kojima, Capcom.. they know about. PERIOD.

There is no reason to be lamenting third party support right now. There's no reason to expect it at this time to be head and shoulders above Cube. If the software is there, the support will come.

If the first things EAD and Retro introduce are shitty games, then start to freak out bit.



Oh and don't forget Camelot bitches!

Anonymous said...

"In fact, weren't there rumblings that Ubisoft was doing some whispering to Nintendo about buying them, instead of Ubisoft being bought by EA? Feel free to shoot that down, Falafel Kid, but I'm pretty sure that happened even if it wasn't publicized."

I never heard anything about that. I very much doubt it tho because Nintendo is not like the kind of company to make big acquisitions on third party publishers/developers. Although during the German Game conference, a Ubisoft rep did say that several titles are underway for the Revolution. I think its a good thing since Ubisoft is one of the few publishers that go multiplatform.

Anonymous said...

No I just said that there were rumbling that Ubisoft themselves approached Nintendo about buying them, not that Nintendo showed interest.

Nintendo probably didn't want any part of that so as not to upset EA (who has had it clear they would like Ubisoft).

IMO that's silly.. gaining all the studios that Ubisoft gives you is well worth the small price of ruffling EA's feathers.

Anonymous said...

some guy who commented on the last post said i have make a good point about FPS. he even spelt New Zealand right!

Anonymous said...

that of course is FPS on the rev you should read it its great.

Anonymous said...

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_45/b3958127.htm?campaign_id=rss_magzn

Meet Mario's Papa

Legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto talks how he aims to bring the family together around Nintendo's new console

As the brains behind the video games at Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto has shown a knack for inventing games that kids would get hooked on. In 1985, his Super Mario Bros. -- the world's hottest-selling game ever -- was the first with a scrolling screen, which expanded the playing space vertically, not just horizontally. The next year, he came up with the labyrinthine fantasy world called The Legend of Zelda, which could take skilled gamers hours, and sometimes weeks, to complete. And in the 1990s, his Super Mario 64 was the first console title with 3D graphics. It even forced him to tweak the
Miyamoto, 52, recently spoke with BusinessWeek Tokyo Correspondent Kenji Hall about video games, how they have changed, and what to expect in the future. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow:

What do you think was the biggest innovation in video games since the 1980s?
The biggest change was when 3D graphics came to Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. Before that, arcades had the edge in game technology. In the pecking order, game consoles for homes came last. 3D changed that and made home consoles the front-runner.

But I had no idea how quickly technology would change everything. Economies of scale were allowing game hardware makers to spend lots of money to develop new consoles. Suddenly, we were working with consoles that were 10 times faster than anything I had ever imagined, and the disk-storage space was vast.

What's the secret to creating a hit game?
Whether it's a new game or a sequel, we want anyone to be able to play right away. That's why I think Rubik's Cube was so brilliant. I saw it for the first time at a toy convention in Japan in the early 1980s. The moment you see a Rubik's Cube, you know you're supposed to twist the pieces. And it's beautifully designed. Even if you've never handled one, you want to pick it up and try it. And once you do that, it's hard to walk away until you've solved it.

Supercomputing power has improved game graphics to the point where characters can be made to appear almost lifelike. But the characters in your games are mostly cartoons. Why?
Nowadays, software makers want games to be so realistic, but first and foremost games should evoke emotions. When I made Pikmin, I wanted people to feel a mix of sadness and happiness. The Japanese word itoshii is used when you think fondly of someone. You wouldn't normally feel that when playing games, but that's what I was striving for.

Games aren't just about recreation and getting to the next stage. People often tell me nobody would play a game that isn't that way -- it would be too boring. But I don't agree with them (see BW Online, 10/13/05, "Indie Gamers Hit the Right Buttons").

Does Nintendo target a certain age group with its games?
We want our games to be for anyone from 5 to 95 years old (see BW Online, 10/19/05, "Attack of the Gaming Grannies").

We disagree with people who say, "Nintendo is for kids, and Sony (SNE ) is for adults." There are plenty of 60-year-olds who will play the games we make. Women in their 20s haven't been a major target for game makers. But many young women have found our games fun, especially Nintendogs.

What's the most important ingredient in your games?
The most basic element is fun. Games are interactive. They must challenge you, and reward you when you rise to the challenge. In my view, the game begins the moment a person touches a console -- everything builds from that.

When I first started creating games, I mainly wanted to make something that would surprise people. Actually, I never imagined I would be making video games. I thought I would be designing toys, like Dr. Rubik of Rubik's Cube.

Where do you get ideas for your games?
It's hard to remember. Sometimes I rely on childhood experiences. For instance, what did I find scary? Some ideas are spontaneous, some come from notes I've kept. I used write down things I saw or heard on a Post-it, which I would stick in my scheduling book. It could be a game or something funny on TV I saw, or a story I heard someone tell.

Do you remember how you came up with Super Mario Bros.?
It started with a simple idea. I thought: "I wonder what it would be like to have a character that bounces around. And the background should be a clear, blue sky." I took that idea to a programmer, and we started working on it.

Mario ended up being too big, so we shrank him. Then we thought, "What if he can grow and shrink? How would he do that? It would have to be a magic mushroom! Where would a mushroom grow? In a forest." We thought of giving Mario a girlfriend, and then we started talking about Alice in Wonderland.

How will Nintendo's next-generation platform, Revolution, differ from others?
Most people think video games are all about a child staring at a TV with a joystick in his hands. I don't. They should belong to the entire family. I want families to play video games together. That was the concept behind the Revolution (see BW Online, 10/4/05, "Nintendo's Revolutionary Man").

I also redesigned the Revolution's controller to look more like a regular TV remote, so anyone who saw it would know instantly how to use it, and so they wouldn't think they had to always stash it away.

Do you have a favorite video game?
The only time I play is maybe the 20 minutes I spend testing rivals' new machines. I don't play video games in my free time. On the weekends, I fix things around the house, garden, or play the guitar. Or I'll exercise, go swimming, take the dog for a walk, or go for a hike.

In the future, what do you think video games will be like?
It's convenient to make games that are played on TVs. But I always wanted to have a custom-sized screen that wasn't the typical four-cornered cathode-ray-tube TV. I've always thought that games would eventually break free of the confines of a TV screen to fill an entire room. But I would rather not say anything more about that.

You've been called the Steven Spielberg of video games. Recently, some gamers have been making movies using game software. Are games and movies converging?
It's a common comparison, but I don't think it's an appropriate one because movies aren't interactive the way games are. Even so, I've learned a lot from movies. For instance, I pay attention to how movies use music to create a mood, how many camera angles there are, or how the director sets up a scary scene.

Anonymous said...

In a recent interview to Meristation.com (online Spanish magazine), Jim Merrick from NoE has confirmed the chat function in Mario Kart DS:

Quote (translated):
If you don't know the people you are playing with, you won't be able to chat with them, to protect the privacy of the young users. On the other hand, if you play against a friend you'll be able to chat. Every DS has a MAC code, and you'll have to give this code to your friends to be able to play and chat with them.

Some other interesting bits concerning DS and Revolution:

- NoE will set up over 25,000 hotspots across Europe
- The USB Wi-fi adapter will available on Nov 25th at 39.95 €. This adapter will also be compatible with Revolution.
- Revolution will launch worlwide within 14 weeks maximum, that means on the same quarter in every region.
- Multiplayer mode in Revolution will be similar to the NDS: multiple players with only one copy of the game.
- You'll be able to download retro games from different regions (for instance, an European user could download Super Mario RPG for the SNES from the US server).
- When played on Revolution, N64 games will have better framerate but there won't be significant graphical improvements.
- No Revolution games will be shown in 2005.
- There won't be any significant differences in the graphics of Revolution compared to the other systems

Source (in Spanish):
http://www.meristation.com/v3/des_a...o=art&c=1&pos=0

Anonymous said...

Correct link for the source : http://www.meristation.com/v3/des_articulo.php?pic=NRV&id=cw4364e1acb0d17&idj=&idp=&tipo=art&c=1&pos=0

Anonymous said...

Yeah. :D

Dunno the source, but I'm searching. ^^

-------------------------------
Miyamoto: Interview über Nintendo & den Revolution
Montag, 31.10.2005 @ 11:32

Was war, was ist, was wird


Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto: Vater von Super Mario und ambitionierten Projekten wie The Legend of Zelda. Das 'Business Week' Magazin führte mit dem Mastermind ein Interview über die Vergangenheit, die Gegenwart und die Zukunft von Nintendo und Videospielen im Allgemeinen, das wir Euch nicht vorenthalten möchten.

Vergangenheit

Laut Miyamoto sei die größte Innovation bezüglich Videospielen dem Sprung von der zweiten in die dritte Dimension zuzurechnen, der erstmals mit dem Nintendo 64 und Sonys Konkurrenz Playstation vollzogen wurde. Automatenspiele verloren dadurch deutlich an Reiz - stationären Konsolen kam das zu Gute.

Inspirationen nimmt Shigeru Miyamoto aus Kindheitserfahrungen, ab und zu aber auch aus TV-Sendungen und Gesprächen.

"Wie ich auf das Konzept von Super Mario Bros. kam? Nun, ich dachte: Wie wäre es, einen Charakter zu haben, der vor einem blauen Himmel herumhüpft?"


Gegenwart


Nintendo bedient sich in der Entwicklung von Software oftmals comicartiger Grafik. Laut Miyamoto könne durch eine solche Darstellung größere Emotionen geweckt werden. Als Beispiel nennt er Pikmin, das eine Mischung aus Traurigkeit und Freude ausstrahlen sollte.

Nintendo peilt in der Entwicklung von Spielen keine bestimmte Altersgruppe an. "Wir sind nicht der Meinung, dass Nintendo für Kinder und Sony für Erwachsene ist." Es gäbe einige Sechzigjährige, die noch heute Spaß mit Nintendos Spielen haben. Mit Titeln wie Nintendogs spricht die Firma nun vermehrt auch junge Frauen an.

Der wichtigste Faktor in einem Spiel ist der Spaß, den man daran haben soll.


Zukunft

Der Nintendo Revolution wird sich durch den Controller von den anderen Konsolen deutlich unterscheiden - zu einem gewissen Teil auch durch die neue Zielgruppe, die sich erschließen soll. Mit der einfachen Fernbedienung-Struktur der Buttons sollen unerfahrene Spieler nicht abgeschreckt werden.

Miyamoto wünscht sich schon immer einen Bildschirm, der deutlich von der Norm abweicht: Einen TV, der einen kompletten Raum füllen kann. "Aber mehr möchte ich dazu lieber nicht sagen".
-------------------------

It means that Miyamoto wants a TV that fills the hole room. :-P

Visor, ick hör dir trapsen. *ugly*

Anonymous said...

Only the end is important, forgot to say that. ^^'

Anonymous said...

And the source. ^^

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_45/b3958127.htm?campaign_id=rss_magzn

Anonymous said...

Yo falafkid MORE REVO NEWS!

http://www.ds-x2.com/index.php?id=4425

Good news for us europeans!

# NoE will set up over 25,000 hotspots across Europe
# The USB Wi-fi adapter will available on Nov 25th at 39.95 €. This adapter will also be compatible with Revolution.
# Revolution will launch worlwide within 14 weeks maximum, that means on the same quarter in every region.
# Multiplayer mode in Revolution will be similar to the NDS: multiple players with only one copy of the game.
# You'll be able to download retro games from different regions (for instance, an European user could download Super Mario RPG for the SNES from the US server).
# When played on Revolution, N64 games will have better framerate but there won't be significant graphical improvements.
# No Revolution games will be shown in 2005.
# There won't be any significant differences in the graphics of Revolution compared to the other systems

Anonymous said...

somebody beat me to it?

Anonymous said...

Revo europe also just updated it three seconds ago! http://www.revo-europe.com/news.php?nid=8434

Anonymous said...

Some quotes:

"Merrick said that the Revolution would get a worldwide launch within 14 weeks, meaning that no more than 14 weeks after it is released in Japan, it'll be in America, Australia and even Europe."

"He also said that when played on Revolution, N64 games will have better framerate, but there won't be significant graphical improvements."

"On the Revolution games themselves, none will be shown during 2005, but he said there would be no significant differences in their graphics compared to the other systems."

amazing!

-ICELEAF

Anonymous said...

Oh sorry... i was rushing too much. seems that Thunder Emperor said that earlier. sorry.

Falafelkid said...

Hi everyone. Thank you ever so much for so many interesting comments, links and quotes. I am working lots at the moment, so I will have to read them all in detail later. But I have managed to dispel some rumours going ´round about the PS3´s launch date. Slightly off-topic, but still interesting: I have spoken to the BBC´s New York correspondent, who claimed the Xbox360 would launch "22 months before the PS3". She told me that this information was not based on any direct evidence, but it was from a number of sources on the net (she named CNet and PC Magazine). She also cited some technology journalists she had spoken to. But, essentially, she just cited rumours. The BBC has not had any info direct from Sony or any concrete evidence of the PS3 being delayed.

Anonymous said...

falafelkid, when do u release the 100th post ? its monday !! :D

Falafelkid said...

Sorry, no mail from Nintendo yet. Please bear with me... Thanks for your patience.