Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Revolution is rallying support

Famitsu magazine is reporting that the Revolution is attracting the interest of yet more developers, particularly in Japan. Here´s the rundown:
Hironobu Sakaguchi (president of ´Mistwalker´, creator of ´Final Fantasy´ series) comments that the controller makes you feel like you're touching the screen. Simply trying out the controller filled him with ideas, he admits.

Yoshinori Kitase (producer at Square Enix, ´Final Fantasy VII´, ´Kingdom Hearts´) reveals that he loves to go home after a long day's work, lay down, pick up the television remote with one hand and flip channels on the television. Games require him to move and hold the controller with both hands, and for first person shooters, things get even worse, as he's required to set up a table, mouse and keyboard. Kitase believes that the Revolution controller will allow people to play while laying down, using the controller to shoot things and wield guns. More strikingly, he states that the Revolution controller doesn't just change the content of a game, but the lifestyle of its players.

Atsuhi Taniguchi (producer at From Software, ´Tenchu´) states that he would want to use the expansion pack shown at the press conference (the analogue pad expansion, which Nintendo expects to include with the remote right out of the box) and make a first person title.

Hiroshi Tanibuchi (producer at Konami, ´Powerful Pro´) states that he personally likes games that make you move your body and is interested in making an action game that uses both hands. He's also interested in the Revolution-DS link up.

Akihiro Hino (producer at Level 5, ´True Fantasy Live Online´, ´Dragon Quest VIII´) believes that the Revolution will give birth to new types of games. He is personally interested in making an RPG where you hold a shield in one hand, a sword in the other and mount a head set on our head -- although he laughs that this would be impossible. More seriously, he seems concerned about players getting tired due to all the hand movement, regardless of how much fun their having. The hardware has a lot of potential, but he hopes that games are designed so that even if they're played for lengthy periods people won't get tired.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi (president of Q Entertainment, `Space Channel 5´, ´Rez´, ´Lumines´) states that he'd like to think up some way of combining the controller with music. He wants to create a game that gives the feeling of hooking up directly to your physical senses.

Kouji Okada (president of Gaia, ´Shin Megami Tensei´, ´Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner´) believes the controller will allow for a completely new type of RPG, adding that he'd like to try out many new challenges.

Yoshiki Okamoto (president of Game Republic, creator of ´Street Fighter´ series) believes that the controller has such appeal that even people who lack imagination light up with wonder at what can be done with the device. He admits to having just a few ideas himself, including an action RPG and a horror game so scary that it almost makes you throw your controller.

Noritaka Funamizu (producer at Craft & Meister, ´Resident Evil: Outbreak´) believes that that the controller will fit perfectly with games where you move a cursor about - in fact, he believes the controller can do more than an ordinary mouse. A simulation with a focus on action would be perfect for the controller, he suggests. Funamizu closes off his comments with the prediction that those who've been making games since the old days will have an easier time with the Revolution (a group that includes him, he points out).

Gouichi ´Suda 51´ Suda (producer at Grasshopper, ´Killer 7´) has gone into a bit more depth as part of a similar feature in the latest issue of Famitsu. Following some heavy praise where he suggests that the controller could change the face of gaming, Suda reveals that he's finalizing plans for an original Revolution game. While details are a secret at this point, he tells us that we can expect something extreme, in line with what one expects of a Grasshopper title. The game will focus heavily on direct input through the controller, and will, he promises, exceed Killer 7.
However, there is also a report elsewhere of one industry hotshot being turned off by the Revolution.
Mark Rein (vice president of Epic Games, ´Unreal´): ”[Nintendo fans are in for] the most crappy, cheap, I-wish-I-hadn’t-bought-it gimmicks ever”.
Personally, I believe the last statement is not true. Someone in that position simply cannot afford to put a major player in the industry down. Who knows? If things go well for Nintendo, Mr. Reign will have to come a-knocking on Iwata-San´s door all too soon. No disrespect to Joystiq, who posted the story. But god knows where they got it from. At any rate, we can be sure of a few good Revolution games from Japan. That´s not too bad.

EDIT In my opinion, Mark Rein was badly misquoted. His words were used out of context. Here´s the actual quote, word for word:
"Don´t kid yourself. You´re gonna see more gimmick, crappy, cheap, I-wish-I-hadn´t-bought-it, gimmick games based around that controller than you could ever possibly imagine. I guarantee it. There´s gonna be lots of people who say: ´The whole reason for this game is this controller. We need the perfect game for the controller.´ And all it will be about is this controller - and not necessarily a great game."
Still an outrageous statement and showing plenty of incompetence. But substantially different from the first versions floating around the net. Because he only meant to say that there will be a lot of games developed for Revolution that will be gratuitous with respect to the controller functionality. He was not dissing the console per se.

Sources: IGN, IGN, IGN, Joystiq

Thanks to: Fedboy, Product_Number_18

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

hell yeah ... !! sounds damn good !

Anonymous said...

they got that last quote from the ign live video, i posted a link to it earlier today under you last article :P

Anonymous said...

Mark Reign...
I mean, how can one possibly sound so lame ?

Anonymous said...

When I saw the "REZ" (not resident evil but could be soon)creator or producer and Final Fantasy VII (7) creator or producer comment positively on the controller, it pretty much seals it that the REVO WILL be part of the console family. And if there is enough money left the same will go for the 360.

Anonymous said...

we all know its not just a crappy gimic coz those reporters got to use it and basicly it is great

Anonymous said...

Hey, look at what I found on the IGN boards :

"Metaldave9999

Date Posted: 6:21pm Subject: RE: MARK REIN (EPIC) COMMENTS ON REV

This is a response to an e-mail I sent Mark Rein concerning developing for the Revolution. I sent it on Sept 18th and he replied on Oct 3rd.



Mark Rein < mrein@epicgames.com> wrote: David,

That controller is definitely cool and we're going to be looking into
the Revolution but I can't promise we'll ever make a product for it.


Mark Rein
Epic Games Inc.

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



> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Madrid [mailto:metaldave9999@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2005 11:30 PM
> To: Mark Rein
> Subject: Unreal Tournament 2007
>
> This game MUST be put on the Nintendo Revolution! With the
> kind of control you can have with the new controller UT would
> be awesome! Many gamers want the same thing I do. Thank you
> for your time.
>
>
> David Madrid
>
> ________________________________"

Anonymous said...

I personally think that Mark Reign is mad becasue maybe the revolution isnt powerful enough to use Epic´s ureal engine.Though he realizes that the console could sell and possibly become marketleader. That would mean that all the work they (Epic) put in the Unreal engine was not optimized with the market and maybe they have to make a new less powerful engin.

Falafelkid said...

Here´s another dumb quote by Mr. Rein for you, concerning next-gen development costs:

"I have heard EA and Activision make absolutely ridiculous statements about: ´Oh, it´s gonna take 30 million dollars to make a game and we need 300 people!´ That´s just a bunch of bullshit. They are just covering up for their own management incompetence. Or mismanagement, I should say. The thing is: our team size is only about fifty percent higher than it was last generation."

Hang on, this is supposed to be the vice president of one of the most respected development studios out there? Where did Mr. Rein learn his management skills from, I wonder? This is absolutely preposterous. He acts like a fanboy kid.

Falafelkid said...

Actually, Mark Rein didn´t say what he was quoted as saying. He wasn´t dissing the controller per se. he was talking about some of the games that will be developed for it. Here´s the actual quote, word for word:

"Don´t kid yourself. You´re gonna see more gimmick, crappy, cheap, I-wish-I-hadn´t-bought-it, gimmick games based around that controller than you could ever possibly imagine. I guarantee it. There´s gonna be lots of people who say: ´The whole reason for this game is this controller. We need the perfect game for the controller.´ And all it will be about is this controller - and not necessarily a great game."

That is still a pretty incompetent statement in my opinion, and badly worded to boot. But that makes a big difference from the statement lots of sites (including Joystiq) quoted him with.

Anonymous said...

Still sounds lame. Isn't he aware of what other developers said about this controller ? They sound actually inspired. He shouldn't assume that everybody's as clueless as he is.

Falafelkid said...

Anonymous, I agree. His statement is different given the context, but no more founded. It´s amazing for the VP of one of the masters of the FPS genre to completetely disregard what will be the biggest milestone the genre has ever seen on console platforms. What is this guy getting paid for?

Anonymous said...

to rant xbox360? i think he believes his demographic believes what he just said, and he want to make them feel like they're likeminded for them to give ut2007 support..

Anonymous said...

Wow, I got credited :D, I think we won't be seeing a unreal game for revolution. I do vagualy see his point, but I don't really see this on DS and I don't really see it for Revo, however DS devellopers sometimes add a map or a useless touch-screen gimmick to make it more a DS-game, personally I think this is a bit stupid and make it feel forced on or inspirational. Revolution however won't have this because it will not have regulair controls without an expansion. Seeing they could port madden to a controller with expansion, but personally I'd rather see no madden at all if they can't make it a unique experience, this is my only fear for revolution, because their are lots of people who want to play the new madden or fifa. Ofcourse they can always play it on their 360... Perhaps this explains nintendo's strategy as second console, only the price must be really low to achieve this and when I say low I'm thinkin' 100-170 dollar.

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