Thursday, March 30, 2006

Revolution to have Xbox specs



The Revolution will have little more horsepower than the original Xbox, IGN reports. They have spoken to a number of studios who wish to remain anonymous. Here´s the story:

IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz, according to updated Nintendo documentation. By comparison, GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz. The original Xbox's CPU, admittedly a different architecture altogether, was clocked at 733MHz. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 runs three symmetrical cores at 3.2GHz. (...)

Revolution's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz, while the GPU on the original Xbox was clocked at 233MHz. Sources we spoke with suggest that it is unlikely the GPU will feature any added shaders, as has been speculated.

"The 'Hollywood' is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory," a studio source told us.

The overall system memory numbers we reported last December have not greatly fluctuated, but new clarifications have surfaced. Revolution will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting the GPU's on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 operate on 512MBs of RAM.

It is not known if the 14MBs of extra D-RAM we reported on last December are in the current Revolution specifications.

"The external RAM can be accessed as quickly as the main RAM, which is a nice touch," a developer we spoke with alleged.




This news is hardly surprising - and shouldn´t make us expect any less graphics from the console when we will see games within the next few weeks (or quite possibly within days). After all, seeing how Nintendo managed to get Resident Evil 4 running on their current hardware, just think what wonders they could do with at least double that hardware power.

Source: IGN

117 comments:

Anonymous said...

It should be noted that this is not a true 1:1 comparison.
PPC Mhz != x86 Mhz
T1 SRAM != PC133 RAM

Also, clock speeds are not definitive in determining actual performance, look at AMD vs Intel.

Anonymous said...

These are the specs of the development-kits. That doesn't mean that they have to be the specs of the final console. Remember the first showings of X360 games? They had them running on PowerMacs. Back then there was no PowerMac with a three-core processor like in the final X360. The quad-core Macs came later.
I think this only shows that Revolution won't be as powerful as X360 or PS3, but hey, that's not really surprising news. And as Vic stated: Mhz means simply nothing. Even if it's on the same architecture. If you don't believe, take an 2.8 gHz Celeron and try to do the same tasks as you could do with an 1.8 gHz Opteron.
Well and don't forget the HD-thing. If that turns out to be a mistake or not remains to be seen.

Anonymous said...

I agree with vic, and you should also remember that the Xbox's components were basically off-the-shelf parts that you'd find in any PC (hence why MS were losing so much money on each one). The internal structure of the Revolution will be built to maximise the performance of what it has, which makes individual specs meaningless. Let's just wait and see the games!

Anonymous said...

i have to agree too with the others. the sentence "revolution to have xbox specs" is a bit misleading, because if you handle the gamecube hardware propably, it can show graphics like the "original" xbox (rogue leader, anyone?). so i would say that revolution could have two times the power of an normal xbox but that is still quite under the xbox 360 and of course, the ps3. and that isn´t really breaking news, because we know already that rev wouldn´t be as powerful as the other two competitors.

Anonymous said...

I think about other thing.

Revolution specs is low ... Why ?

I think. Revolution last secret is some thing really expensive. So ... Thay reduce specs to fit it in price. that all.

And we will see it all at E3. It's real performance ... and that item.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Coldblooder.

The sentence "revolution to have xbox specs" is a bit misleading, because if you handle the gamecube hardware propably, it can show graphics like the "original" xbox (rogue leader, anyone?). so i would say that revolution could have two times the power of an normal xbox

First of all, it´s a headline and headlines are always meant to bring the story to a succinct point. But with the possible exception of RAM, Revolution will have Xbox specs.

Revolution CPU = 729MHz
Gamecube CPU = 485MHz
Xbox CPU = 733MHz

Revolution GPU = 243MHz
GameCube GPU = 162MHz
Xbox GPU = 233MHz

I understand some people may interpret this wrong, but as far as the chips are concerned, Rev will habe Xbox specs. Mind you, I never said power. So I agree: it could easily have double the Xbox´s power. Sure.

Anonymous said...

I haven´t red the comments of the
last news. So, if you already know
these things, don´t become angry. ;-)


1. Like Falafelkid told us,
Nintendo Power claiming they
will have "the biggest scoop
of the year so far" on the
next edition´s cover.

2. The german GamePro-magazine
also claims, that in the next issue they will have a very
huge exklusive-story, with a
brand new way to play games.

3. The english EDGE shows on
the last page (that´s always
the preview-page for the next
issue) only a big blue "5"!

Anonymous said...

Old news?: When Aonuma was asked,
if the extra year of production
on Twilight Princess had anything to do with support for Revolution's
freestyle controller, he responded
that the game "will be utilising
the Revolution hardware, although
not in a way many will expect."

source: http://www.revolutio
nreport.com/articles/read/370

Anonymous said...

Another reason why the REVO will suck ! And please before you attack my statement : im not a Sony or even MS fanboy, ok! And people who want to say : It is not about graphics, its all about gameplay, stop also ! Graphics are important to bring innovation and also fun ! If the specs are true , then im dissapointed, because thats nonsense for a next gen console. Nintendo is going to suck with this policy, because they are also loosing hardcore fans, like me. Now i know what im going to buy in november !

Ian Wilgaus said...

lol, the simple minded! First up how does Graphics bring innovation to this industry? Answer: It doesnt! Prove to me how they do and ill shake your hand! And as for hardcore fans that they will lose, well for samll minded people like yourself your probly right. But Nintendo will never lose there fan base and on top of that Nintendo are going mass market with their NEW GENERATION. As it stands this industry only brings in about 3% of consumers, thats a very low number! If Nintendo can tap into the rest of that 97% who do you think will win out?

End of the day, id expect you t change your mind once Nintendo show what the console can do. If its around twice as powerful as GCN then thats huge considering it isnt HD. Which means it doest need to have as hgh as specs to achieve on-screen, the same as PS3/X360

Anonymous said...

Fist generations games of the REVO will look more worse than the the current Xbox games! But maybe, there is the last secret and Nintendo will show us some Augmented Reality stuff, and therefore the specs might suffice. The best way to discuss about specs its to see them in action. Hope so, because, in my view these specs are to weak for a TV-Next-Gen-Console !

Anonymous said...

Idiots like that guy above are the reason Nintendo didn't want to release the specs in the first place. To look at them without factoring in the structure of the components is to have morons say "OMGWTFBBQ?!?! Teh Revolushun is teh sux0rz. Nintendo will loze teh next-gen warz!!!" If they actually did some research (or read the other comments) they would see that we still know nothing of any value.

Anyway, I've seen the 360's graphics (yes, in HD) and I'm still not impressed. Sure it looks better, but not next gen. I'd still rather be playing RE4 or Smash Bros.

Anonymous said...

to touch-gen:
Example: Mario64 for N64, this was an innovation, and the specs of the N64 allowed Nintendo to create such a game.
Whats about Physics in games ??? Look at Half life 2 for PC, the graphics of these game are an innovation for itself.
Have you played Oblivion , have you seen the technic of HDR ? Oh yes it is innovation, and it makes a lot of fun with such inventions!
But i see, for you innovation means, to be on the losers side until the end, and hope since the N64 for a miracle. The golden times are over pretty! Open your eyes dummie!
But maybe its not obvious for an ultra hardcore Nintendo fanboy like you !

Anonymous said...

"I understand some people may interpret this wrong, but as far as the chips are concerned, Rev will habe Xbox specs. Mind you, I never said power. So I agree: it could easily have double the Xbox´s power. Sure."

Might be right, but than the statement is as useless as saying "my microwave oven and my pc have nearly the same specs", just because they both run at approx. 2,5gHz. Ok, not really, just wanted to point out that there's absolute no use in comparing the clock speed of a RISC and a CISC Processor, an that's what you've done. Anyway, good job so far, Falafel, keep up the good work :)

Brian said...

Falafelkid, I strongly suggest you enable Blogger's feature of only allowing registered users to comment. Otherwise, the comments of each post will continue to be swamped with idiots like the guy arguing that graphics bring innovation, or that stupid IALS character.

Anyway, as noted, a Power PC chip will perform much better than an equivalent x86 chip running at the same speed. The x86 chip would have to be sped up to an enormous number to equal the PPC. So, what we're getting is a machine that has double the speed and possibly power of the GameCube? Then obviously we're not getting an original X-Box-alike, are we? We're getting something more powerful.

Anonymous said...

I always expected the rev to have low specs and slightly better graphics than xbox games. After all, playing xbox360 games on a normal tv isnt't much butter either.

And it sure had a reason that nintendo didn't show specs so far - because they would only make people bitch about the rev. Since kaplan said that rev will have ~ 2xpower of the gamecube and several other nintendo statements hinted to the same direction, I always laughed about people who thought that rev would have "near ps3 and better than xbox360" power or that it would have some kind of new uber super software technology which would make everything photorealistic.. not to mention all the visor nonsens etc.

I hope that people will now finally begin to accept that rev has less power than xbox360 and that the last "secret" has nothing to do with graphics.. damn that fucking console is not about graphics, try to understand that already.

Anonymous said...

I think. Revolution last secret is some thing really expensive. So ... Thay reduce specs to fit it in price. that all.

Well, Iwata already confessed that the controller development was insanely expensive.

I guess we'll have to see if there is something else...

Anonymous said...

*Agrees with Brian about the Architecture.*

Gamecube Squared sounds awesome to me. I'm just glad they released some specs. They have been telling us what they were going to be for an entire year now, and hopefully the insane fanboys will come to terms and realize that this little bad-boy is going to take us in a whole new direction.

I really can't wait to hear the ignorant comments that are going to spew forth out of the MS & Sony Fanboy camps. "OMFG IT SUXORZ!"

Cheers Nintendo!
*I liked the GO = Gamecube Overclocked, that was funny!*

Anonymous said...

WOW at this rate in E3 they will say that it is less than GC.

I smell this is as a early Aprill folls, but if this is true then it is better it be much less than 99$, with top games starting at 20$, anyway I still dont belive it I need much more evidences to that.

I wonder if this is a lie why do IGN keep it, everything else point to a significant better console, as it only make sense given dev times/money, todays price HW, case size etc...

Anonymous said...

Great news. These are the specs that Nintendo had told us, 2 to 3 times more powerfull then GC.

Why are people surprised?

Bring it on Nintendo!!!

I'm still hoping for a summer release. : )

RGB said...

........

People are devostated, fanboys are crying, the gaming community is in a dilemma.

Heh its quite pathetic. I am relaxing here pondering what the games are going to be like.

I want to actually want to play games again. Rev is my only hope.

The people who are whining about power will soon get over it once they get their hands on the games. Just in time for E3 no doubt.

Relax, I can say I am and cant wait to play some games in a new way instead of the uninteresting games (bar a few) in todays world.

I also wish I can play SF2 with the new controller intead of using a dpad to do hadokens or shoryukens etc. I could think of many games I could play again using this new technique, games that are actually fun. I know out of the box these games wont work with the controller but if game companies coded them to work with it, it would be great.

I'm not worried at all.

No developer has said a bad word, only good, and only praises have been said to actually how this system will amaze people. Who gives a shit about paper specs. Maybe people who havent been playing games as long as I have maybe, I shouldnt generalise.

By the way Brian, is that picture of you?

Anonymous said...

And again , and again the ConsoleWar continues. On the one hand we have gamers who want a powerful machine, on the other hand we have the gamers who want gameplay. It is always the same, each year ! Therefore i can only say, buy your system that you consider as the best !
I must confess that i agree with anonym that graphicpower can help to bring innovation to the market, because the past proved it. Because most gamers always hope to a graphically upgrade when they are gonna buy a next gen console, that is the wheel of nature ! But horsepower is not everything ! We will see, but the future, especially E3 will be very interesting and make all of us more intelligent about the future of gaming. Peace

Anonymous said...

im sorry but i see no differance in x360 graffix only when hd is turned on so what do you want from a system with no hd? i am very pleased. current graffix already look great

Anonymous said...

What beats me is why the CPU and GPU isn't clocked higher. Sure, CPU architecture may differ and clock speed cannot be compared between different platforms. But either way, a 729 Mhz CPU is far behind a 3,2 Ghz CPU. In the case of Nintendo vs Xbox360 vs PS3, all three use architecture based on the PowerPC platform. If Apple could pack a 1,33 Ghz PPC in the Apple Mini, I don't see why Nintendo couldn't.

Sure, Revolution will not have HD-graphics and will not need the same horsepower as the Xbox360 and PS3. But even so, more power does have a significant impact on graphics. I think most would agree that even with SD, we would like graphics that equal what the Xbox360 can deliver (and no, most Xbox360 titles so far does not deliver what the system is capable of). A well rounded architecture is all good, but why not keep the design and up the clock speeds?

Anonymous said...

I thought ATI said that the Hollywood was going to be a new GPU from zero, not based on any other GPU, and the article says taht Hollywood is a Flipper, so who's right in this case?
If this info (the article) were true, then Revolution would cost arround $99 to $150 dlrs, that would be nice.

~Codename: Zorra Fácil

Anonymous said...

Earlier this week company president Satoru Iwata appeared to suggest that a worldwide simultaneous launch was not part of the firm's plan. Now Nintendo says that's not what he meant at all.

A spokesperson offered, "The comments have been taken out of context. What he’s actually saying is that we’re not holding a worldwide launch just because everyone else is doing one too. It’s just another re-iteration of the fact that we’re not looking at what Sony or Microsoft are doing. Unfortunately, it seems everyone’s jumped on it and got the wrong idea."

Source: MCV

Shoxware Games said...

To everyone, who names RE4 all the time... It takes much time and money and a very talented team to produce graphics like RE4. Do you recall any other GCN title, that looked so fabulous? NO! And you have to look at things from a long-term perspective... in the year 2008 / 09 X360 and PS3 will have absolutely stunning visuals, and massmarket gamers are looking at graphics... and violence. Say what you want - it IS so! And then nintendo comes up, and says - whoo this is our remote! Play with it! I really, really do hope, that Nintendo's strategy is successful, but its not guaranteed. Especially in USA and Europe!

Besides - German magazine "Maniac" also claims, to have a big exclusive in their next issue!

Anonymous said...

Hahaha great new logo!

Anonymous said...

The ATi team has said the Rev's GPU is not an extension of the Flipper design.
I am perplexed at why the ATi guys would say one thing and Matt's sources would say the opposite on multiple occasions.

Clock speeds are the only thing comparable about the hardware. Different architecture, RAM, CPU type, GPU brand, etc...

Wait for some damn video or screens.

Anonymous said...

cube mapping texture mapping camera angle and view point patent hollywood all custom the list could go on this console even at these low ON PAPER LOOKING spec will kick ass more power more hardwired apl and effects inproved efficancy and new high densaty 1t sram= massive 480p graphics power we know nothing about hollywood we know nothing of final specs and remember these specs are from a yank site that is biased to a yank console seeking revo specs from pro microsoft thro money at me bill developers who are in league with ign to do nothing but damage i think nintendo should sever all ties with ign and compleatly shut them out of new news

Anonymous said...

to the guy a cpl of posts above me only res evil 4 was good looking on cube BULL SHITER ALERT wind waker best cell shading ever still unsupassed res evil 1/0/4 all better looking than any xbox game prime 2 vs halo 2 no contest prime 2 kicked its ass big time graphicly and had much shorter loadtimes most EA GAMES look better on cube than xbox (no i dont buy them honest there not mine)cube 8 times texture pass 24 bit colour xbox 4 times texture pass 16 bit colour please get facts right allso like to add that the most advanced and highest polygon counts this gen were on gamecube THAT IS INDUSTRE FACT

Shoxware Games said...

No, EA games do not look better on Cube then Xbox. And "Zelda: The Wind Waker" had nice graphics, but Okami (PS2) has better graphics. So nothing bullshit. Maybe this is your opinion, but this is fact!

Don't get me wrong. I love nintendo, Zelda and co.

And RE 1/0 are pre-rendered!

Anonymous said...

you all are retarded to be arguing about this crap.

you CAN have great graphics AND great gameplay. thats where nintendo should have headed. im fine with their decision, but would have preferred high def to go with my revmote. oh well.


and about the virtual console...just imagine being in a tournament online playing...tecmo super bowl.


if nintendo could somehow get that exclusive, that would own the sports gamers from sony and ms.

i cant wait.

Anonymous said...

For the million slaves of polycount i have to say only one thing: i play unreal tournament 2004 at max resolution, effects and whatever on my 1.2 ghz ibook with NO slowdown.
Period.

I'm really excited about the revmote and the opportunities it spreads, who remembers the the trackball of ASTEROIDS in the arcades? Come on, we're still playin' TETRIS 20 years after its release and you're preoccupied about the graphics? I smell something incredible about revolution; think of DS, the success of nintendo wi-fi connection... i'm really not worried about what ninty's doing, and it's the same show everytime , low specs on paper, great performances, have you forgot E3 2001?

i trust nintendo at least they say the thruth, and you can't say the same for sony and microsoft.

Anonymous said...

asteroids did not have a track ball it had left right thrust fire and hyperspace buttons.
Missle command and centipede had trackballs.
Also the revolution graphics should be fine at double RE4 I really could not complain, plus the PS3 is having developer problems and the Xbox360 has not impressed at all.
Lets see what other secrets nintendo will reveal also.

Anonymous said...

ah yes,you're right; however, i'm feeling like a kid, i want to see revo games, i'm shure i'll be not disappointed at all

Anonymous said...

So we've posted an updated look at the Revolution specs and the message boards have collectively imploded. A quick browse through some threads shows that Nintendo fans are by and large in an uproar over the console's power. This is an unfortunate eventuality, and also one that stems mostly from a mentality that insists Nintendo is competing with Microsoft and Sony, which it isn't.

As could be predicted, a few stupidly devoted posters out there refuse to budge from their position that Nintendo can do no wrong, and have as a result launched a counter-attack against IGN or, even better, me. Some incredible douchebag on another forum even referred to me colorfully as "Assamassina," which I admit is a pretty cool handle; I have used it once or twice myself. This same person then called into question my credibility, saying that my track record speaks for itself. Indeed, it does. If you've read the Nintendo section of IGN for any amount of time, you know that we have our sources, we break stories, and far more often than not, our information is accurate. I don't need to defend myself beyond that.

These Revolution specs should come as no surprise to most people. Back in December we reported more or less the same thing without hard numbers. Let's move past that, though. Nintendo's own leaders have stated more times than can be counted that Revolution is not a console focused on horsepower. Its executives have flat-out dismissed the possibility of high-definition graphics on the system. When Revolution is the topic, three words keep coming up: small, quiet, affordable. Where does massive horsepower fit into this equation?

Even so, I want to be clear on the point that hardware specs rarely tell the full story. We listed Xbox's CPU and GPU speeds compared to Revolution's, but readers should not assume that they are really comparable. These are different architectures. Fact is, GameCube's PowerPC-based Gekko CPU and ATI-developed Flipper GPU held their own against Xbox despite the fact that Microsoft's console's speeds were -- on paper -- dramatically faster. Further, these specs do not account for bandwidth, RAM speed, and other important factors. I expect that when Revolution finally surfaces, it will be a console whose strengths are greater than the sum of the parts we've listed thus far. Please, please keep that in mind.

At the same time, if you're still holding out for the miracle, do me a favor and stop. It seems that every time we write anything hardware related, there are the skeptics with the retaliatory comment, "Why does IGN post hearsay as fact? Nobody has final development hardware!!11111" Yes, the "1s" are there to demonstrate that these people are freakin' morons. I did not wake up today, roll into the office and write a piece of literary fiction for readers to enjoy in lieu of legitimate news. This is not "hearsay" or rumor. These specs we post, they are copy/pasted to us directly from Nintendo's latest (as in, in the last couple of weeks) Revolution documentation. Quoted to us verbatim. And these quotes do not come from creatures that exist inside my head. I am talking with numerous development sources with hardware; people who have been briefed by Nintendo about what to expect from the final machine. Some of these people are preparing games to show at E3 2006, which is one month away. in short, they know what to expect; they aren't working with old materials; they aren't relaying old specs; and we aren't posting out-of-date information.

Is everything set in stone? Nope. If history has taught me anything, it's that hardware specs can and do change. Xbox 360 had 256MBs of RAM during a major phase of the development cycle. That number only doubled later in the cycle, likely after Sony relayed specs for PlayStation 3 to studios. That being true, there's always the chance that some of Revolution's numbers may change before the system finally hits retail shelves. I certainly wouldn't mind if the 88MBs of main RAM in the console increased before or after E3 2006. At the same time, you're not going to see the CPU and GPU suddenly quadruple in speeds; it just doesn't work that way. The numbers we have now -- they're the same as they were in December and before that. Final dev kits in June will be reflective of that -- not in conflict with it.

GameCube saw some beautiful, epic games, and Revolution utilizes almost twice the power. The console is going to get its fair share of gorgeous software, I can guarantee you.

Some gamers are -- whether they have admitted it to themselves or not -- obsessed with the notion that Revolution must compete visually with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. From that point of view, it's easy to look at the console's tech specs and wonder why they are not as powerful as the others. But I propose you take a different point of view -- one that puts graphics in the back seat and gameplay up front. Ask yourself why Microsoft and Sony have not advanced their controllers. Look at what Nintendo is attempting with Revolution's free-style pointer. Look at the technology in place there. Now, imagine the gameplay possibilities that may await because of this new device, which is, at least to me, fundamentally more important than any bump in graphic horsepower. This is the driving force behind Revolution. Whether the final system will live up to Nintendo's ambitions, I have no idea. But I'll tell you, quite honestly, that the potential is enormous.

From Matts Blog

Anonymous said...

Hey fal, i think something happened to the nintendo centrum blog you have linked. I went to it and it seems...well it is quite clear that someone vandalized it. They have a new blog up and running though...i think its nin-centrum.blogspot.com

thought you might like to know

Anonymous said...

If the controller does not take off, Nintendo are in a big dilemma, all TV sold these days are HD and the with world cup coming this will kick start the sales.

The revolution CPU and GPU looks less powerful than my 3 year old PC. May be they should call the system GameCube 1.01 with new controller.

I thought the system will be at least...
CPU 2.4 GHz
GPU 450 MHz

Nintendo is design & innovation friendly but technology unfriendly. The revolution is like the DS bare minimum graphics with great innovation, come on The DS does not even support anti aliasing how backwards that is!

It’s not a full leap but half leap. A love them and hate them situation, but I’m not too fussed I made mistake of buying my gamecube on launch day in the UK near total disappoint except monkey ball and RE 4. This time around I’m buying the PS3 First and wait and see how the Revolution turns out….

Anonymous said...

A few things not spelled out about the specs:

If the Rev CPU is similar to the GCN (as we all suspect) then its an Out-of-Order (OOO) processor with a pretty nice amount of cache, possibly even larger than the Gekko's. The OOO stuff helps with the physics and AI routines to such a large extent that it decreases the advantages of the X360's faster and more numerous cores (which are in-order). Now, the X360 is still more powerful, but the margin is not "quite" as large.

The cache may be larger than the X360's (no reference, just my personal suspicion) which also helps the physics, AI, and custom lighting codes (_Luigi's Mansion_ showcased a lot of custom lighting). Its also important that the Gekko had very advanced techniques to lock down cache-lines and prevent thrashing. Those features went a long way to maximizing the GCN's power, and I figure they'll go a long way with the Rev too.

Also, the 1T-SRAM (really its DRAM, but who's counting) is sustainably low-latency. Nintendo advertised the GCN's memory could sustain 10ns latencies. The Gekko ran at 485 MHz, so one cycle is ~3ns. So the Gekko could access memory about every 3-4 cycles, which is hundreds less than the Xbox, and most likely the X360 and PS3. Now, if MoSys (makers of GCN's RAM) can get that latency down to ~7 ns, then the 3-4 cycles access times remain constant. Worst case, the RAM stays 10 ns, with a 729 MHz processor (about 2 ns per cycle), brings cyclic latency up to around 5-6 cycles to access memory. Of course, that's one-way and not accounting for other factors.

Its still much, much lower than on Xbox, PS2, X360, PS3. It helps keep the cache full and the processor busy. There's also no the huge leap for compiler technology to make as with the PS3 design.

Finally, the 3MB texture memory is probably like the GCN's: 2 MB framebuffer/z-buffer and 1 MB texture memory. That 1 MB can use S3TC compressed textures (and chunks at that, instead of the entire texture) which compress 6:1. Its more like having 6 MB texture memory, even though there is some artifacting in the display. That 2 MB frame/z-buffer is large enough for standard definition and should work well as it did on the GCN.

It should be pointed out that many of the very fancy lighting, bump-mapping, shadowing, and heat/water waving tricks the GCN games pulled off were because of the way it uses this bit of 3 MB of memory. Its all 1T-SRAM and any improvements to that technology will also improve "Hollywood's" ability to deliver nice graphical effects.

So, yeah, its less powerful than X360 and PS3, but some of the gap is not as wide as many suspect. I doubt it'll matter so much though: the N64 spanked the PS1 in power and the GCN is arguably more powerful than the PS2. More power does not equal more marketshare or more entertaining games. Can it help, sure, but its not a requisite for most forms of gameplay.

Anonymous said...

Didn't nintendo say that there processor was not based on the gekko. If they did that means what Matt got was anther development kits specs like he did last time.

Anonymous said...

This is in response to the idea that graphics is the primary innovation in games.

I would just like to point out that Half Life two could be played on a 1 ghz cpu w/ 32 mbs of mobility radeon graphics ram. the main innovation in half life two was the use of physics in the game. graphics plays a role, but any decently designed graphics card can handle hdr. mobility x300 anyone? If youve ever played half life 2 on a non hdr tv youll realize that a 32 mb mobility graphics card is more than enough to make it look better than any console game out there. I personally find it hard playing first person shooters w/ a joystick. i couldnt think of a less intuitive approach...

Anonymous said...

The revolution CPU and GPU looks less powerful than my 3 year old PC. May be they should call the system GameCube 1.01 with new controller.

I thought the system will be at least...
CPU 2.4 GHz
GPU 450 MHz

Nintendo is design & innovation friendly but technology unfriendly.


Moron.. you even know what technology is?

Also cut that mhz bullshit, show me your fucking pc with 2,4 ghz and 450 mhz gpu that beats the gamecube with its lousy rates.. and then tell me the difference in $ for those two systems.

Technology is more than mhz and a pretty picture from an expensive device..

Retro Mike said...

When it comes to the new systems the only numbers that I'm interested in have a dollar sign in front of them.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone what day or time Nintendo plans on their Keynote at E3. I have been looking all over and have turned up with nothing, I would really like to know.

On another note, Nintendo is going down the right road, not only inovating how we will play, but also offering more the sufficant graphics.

Since when has a computer been compared to a console?!?

Anonymous said...

falafelkid, dude,
did you see this quote from the Pandemic Studios guy?

"Well, the Revolution is a very different platform, and we've actually just seen some things behind closed doors that are just mind-blowing," he said. "Very, very exciting. They're doing something that's very different and unique."

source: http://revolution.ign.com/articles/699/699037p1.html

...wait a minute. MIND BLOWING? VERY diffent and unique? hmm... so... the controller that we've all been seeing since last year is what he was shown behind closed doors and blew his mind? no. hell no. this is about the REAL revolution. any thoughts, man?

-tactics.

Anonymous said...

HAHA, i think its a mistake, but if you look on the lower left here on 1UP, it says that TP for gamecube will be released on April 1st. APRIL FOOLS!

I already E-mailed them about it.

Anonymous said...

http://gamecube.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=2019488

Anonymous said...

Also, i just read an artical on IGN. Heres the important part of the interview:

IGN: There's still a Revolution secret, apparently. It gets mentioned every now and again.

[Beth laughs]

IGN: Is it a big secret?

Beth: It depends on which one it is, I don't know. Clearly there are things we haven't said yet about Revolution, mainly talking about the games and what you're going to be able to play and what the experience is really like. But yes, there are still some secrets out there about what the system can do.

IGN: Hardware related secrets?

Beth: You know, maybe. It's kind of hard to say. There are just a lot of things that we haven't talked about yet. There's a lot more to learn.

____________________________________

Sounds like there may be MORE then one secret. DAMN YOU NINTENDO, all you do is toy with my mind and my dreams.

Anonymous said...

Whoop-de-doo. I'll get a Rev anyways. I don't care.

Anonymous said...

IDK, but apparently, the account has been suspended. If you just put
http://www.zhq2.com

thats what it says.....
DAMN!

Anonymous said...

This is the End , the beautiful End of Nintendo in making consoles ! They did not learn anything from the past. EU and US will not accept such a console ! Perphans in Japan, they will have success with games like Nintendogs Revolution or some kiddy crap ! But sometimes, i wonder about stupid decisions of leaders in the game industry ! They should stop dreaming and shoud be more agressive in the market, especially Nintendo. It is a disaster since the release of N64 !! The best surprise is the latest Zelda for DS ! Have you seen the graphs ? oh my god it sucks !! It is so ugly !! They had better deciced to create a 2D Zelda than this crap ! But this time i will not ride on the sinking ship, like the last times !! It is sad to see that a beloved company is making mistakes all the years without correcting them !!

Anonymous said...

To bring Zelda Twilight Princess to Gamecube is the most stupid decision in history, instead of lauching it for the REVO as a lauchgame ! Maybe this is the biggest secret, how dumb people must be...

Anonymous said...

Oh, my comment was aimed at the guy saying this is the end for Nintendo. Don't forget, Nintendo is the only console maker who makes a profit on hardware from day 1.

Anonymous said...

To the anonymous that are very sceptical about the future of Nintendo. Nintendo is actually making the right choice by differentiating itself from it's direct competitors. The gamecube was the worst selling Nintendo console ever, because it did not stand out against the 2 other competing systems. Nintendo has embraced a new filosofy. Do not beat the competition with more expensive horsepower, but be different. I truly believe that with this approach Nintendo will win back a lot of gamers and also will expand the market as it already did with the Nintendo DS, the fastest selling handheld gaming device ever. I haven't bought consoles myself for years. Because I did not see any true innovation, but I think I will buy a Revolution, just because it's so radically different. It should be awesome to play an actiongame or a rts with the Nintendo controller.I just hope that Nintendo still has some nice surprises, that they haven't revealed yet. The many hints Nintendo is dropping in this direction should mean something.

Anonymous said...

I haven´t red the comments of the
last news. So, if you already know
these things, don´t become angry. ;-)


1. Like Falafelkid told us,
Nintendo Power claiming they
will have "the biggest scoop
of the year so far" on the
next edition´s cover.

2. The german GamePro-magazine
also claims, that in the next
issue they will have a very
huge exklusive-story, with a
brand new way to play games.

3. The english EDGE shows on
the last page (that´s always
the preview-page for the next
issue) only a big blue "5"!

EDIT:
4. The german N-ZONE-magazine
claims on their website, that
they´ll have a story about the
Revolution in the next issue;
including the first screenshot
of a revolution-title and the
names of all development-studios,
which are working on rev-games.


But remember, that the first of
April is coming close.

Anonymous said...

Now i know why Nintendo is bringing Twilight Princess to Gamecube. It is simple, because there is no big difference between the hardwares !! LOL ! That simply means, that you will hardly notice a difference between last generation Gamecube titles and first-gen REVO titles !

Anonymous said...

And where is the huge difference
between cube and 360 titles?

Anonymous said...

Will they publish their mag's on the first of april ? What could the mysterious "5" mean ? Does anybody believe that the last secret could be anything with augmented reality or 3D visor ?

Brian said...

Grandmaster B - Yeah, that's me. I suffer from retarded development of the pituitary gland, which means that for eighteen years of my life, I needed injections every night carrying growth hormone, or I would have remained the same size. I'm still under average size at 5'6, but my youthful looks will continue for some time, it seems...


Idiot - Did the 8-bit limitations of the C64 limit Apex Software's creative ambitions regarding Mayhem in Monsterland? No. Did the 16-bit chips in the Mega Drive and SNES limit their developer's artistic creativity? No. Likewise N64, PlayStation, and every machine released since. Hell, even the Jaguar had Jeff Minter's Tempest 2000, and who could not remember that game, with it's distinctive, "trippy" graphics?

Are you saying that the Revolution's "low power" will influence the creative direction Nintendo will take with it's games?

Creative design and choice will always pull ahead of limited power. As someone else mentioned, Okami on the PS2 looks incredible. Did it's limitations as compared to the GameCube and X-Box influence it's developer?

No. Art over technology. Always.

Anonymous said...

Back to the roots :
Did you know that the mega drive had a CPU which was 3 times faster than the SNES ! But the SNES had more and better memory (Rams) ! The history will repeat itself, because Nintend does not have to concentrate on HD Graphics !

RGB said...

How old are you now? I was born with a defect too, which I wont divulge here but I know what it is like. Nothing that effects my appearence though.

Thats a good point Brian, art over technology.

I was watching I think my mate play Rez and it was on DC. It is one game that looked fun and stuck in my mind. Other games that bring my attention this gen are Zelda WW, Viewtiful Joe & Killer 7 simple because of the cel graphics and style.

Great graphics in games only last a moment and get lost in the gameplay but we also cant deny that graphics sell systems. I think that is money thing and Sony IMO dont care much about innovating (more copying) the industry standards. I just wonder about them sometimes. I was really annoyed about them turning down software on their system due to it being 2D.

Sure I havent given many examples here but just adding something onto what Brian commented on.

People in the end will follow what is interesting to them. Lets just hope for the sake of gaming that it is not graphics over gameplay even though I am sure Nintendo will have awesome looking games.

RGB said...

Umm Alex correct me if I am wrong but the translation I used doesnt tell us anything we dont know already. It has specs that IGN posted and a mention of software not costing more than $50 a title.

Brian said...

Good post, Grandmaster B.

And, just for posterity, I'll be twenty-eight this July. Though I must add that it's not just my pituitary gland that's doing it - though it helps - everyone in my mother's side of the family looks very young, too. My sister will be twenty-four this year and she still gets caught for ID at bars and the like. My other sister will be twenty-seven this year, and nobody who doesn't know her believes it of her.

But that's enough of that! I'd also just like to mention that simple graphics don't mean a game isn't visually appealing. Just as you mentioned Rez, I'm going to mention Vib Ribbon. This was a game released on the PSOne years back - featuring an extremely low-polygon rabbit jumping around a black and white environment that would look home on the BBC Micro. Yet, could people forget this game? Will they remember Vib Ribbon, or will they remember sub-average games like the first generation PSOne game Warhawks, which for the time had a high-polygon environment?

RGB said...

I vaguely remember ViB Ribbon, I think it is the one I am thinking of. Just wasnt much of a good game but was quite impressive artistically/visually. I just didnt think much of it back then due to other things taking my mind.

There were plenty of impressive things done on the C64. I couldnt believe they got SF2 out on it. Considering the technology, it was quite a good attempt.

As crap as this game was, Clay Fighter for SNES was quite impressive. Nintendo hardware no matter how inferior it is to the competition always has great things come out of it.

Yes you definately dont look 18, I also turn 28 around the same time as you this year.

(Just a side argument, SF2 was always better on Super Famicom than MD.)

Anyway I cant wait for the games to be shown so people can relax and take a chill pill.

Brian said...

Vib Ribbon was less a game, and more an experience. You could pop in an audio cd and let the rabbit jump to the sounds, or control him yourself. I saw it playing on a 52" screen once in a nightclub.

And yeah, I also can't wait for the games to appear. But there will always be idiots crying that Nintendo's end has come, because of the choices they make. There have been idiots saying such things since the days of the SNES.

And yeah, the SNES had a very slow processor - 3MHz, I believe, while the Mega Drive's was 8MHz. But the SNES had the advantage in graphics and sound - SNES games had richer, more vibrant colours, while the Mega Drive's games looked washed out in comparison. And they sounded truly awful. Still, it was a good console, I'm not bashing it.

RGB said...

Alex:

a href="insert link here"> insert name of link here /a

Just put < before the first bold a and a < before the second 'a' and a > after the second 'a'.

This way the link will be clickable and wont be stuffed up like how you have it now. I cant access your whole link.

However I visited the site and it says nothing new? If its the same link.

RGB said...

If there was no MD I may not of been able to play Castlevania Bloodlines. (although it would of probably went to super fam)

I really didnt like the MD at all. It did have some decent games though.

RGB said...

Alex, yeh someone had pasted a link to them saying that somewhere.

I always knew it was out of context. People need to learn to read behind the lines in the corporate world.

? said...

I know others have touched on this but I feel a need to reiterate. . .

Generally this is an awesome (and accurate) blog.

The headline though is a big exception -- it is simply misleading, period.

History shows that newer processors do more per clock cycle than the previous generation.

This still says nothing about the processor architecture itself and other attributes such as memory bandwidth (etc.).

To say Rev has Xbox specs is a grossly inaccurate headline.

Would have grabbed just as much attention by saying "Rev Specs Revealed?" or something similar.

Again, overall, this blog rocks. This is just one exception.

game on said...

Right now I just want to see the games. Resident Evil and Zelda both look amazing so I am eager to see what the new games will look like. E3 is only a month away!

Anonymous said...

I posted some info regarding my opinion of the Revolutions CPU and GPU functionality. There has also been the ATI comment about the Hollywood GPU being "built from the ground up for a specific console". Even if Hollywood is a direct descendant of the Flipper GPU this comment still holds true.

For example, Hollywood will have to handle all of the Gamecube I/O stuff, including memory cards, controllers, and Gamecube discs. Hollywood also has to handle all of the Revolution I/O, including Revo discs, CD-ROM^2 discs (for Hudson's games from TurboGraphix 16), the new controller, SD cards, the flash memory, USB connections, WI-FI, and who knows what else.

Its a sure bet that Hollywood is manufactured on a different process than Flipper. For instance, I think Flipper is manufactured at .18 microns, and today's technology is in the .9 to .065 micron state. This allows for less heat and higher clock speeds than the Flipper could obtain.

So, even if Flipper and Hollywood share the same architecture and basic feature set, Hollywood is exactly "built from the ground up for a specific console". There's no conflict.

Also, a lot of people are moaning about no mention of shader technology. Duh! The Flipper didn't use shaders, which are small GPU sub-processors that manipulate texture memory (pixel/fragment shaders) or geometry. The Flipper (and, presumably, by extension Hollywood), use a different method. Its still programmable. It still manipulates geometry and texture memories, but its programmable in a different manner. The power is equivalent, with tradeoffs on both sides of the aisle.

RGB said...

Ubisoft's FPS Katana (Link)

Ubisoft is currently developing an exclusive Revolution first-person shooter codenamed “Katana” for Revolution. This first-person game combines shooting elements with swordplay ones, according to sources. What’s more, it’s incredibly violent and adult-themed.

It is not a April fools joke.

Anonymous said...

100 haha

Anonymous said...

Its official...
Nintendo revolution will now be known as Nintendo Nplay

source: nintendo.com

Anonymous said...

sorry...i forgot to add that was released by www.revolutionreport.com

Anonymous said...

Now I'm beginning to think it might be an april fool's joke on the part of Revolution Report!!

Dag-nabbit!!

Steve said...

I've a quick question for anyone. Since Revolution won't support HD, I was thinking, will stretching the image from a Revolution to fill a widescreen TV screw up the pointing? I mean, if the technology is assuming a picture with an aspect ratio of 4:3, if that's stretched to fill a 16:9 TV - without the console knowing about it - won't that completely mess up the ability to point at an exact location on screen?

Anonymous said...

I don't think Nintendo would let that mess it up. We don't know about the technology yet, though.

Anonymous said...

people!

Ask your self - what is "Hollywood"
In term of visuals. What can you pinpoint that is tipically Hollywood?

Now turn to "Broadway"...


/Silver

Anonymous said...

Revolution will not be NPLAY.
Did you follow the link to the nintendo press page?
NO it is fake and they are joking about the april fools joke in the forums.
MY god research before you post garabage.

Anonymous said...

OMG new picture of the rev?!?! is this the real name ???

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8378/pic00075pb.jpg

Anonymous said...

What are you thinking about the launch date? In my opinion Nintendo has to release their new console before sony, and therefore a june or july release would be realistic.
My predictions : REVO in june, 10 launch games, Virtual Console is fully available,REVO in different colours, and yeah the secret ( i think its something mindblowing,like 3D visors !)
Possible Launch games : Smas bros, New Mario, Nintendogs, Braintrain,Metroid 3 etc.
im interested in your visions about the future, what is the community thinking ?

RGB said...

OMG new picture of the rev?!?! is this the real name ???

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/8378/pic00075pb.jpg


Thats fake. A bad one.

Anonymous said...

nintendo has no chance to catch up to xbox360 and ps3 they continue to make bad moves with every system they make im tired of them giving me half ass consoles...this is from a former hardcore ninty fan

Anonymous said...

Go nintendo has a rumor that the last secret is AMBIANT LIGHTING. Example would be that your health would be shown by the glow that comes from the console itself, and projects onto the wall, heres the quote from gonintendo

According to an anonymous source, a certain “revolutionary” feature has been recently revealed to select members of the industry under an oath of secrecy.

“. . .There were things seen behind closed doors during GDC. Things that weren’t immediately understood, but which have now been made clear.”

What exactly are these “things” mentioned? The source claims that Nintendo has developed an “ambient lighting” system for their next console, code-named Revolution.

Wuzzat you say? Well apparently, special lights will flood the floor and walls surrounding the television with a soft light of varying color and intensity, the purpose being to create a more visually immersive experience. The lighting can be used to reflect on-screen luminance, creating the illusion that the action is not limited to the confines of your television screen, or can be utilized in any other way imaginable to the discretion of the developer.

It is also claimed that the free-hand controller unit itself will feature two lighted strips, also of varying color and intensity. An example is given that while playing a game such as Metroid, the color of the controller lights could indicate the beam weapon equipped, and the intensity of the light can increase as the weapon is charged.

Further examples of how this functionality can be utilized are given, claiming “. . .everything from player health, to direction indicators, to larger simulated screen area. . .” can be displayed with the technology.

No further information about these lights, including where would be mounted (perhaps on the mysterious sensor bar?), was included in the claim.

This is, of course, entirely unconfirmed.
It is interesting to note, however, that previous remarks were given about Nintendo having behind-the-scenes demonstrations at GDC. Also recall Myamoto’s quoted remarks on wanting to move gaming beyond the television, and eventually filling the room.


A cool idea if you ask me

RGB said...

nintendo has no chance to catch up to xbox360 and ps3 they continue to make bad moves with every system they make im tired of them giving me half ass consoles...this is from a former hardcore ninty fan

1. Nintendo have not released their system yet.

2. Sony have not released their system yet.

3. Xbox 360 sales have not been unbelievable.

4. You have seen no games of the Rev.

5. Nintendo are the most profitable game company out of the 3 so where do you get off saying they continue to make bad moves? The only moves they have made was to effect more profits with the Nintendo 64 and GC. Sales and popularity of the rev is yet to be seen, as with PS3.

Anonymous said...

"nintendo has no chance to catch up to xbox360 and ps3 they continue to make bad moves with every system they make im tired of them giving me half ass consoles...this is from a former hardcore ninty fan "

How can the Revolution even catch up with the PS3 when it's not even out yet? The Xbox 360 is still in the process of growing, and you haven't any games from the Revolution, so shut it.

Anonymous said...

@ anonymous

"nintendo has no chance to catch up to xbox360 and ps3 they continue to make bad moves with every system they make im tired of them giving me half ass consoles...this is from a former hardcore ninty fan "

How can the Revolution even catch up with the PS3 when it's not even out yet? The Xbox 360 is still in the process of growing, and you haven't any games from the Revolution, so shut it.


the bad moves were the cartriges and mini-cds no enought memory to hold large games, now they have regular DVDs so shut up and wait for resulsts next year ass muncher...

Anonymous said...

"the bad moves were the cartriges and mini-cds no enought memory to hold large games, now they have regular DVDs so shut up and wait for resulsts next year ass muncher... "

Read my post again, Dick. I never said Nintendo didn't make any mistakes. The point I was trying to make on my post was that don't pass judgment on a system when they're hasn't been any concrete details.

Anonymous said...

You Nintendo folk are so funny ! Before you judge me as a Sony or MS Fanboy, im not ! Ok back to may statement: Yeah you N-folk know that you have the weakest system, not only by specs also by popularity ( example-Gamecube ), the REVO will follow the same way like the GC. You try to take something in protection, but in your heart you know that you are going to lose, ok, i must confess this is some loyality, but with such kind of support dont expect that your beloved company will ever learn from their mistakes ! I have also observed that "BigN" (LOL) is satisfied with his position during this sucking years ! ( Dont come now with comments like: We had Zelda and RE4 , hey the others had more and better !!! (=MGS,FF,DragonQ.,RE,GoW...). You know your problem is the same like your beloved company , you have become a coward in the market !! There is no juice in your actions, it is always the same, you say: "We bring innovation!" Ok, i confess, this is cool, but the others copy and make more success!! This is the cycle of economy! Your "BigN" has lost his aggressiveness, like in the old good days ! (NES and SNES). Instead of fighting and making powerful machines with developerfriendly components, they are doing the funniest (=sarcastical ) things. You know im looking forward to the REVO, to see what the next crap is ! But i dont expect something mindblowing or "revolutionary".

Anonymous said...

^ Anonymous...

DENIAL isn't just a river in Egypt.

you have become a coward in the market !!

And i dunno how N-Folk have become that? but anyway talk to us next year to see if you theory is true....

Anonymous said...

I agree with your statement, that the REVO will probably suck like his ancestors.
Here is a glimps how i would create the REVO:

CPU: 3.5 ghz PowerPC

Memory: 512 MB Video Memory: 256MB

Game Media Format: HD DVD

HDD: 80 GB

Launch Games: Zelda TP(but really for REVO,instead of GC!)
Metroid
New Mario
Nintendogs
Pokemon
Braintraining

This is what im calling a Revolution ! This kind of Hardware would definetly conquer the market ! They had only to create a hardware which is more powerful than the others !

Anonymous said...

YEAH i agree :

The most STUPID decision of the year is: To bring Zelda Twilight Princess for Gamecube, instead as a launch game for REVO.

( Maybe they like to stay losers all the time, and not learning from mistakes )

Jon Agirre said...

Wow... what a great amount of anonymous bravery.

Anonymous said...

Especially great if the same person posts 3 times in a row and pretends to be someone different.. but I don't give a fuck about what he/she/it is saying, because it's only senseless jabbering.

Only one thing about a 1000$ console would be revolutionary: rofl, you fail ed in sooo many ways.

Anonymous said...

Its always the same thing with Nintendo Fanboys like you. You are like children, you cant discuss about somethings, because you cant deliver some important aspects or even critizise your own beloved company. Maybe this isnt your fault, that your mind is so underdeveloped, because you are playing the whole time childish games ! LOL ! But who cares for your weak comments (reaction) , i mean your words speak for itself you coward. I mean i like Nintendo too, but im able to see their mistakes instead of you ! And if they stay on this route, than i will be able to play the next Zelda on my PS 4 in 2011, because they will say good bye to the console world !

Anonymous said...

why do xbox fans argue agaist FACT and whos the dick licker trying to say cell shading on ps2 comes anywewre near cubes cell shading whos the fanboy whos the fanboy nintendo fanboyizum is based on facts and history xbox and ps fanboyizum is based on a BADGE moron alert i clearly stated my comments were games industre fact and yet the zealots still arue agaist it twats i repeat some INDUSTRE FACTS DOSE THAT COMPUT FACTS 1 best ever graphics this gen res evil 4 gamecube version only to be bhettered by twilight princess (please dont argue against a fact it makes you look daft)2 best cell shading ever seen wind waker 3 best loading times gamecube both ps2 and xbox have stink load times 4best colour ps2 8 bit to 16 bit sometimes only 4bit xbox 16 bit gamecube 24 bit optermized 5 best pad gamecube anolog perfection and so dam melt in the hand cumphy no dont the zealots will try saying there meer opinions out way FACT agian whos the fanboy whos the fanboy

Anonymous said...

they only criticise what they envy. everyone just ignore them. we dont care about having the most up to date system. we want fun games and for a cheap price. hell, if the 360 were going to launch at around $200 i might get one. well, maybe not. i'd only get it for oblivion.

i want the old school nintendo games and the innovation only nintendo brings. let them cry and try to tell us were so dumb. there the ones that are too immature to realize that we dont want the same garbage from the last generation, except for $10 more per game now.

Anonymous said...

Dear anonymous,

you are jumping to conclusions. Nintendo has nothing to gain by doing the same thing as the 2 other competitors. We could already see that this current generation of consoles. Nintendo is doing the smart thing by taking a unique approach for their next console. Nintendo is explicitly differentiating itself from the competition by this new approach.And the new Revolution controller is something many will be eager to try. The unique features of the Nintendo Revolution will make it a far better selling product than the gamecube ever was.The revolution has also another feature that has not been highlighted enough from marketingview. The Revolution is aestatically the best looking device if you look at the new generation.This will also be al major seller. The Nintendo Revolution will offer the better innovation in gameplay and has in my opinion already been better marketed than both the XBOX360 as the the PS3. I would not be surprised if Nintendo would win this round. And I'm almost certain that the sales for the Revolution will be far better than the sales for the gamecube. I am actually more concerned about the 2 other consolemakers. Will the XBOX franchise ever become a profitable business for Microsoft? Thus far it has only cost Microsoft money. And will Sony be able to earn back it's huge investments?

Anonymous said...

to True Believer

Yes you are right by mentioning the design ! The design of the REVO is really a class for itself ! It is very stylish !

Anonymous said...

I have a question about the WiFi Service :
When you buy the USB stick, how far is the availability of the signal ? I mean, is it possible to play through walls and distances ? And Can you use the USB stick also for Revo ? Does this stick deliver an internet connection to REVO to use for example for Virtual Console ? What are you thinking ?

Anonymous said...

to anon at 12:54-

i use the USB stick in my apartment for my (and my wife's) ds. it works great! it reaches through 2 walls, about 30 feet, to my bathroom with 3 signal bars (full) and i was even playing tetris as i walked out to my car in the parking lot (maybe 50 feet, 2 walls) so that's not bad either. the only problem i have run into is this: if you use different "windows xp logins" as in, multiple users on a single windows xp computer, (like my wife and i do,) it will drop your connection when changing users. pretty dumb, but not a *huge* inconvenience.

also, nintendo has not announced if it will be compatible with revolution or not, but knowing nintendo's backward compatibility strategies of the past makes me believe that it will.

-tactics.

Anonymous said...

oh, and to the anonymous who made the comment about nintendo releasing "half-assed" consoles:

you're trippin, fool. nintendo is the only company that releases 100% flawless hardware and always has. show me a nintendo system that overheats, crashes, scratches disks, or burns its laser out in 6 months. these are symptoms of half-assed hardware. these also happen to be common problems associated with sony and microsoft machines. i still play my NES almost every day. even the batteries in both of my "Zelda" cartridges work. nintendo has never EVER released ANYthing "half-assed," but, nice try.

'nuff said.

-tactics.

Anonymous said...

dude tactics now your full of shit you dont remember blowing into your nes and cartridge when trying to play a game? you dont remember metroid prime freazing on you when going up an elevator. come on now. nintendo isnt emaculate.

Anonymous said...

when you spent $400 + on your console of course you are gonna say its better than nintendo, but either way X-box trolls only have 2 games worth saying next - gen graphics PG3 'n' Oblivion, so nintendo still has time to catch up...

By the time Nintendo launches, Xbox 360 is gonna have like 6 - 7 games worth playing and probably 4 more worth looking, nintendo is gonna launch with 6 - 7 games worth playing. Even the FPS that suck on Xbox are gonna be fun on Revolution, Revmote Baby Revmote

Anonymous said...

Nintendo's dumbest decision so far this generation is naming this Zelda "Twilight Princess". The name alone would sell better if it didn't have "princess" in it. Phantom Hourglass or whatever the name for the DS one would've been better.

Anonymous said...

http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=revolution&message.id=921452

Jon Gardner said...

"Nintendo's dumbest decision so far this generation is naming this Zelda "Twilight Princess". The name alone would sell better if it didn't have "princess" in it. Phantom Hourglass or whatever the name for the DS one would've been better."

Are you 12? "Princess! Oh gawd! How gay!" I happen to think that Twilight Princess is a fine name that makes me curious about the story.

Brian said...

To the (yet another) Anonymous, this one who posted his would-be specifications of the Revolution -

So what you're saying is, let's just beef up the power like the X-Box 360 and the PS3? That's your Revolution? Just do what the other two are doing?

Such a post just goes to show the limitations of your imagination. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Nintendo will use the same Marketing like they did with DS. And therefore the REVO will have a great impact to the japanese market !

Anonymous said...

Oh i forgot something, how many of you do own a HDTV ??
If you are gonna buy the console from M$ or Sony you need definetly a HDTV to see a graphical difference or to call it next gen. Such a console plus an HDTV means to invest a big amount of money.
Therefore i will get my Revolution and play it on my regular TV. YEAH !

Anonymous said...

first of all, its "immaculate"

secondly, i know how to keep care of my shit. my nintendo didnt require any "blowing" or "tweaking" for well over 5 years, because i kept the fucking lid shut and wiped down my cartridges monthly. i'm sorry you're irresponsible.
i took the same care of my ps2, and ended up wishing i never bought it when i tried to pop in the only ps2 game i own, and will ever own, dragon warrior (quest, whatever) 8, and i got disc read errors for like 16 hours. i took it apart, tried everything i could. cleaned the laser, adjusted the screws, gears, belts, no luck. i was pissed.
i finally gave up and had to borrow a ps2 from a friend of mine, which also started with the disc read errors but eventually worked. after beating the game, i returned my friends ps2 and promptly destroyed mine, and vowed to never ever purchase another product made by sony, and proceeded to throw away the only other sony product i own, which was a pair of kinda-broken piece-of-shit headphones.

anyways, yeah. you suck.

-tactics.

Anonymous said...

To everyone who followed Revpatentleak3r who might be reading this blog, the blu_luminoth puzzle has been solved.

Seek not what you cannot see, but what you can see.

Why remain in* this dark pla*ce for long.


---


Do n*ot worry about the rev's po*wer, it will blow you away.

Anonymous said...

SHOOT! I was one of the people on that forum daily at Joystiq and contributed to the puzzle. Who solved it? Where did the 'white rabbit lead to'? What was shown? Did "A friend" reveal him/herself? Tell me where! I have spent hours on that stupid thing and have no clue where it left off.

-Dakara

Anonymous said...

Probably the first Revolution Screenshots... just for your interest

http://www.endangeredgamer.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I don't think the 3D rummors are real,....but just to fuel the fire of speculation for speculation's sake, here is an interesting link.....

http://www.3dvisor.com/products.php

This company is supposed to announce a big deal with a "major game company" very soon according to a news article linked in this forum.