CNN takes a look into the Revolution

By: Justin Pinter

  Not to long ago, Chris Morris, a writer for CNN's “Game Over” weekly column, posted an article about hands-on time with the Nintendo Revolution. The time he spent on the system gave him a good chance to see what to expect when the system launches next year.

Here is what he said in summary:

“…Shaped like a television remote control, the Revolution controller uses internal sensors to translate your wrist, arm and hand movements on screen. It's easy to use, but takes a few minutes to adjust your playing style.

Nintendo wasn't kidding when it said it wanted to change the way people play, though. Once I figured out that subtle movements made for simple gameplay, I went through eight demos demonstrating a variety of features and possible uses. A simple point and shoot demo (like any of the thousands of Web-based Flash games) was more fun than I expected. I effortlessly pulled off loops and flight stunts I've never been able to manage with today's standard controller in a flying demo, simply by holding the controller as I might a paper airplane.

Other demos allowed me to telescopically zoom in and out on the screen, simply by moving the controller forward and backward and try some fishing by 'feeling' fish nibble on the line (via a rumble effect), then yanking the controller up in the air to hook them. ("Animal Crossing" fans, you might want to get excited, too.)

By adding an auxiliary thumbstick controller, I was able to play through a level of a retrofitted "Metroid Prime 2" (a GameCube game). Confession time: When it comes to console shooters, I'm terrible. I can finish them, but I'm nowhere near as competent as I am with my mouse/keyboard setup for the PC. In the early stages of the "Metroid" demo, it looked like this trend would continue, as I was all over the screen. By mid-way, though, I was better able to move and aim – and enjoyed the game far more than I did with the GameCube controller.

It turns out I'm not the only one who has this problem with standard controllers.

"I was a developer for many years before my current role, but I've never been a very good gamer," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told me. "I've never been able to control a first-person shooter, but as soon as I used the Revolution controller, I found it very easy to control the game. So, I think that's a genre that's particularly well suited for the controller."

Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, said he hopes to see another type of game really take off with the Revolution.

"I hope [massively multiplayer online games] are really explored on this system," he said. "That's a genre, from the home console standpoint, that really hasn't been explored very well."

One of the problems the Revolution faces is dislodging the idea of the standard controller from people's minds. Mention home video games to most people and they'll conjure a mental image of someone sitting on a couch, both hands gripping one of today's standard controllers and not moving much. So the idea of moving your arm in a virtual sword fight or taking virtual aim at onscreen monsters might be hard to get across…”

So basically, “don't judge a book by its cover”, or in other words, keep an open mind and try out the new controller before making up your mind on the new system. There will be more info regarding the mysterious Nintendo Revolution on the way at this year's E3 2006.