Nintendo Revolution to include backwards compatibility and WiFi
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata pulled out the stops at his GDC keynote: the Nintendo Revolution will include both backwards compatibility and WiFi features. Nintendo will be following up soon with a free WiFi connection service for Nintendo DS owners that will launch later this year, linking players from around the world. Iwata also demonstrated several of the DS's new software titles featuring the innovative features of the DS: voice recognition, touch-screen control and, of course, WiFi. Nintendogs will launch later this year in North America, a game in which "owners" interact with and train a variety of breeds of digital puppies (what is up with all the pooch action lately?), giving voice commands, playing games and "developing real emotional bonds" (we'll have to see it to believe it). The second demoed title, Electroplankton, makes use of the touch screen and voice interaction to produce an "otherwordly array" of sights and sounds to alternatively sooth or stimulate players. This marks a departure from the usual videogame attention to adrenaline production. For his last trick, he showed off some previously unreleased footage of the Legend of Zelda adventure for the Nintendo GameCube, widely anticipated to be the most sought-after game on any console this year.
[Thanks, Blue and Mark!]
