Nintendo Revolution: more to come?
By Barb Dybwad 
posted May 18th 2005 3:02PM
posted May 18th 2005 3:02PM
Who are we to let wildy unsubstantiated rumours fly without passing them on to all you eager gamers out there? The
latest and greatest in speculation is that Nintendo isn't quite finished talking up its
Revolution console yet. The
NintendoOn video was a proven fake, yes — but was it also marketing ploy? And what is up with all this right/left brain
mumbo jumbo? Did Nintendo make a feint with the video, planning to hit us up with something crazy later this week? The
truth is out there, people, but for now we've got only questions. Talk amongst yourselves.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
@Colin Hill (#147): Meh. Flat panel screens are so yesterday's tech. Scanning virtual retina displays are what's in. If any company is willing to manufacture a full color stereo consumer model of one of those, I'd snap one up in a heartbeat. I'm personally betting on Microvision, once they get their finances back in the black somewhere in 2006.
BTW, here's something for all you conspiracy theorists out there right now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/makkuwata/N_want_to_believe.jpg
Oh, and here's the final nail in the coffin:
http://www.cafegamer.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=1678&view=findpost&p=53774
Just to throw a little more gas on the fire....
Remember that IGN and Nintendo have ALREADY been working together over the last few months. With the Nintendo Minute every Friday, IGN has been in direct discussion with lead execs at IGN every week.....
I think I figured it out- In the video, the "right brain" was OUR LEFT, if you have ever Life science, you know that it is the OBJECT'S RIGHT. That is the game making side, and word is that the Revoulution will support DIY coding. That would explain Nintendo On being Nintendo Online where everyone could share their homebrew apps. It is forwarding to the IGN page to tell people like me," No, sorry to burst your bubble." Then that explains why there is no Revolution page on IGN, and confirms that they will have one later on. The only thing we don't know is why they haven't shown us the controler...
I'm still with you Colin. Like I said earlier, it is all a little too uncanny to dismiss. Whats with nintendoon.com redirecting you to IGN.com? That's insane. Also, IGN is definitely just acting like they don't know what they are talking about. They said that 'they doubt' it will actually be part of a Nintendo Revolution final design. Which is weird for them to say considering if it were not true they would "know" not "doubt". Because they know everything if not almost everything about the Revolution. They are hand in hand with Nintendo. Also, Nintendo doesn't feel that this video has injured them. They very casually just said something like 'our fans can make what they like, games, fanfilms, bladdy blah, it's their right' in response to the Nintendo On video. I still can't dismiss it, not just because I want to believe that it's true but because it is terribly fishy. Not to mention the DS hint Iwata dropped for the revolution.
27. Posted May 19, 2005, 9:56 AM ET by Dude McDude
http://www.gamerah.com/media/e3/Rev-On-E3.wmv
This is supposedly Nintendo Revolution and the Nintendo On headset being displayed in a video at E3. I wonder what the chances are on this vid. Any comments anyone else?
Kenton: DON'T DO THAT!
Every time I'm ready to let go of this farse something crops back up...
Heheh. Well anyway. Some guy finally commented back and said it looked fake. I don't think it does. First of all it would have to be the same original video author. Why would he do this twice? Then go through the trouble to make it look like it's actually at some E3 thing by recording it on a big screen with a camcorder? Also, he would have to have made a damn good Nintendo Revolution console 3d representation to manipulate it like that in the vid, with the zoom and the spinning. he's got that baby from all sides. Same goes for the Helmet. That wasn't in the other video. I think every bit of this originated from that meddling company: Nintendo! Hmm... All I'm saying is that it would surprise the hell out of me. This would be one HUGE elaborate hoax.
http://www.gamerah.com/media/e3/Rev-On-E3.wmv
http://www.gamerah.com/media/e3/Rev-On-E3.wmv
http://www.gamerah.com/media/e3/Rev-On-E3.wmv
If it turns out to be fake I apologize for hyping it.
Okay, this is my first Engadget post so bear with me, I guess I'll cut my teeth on a day old thread.
I was following the discussion surrounding the Nintendo Revolution and the tin foil center of my brain started acting up. Based on the evidence that and obvservations brought forth by numerous sources I've been able to come up with a few thinking points that I think may be interesting to others:
1. Nintendo On
If the video pointed to by Dude McDude is valid in any way then the evidence as outlined from the supposed leaked video, numerous patents filed by NOA, and this new E3 video points to a high level of validity in this peripheral.
So then is Nintendo On the actual headset shown in the video or is it a more encompassing design methodology behind the Revolution (ON-line, ON-screen, etc.)? There's something to this as evidenced by the registration of www.nintendoon.com and the homogeny of the leaked information making its way across the net. My guess? I lean towards On being a design philosophy with the visor simply being a current or to be released peripheral. SO then where does the Revolution fit into all of this?
2. Nintendo Revolution
Time and time again the media and NOA has reminded us that the Revolution will be no bigger than 3 DVD cases stacked on top of one another. Why are they so insistent upon this form factor is the release is still a year or more away?
Take a look at the case again. What's with that notch on the rear edge of the case? No doubt the case should be able to fit in the stand without this notch, so what purpose does this notch serve? Aesthetically it stick out more than adding to the beauty of the otherwise boxy device. Then is all seemed to come together: A rigid form factor, a keyed design... What if the Revolution is meant to be used as another peripheral in a larger Nintendo On design philosophy? Just like an SD card is keyed to fit into a memory slot only one way, what if the Revolution is meant to fit into a larger console/peripheral for easy expansion? An interface port on the back of the Revolution (note that not many if any pictures have been released of the rear of the system) would have to fit in an interface port only one way.
Could the Revolution be meant to fit into the base unit of the visor peripheral to play games? Can hook up multiple Revolutions in a Raid-style case to allow inter-Revolution communication? The mind runs wild with speculation... wild I say!
3. A truly open system?
Of course the first thing that really caught my attention in the NOA press release what the hinting that individual developers may be able to run games on the system. The inclusion of a general purpose memory interface (an SD card slot) provides an easy way of loading the games without the need for burning games to a disc format (even though DVD burners are quite prevalent now).
But wait, didn't NOA say that they were introducing a new DRM format? That they did, but they did not say how it would operate. In another words, DRM does not necessarily mean that you cannot run your own code on any particular machine (though that's what it usually means). The situation I'm hoping for would go something like this:
- NOA releases an open toolkit for developing games for the Revolution.
- If you want to develop a game for your system you get a tool which would sign any code you develop with the open toolkit with a personal DRM key to allow it to run on your particular machine, but not other people's machines.
- When you have a finished product, you submit your work to NOA who will sign it with a universal DRM key and make it available for download via the Revolution's online content distribution.
Then again, I can be totally wrong about this whole scenario and completely overthinking the situatin. Maybe I'm hoping too much, but both the cryptic nature of this system release and the ominous signs we are seeing have me hoping for something must better than another "high polygon count" gaming system.
Here's to hoping! And if I'm totally wrong, best of luck to you anyway dear Nintendo!
(To hell with spell checking!)
*end ranting*
My apologies... that turned out to be inappropriately long.
PocketLnt:
Long posts in this entry are A-OK. This is exciting material.
"Just like an SD card is keyed to fit into a memory slot only one way, what if the Revolution is meant to fit into a larger console/peripheral for easy expansion?"
Like a giant Treo 650?!
I already know that it can't be that, I have seen a picture of the revolution where the controllers go in. See here:
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2005/revo/large_6.html
Colin... :sigh:
Those are GameCube controller ports. And those are GameCube memory card slots. Put two and two together. Can you - can you do that?
No, I am very bad at that, or else I wouldn't be here all speculation-like! ;)
http://img59.echo.cx/img59/7263/nintendoonwoohooooohooo6pd.jpg !!!!!!!1 This is a pic some guy took of the nintendo.com webcame! it says ON!!!!
http://mozlapunk.web-log.nl/log/2585602 i got it there
Err... See the "I" after "ON", it's because the word "NINTENDO" is looping. That's the O from the end of the word and the N from the beginning.
This is one dead conspiracy.
"Just like an SD card is keyed to fit into a memory slot only one way, what if the Revolution is meant to fit into a larger console/peripheral for easy expansion?"
Very good observation.
1 - Nintendo is giving a lot of importance to the unit being as small as possible, noting that it will be even smaller than what they have shown at E3. Why is it so important to make a console which is meant to be plugged into a TV portable? A small console can itself be used as a plug in unit just like a Nintendo cartridge.
2 - The "stand" is very undetailed and looks like it was something pulled out quickly to display the Nintendo Revolution. It has the look of trying not to steal the show, it's very underminded. Perhaps what we've seen isn't the main unit and that an upcoming stand will indeed be another piece of technology.
3 - The edge cut on the bottom of the unit definitely looks like an indication to the user where the bottom should be ... or where the unit should be plugged in.
4 - We haven't seen the bottom or back of the unit yet and Nintendo doesn't want to display it for public scrutiny. This could be to protect obvious indications that the Revolution can be plugged into another unit. A visible dock port would be a dead giveway.
Even if Nintendo ON proves to be totally fake and unrelated to Nintendo's direction, I have a strong feeling through these points that the Nintendo Revolution we've seen is going to plug into another unit.
Does anyone else think that in the mock-up of the "Revolution" that shows the controller and memory ports, it is an incredibly STUPID place to put them? On the SIDE?? or the TOP which actually angles back, away from you if it's sitting on the stand? This is terribly inaccessible. Poor design. I don't think this is real or even close to real. It is not the revolution.
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2005/revo/large_6.html
(I believe!)
Hey guys, I registered nintendoon.com after the rumours started. I had nothing to do with the domain so i forwarded it to the IGN site that actually had somewhat of an explanation of what it was. I used registerfly protection because I didn't want people emailing/phoning me with questions, especially when i have nothing to do with the video.
You can go rest now :)
oh hey everyone can go rest now cause john says nintendoon.com is his. he decided not to take advantage of this at all he just wanted to be a good netizen and dispel this rumor by routing to ign instead of making money off of ads.
yeah right.
if its yours than put up a page that says bryan over at engadget is a big ass.
Yeah, I agree. Put something there to prove it.
I'm hoping someone can answer this question.
Was the footage of Metroid Prime 3 at Nintendo's Press Conference running off the Revolution?
I certainly hope not, because it looks exactly like GameCube graphics. Is Nintendo just hiding the GameCube in a shiny black box called the Revolution or what? Give us something your fans can cheer about Nintendo!
I still believe...
Don't forget, Metroid Prime 3 was a no-show at E3. If N-ON is real, they would obviously use MP3 as a way to showcase the device (which is why MP3 wasn't shown).
Hmmm... bleep: a possibility....
(something not said... this is all just speculation of course)
red... red... green.
ok.
Nintendo releases Gamecube 2 [we'll call it Revolution]
this "Revolution" will have about 2x or 3x graphics as our current system. These will sell like crazy. Why? red... red... GREEN.
There is a:
V ery
R eal
Reason for this. Maybe [just maybe] they release at the same time something that will change our current gaming experience. No one should care about graphics in the future....
This is just a possibility.
V ery
R adical possibility.
I've just read a recent nintendo patent (17th May) about embedding a graphics processor into a game cartridge (The Mario Chip). Now that's not possible with a CD/DVD medium but the patent does mention that the "ROM" in the cartridge could also be a "CD" or such. It also mentions that the ROM would contain the game sprites/characters. (Note that the SNES is just an example)
If revolution is going to use external GPUs, this might explain the secret behind the console's size and lack of fans. But I find this very unlikely.
If the "CD" only contained sprites, it would mean that ANY game could be created/downloaded for that that particular disk. Just imagine if the disk contained textures for a mario level, then all nintendo has to do is make small "map changes" on it's server, and you'll play completely new levels everyday!
Any thoughts?
Liono,
I think that you've hit on something really awesome here. It is clear that Nintendo is going in a different direction from Sony and Microsoft. Just how different and how revolutionary it is we don't know yet. But clearly it has to do with new interfaces and represents a paradigm shift in game content creation and delivery.
It is not just another game box.
My 2 cents, I think the Nintendo ON video is sponsored, or sanctioned by the company. I think it is an effort to get the idea of something totally new and different, futuristic and cool, and associate that with Nintendo. I think they will take their time rolling out this console and I think it will be a lot more like Nintendo ON than many people think.
And, I write a whole website about the revolutionary display company, Microvision, so I know that the technology to create something like the ON glasses is very real:
http://microvision.blogspot.com
Ok, for the non-believers that it is my domain, http://itoldyou.nintendoon.com/ now points here.
Convinced yet?
Coolazzz information!! I could never uncover these sorts of things myself...how do you people do it?! This stuff is really getting me turned ON! XD i couldn't help it, but well done on all this, and i seriously hope this is all real!
Umm, John, I don't know if your DNS server is b0rked or not, but that subdomain doesn't seem to work for me. Anyone else seeing this?
hopefully nintendo can make every one excited and wanting to have a nintendo console when they show what they are really gonna do, cause I always have and will be a ninty fan
The "Mario Chip"? I don't know how true that is, but I know this: another home console with cartridge media simply won't work in this day and age.
The decision to use carts for the N64 is (correctly) regarded as one of the biggest blunders in industry history. Developers, consumers, and retailers will NOT allow them to make the same mistake again.
Well I was thinking to what Nintendo said back like a year ago. They said that they would bring out new peripherals to extend the life of the GCN. They have brought out the bongo drums and the microphone, 2 new peripherals. At E3, they didnt announce too many games and it seems like the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is going to be one of their last big games. Maybe they are going to have Space World again and show off a new peripheral (On) that'll work with the gamecube (as shown on the video) and also work with the Revolution as will the bongos and the microphone. Graphically the Revolution wont be a big jump, supposedly only 2 to 3 times better than the GCN. With Revolution they mostly want to make the loading times faster and all that internal stuff to get faster and more memory. Since this is true, the ON might have some functions with the Gamecube and then for you to buy the Revolution, they'll make Revolution only games for the ON. If the ON fails like the Virtual boy, they'll have the REvolution already having all these different features anyway. The ON just might be something thats cool and interesting to get people to get the Revolution.
you guys, that nintendoon.com site is totally unprofessional! The image in the center in a .swf flash file, with NO protection, I downloaded it and ripped it apart with no problem. the "ON" symbol (circle with line through the top) was crudely drawn and created in flash.
From a glance it looks nice, but comeon, none of you could look at the source code? geeze.
Nintendo Revolution patent?
Posted Jan 30, 2005, 11:17 AM ET by Ben Zackheim
Related entries: Culture
IGN has posted a piece about an updated Nintendo patent. The patent could point toward a new kind of display for their next console. In a nutshell, the filing is meant to secure tech that “prevents a fixation point from frequently moving.” A fixation point is the point on the screen where your eye focuses during play. How, exactly, they’re going to alter this age-old gaming rule remains to be seen. It certainly ramps up the gyroscope rumor Regardless, the speculation can now reach new heights. Maybe they’ve developed a cable display that jacks into your brain…
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000263029603/
Of course there's a reason. If the controller was done, they would have shown us. Every day that passes without them showing anything is a day lost for Nintendo (in the conmpetition against MS and Sony). I'll bet you as soon as they have it they will waste no time...
ps2 suck5