New Nintendo Revolution specs?

So apparently this dude who works at Factor 5 (they've done some Star Wars games) who goes by Han Solo has some supposedly leaked specs of the Revolution, which if they're real might give the box a bit more of a fighting chance than we'd originally anticipated. Keep in mind this is the same person, we understand, who leaked some nearly dead on specs of the Xbox 360 before it was announced. Now, we could do a whole long article giving a prospective in-depth analysis on whose specs trump whose between the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and these rumored Revolution specs, but we'll just give you what Han Solo says it should feature: a multithreaded PowerPC 2.5 GHz with 256 KB L1 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache (diff from the dual-core 1.8GHz CPU with 512KB L2 cache we heard about before), a Physical Processing Chip (PPU) with 32MB of dedicated RAM, 512MB of system RAM (we heard it would have 256MB of main DRAM before), a custom ATI "RN520" 600MHz CPU with 256MB of RAM (that's about what we'd heard, but 128MB of RAM). Apparently the device will support external resolutions up to 2048 x 1268 though HD support is still as yet undecided, and it will have 7.1 surround, too. Doesn't sound too shabby, but as always get your grain of salt on.

[Via Joystiq, thanks, Hannes]

[jedda @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

hmm...I dont know if this is a good thing. With higher specs comes a higher price...Oh what am I saying, I'll probably buy the thing regardless of the final specs/price.

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Damn! somehow i had missed any specs before. I was already considering buying one because it'll be cheaper than the other two, and the classic games are so much fun (provided i don't have to pay more than $7 a download). Now I REALLY want to try one.

Nick

[andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

me being a hardcore gamer, i really hope that this system works out.
i grew up on nintendo and sega.
i already seen one of my parents die.

i could recall staying up when i was 9 playing chrono trigger, and ghouls and ghosts.

so this system better work out or im gonna be pissed


literally

[Daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Sounds good to me, but I don't understand why the Engadget staff continually slants their posts against Nintendo.

The company has repeatedly said, almost redundantly so, that they are NOT in competition with Microsoft or Sony in this next round, and that much is obvious. (Look at the freaking controller, for God's sake!)

As far as I can see, they are forming their own sub-industry, which if it catches on, will obliterate the other two consoles. If it doesn't become popular among consumers, then Nintendo will still have been innovative and therefore will have accomplished the job they wanted to.

[1Up @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Comparing the three next gen systems by specs only, this does not impress. Upgrading the RAM to 512 was a good idea though and 7.1 surround sound would go good with my home theatre system but graphically there will be a difference. This controller will make or break them.

[delerious @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I believe that these specs would be perfect, I mean, the Xbox had a 733MHz processor and it turned up great visuals. I bet the dual-core 2.5 will turn out just fine for Nintendo. Especially the RN520.

But as always, we need to wait till Nintendo clairifies these specs as truth. But hearing this from a dev. I'd doubt that they'd be fake, or "Han"'ll have a lot of s'plaining to do.

[KC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Not bad!

If this box is actually the cheapest of the three next gen systems then Big N might just be lookin' at regaining some market share!!

[Google Nazi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Didn't engadget have this thread yesterday? Hmmm must of been joystiq.. well, time to repeat my self....

Regardless if this is real or not it is unsure how the specs will be upon the official announcment of nintendo whether it is for better specs or worst.

Infact I have seen different specs written on another board so I don't really know who to believe.. oh wait!! NINTENdO!! that is right! Nintendo doesn't want to reveal their specs because they say they don't know them yet as the console is not final yet. If these specs are leaked then infact someone will get sued including the company.

[console skeptic @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

i thought nintendo denounced HD

[Kev @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"Apparently the device will support external resolutions up to 2048 x 1268 though HD support is still as yet undecided"

2048 x 1268 supercedes any HD 'standard' in terms of resolution, so I would safely bet that it does. However, at what framerate?! And the sooner we get rid of CRT TVs, the better, so we can get rid of old-fashioned interlacing...eugh.

[Sniper4hire @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

so let me get this straight...

The main controller is a sort of motion-sensor that senses movement and produces reactions onscreen?
Well what happens when you're arm gets tired of floating around?

Seriously, I think Nintendo is headed on a pathway of self destruction and I am 100% certain Playstation 3 is going to be the winner of the next gen console wars.
I love my XBOX but I think Xbox 360 is lacking in so many ways.

[waffa @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

The revelution is going to probaly be under 200 bucks.It aint going to have HD nintendo said so.

Could anyone goin into more deatail and compare these specs for us i dont know much about the specs of ps3 and xbo360 so i dont know how they add up to this.

Ive seen in game shots for a couple of games both 360 and ps3 it dosent look that good i think I'll stick to my pc.

[010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

" And the sooner we get rid of CRT TVs, the better, so we can get rid of old-fashioned interlacing...eugh."

you know CRTs are fully capable of drawing a progressive picture right? back in the olden days... computer monitors used to be CRTs. and damn it! they were progressive! kids these days. *shakes head

[K @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I was concerned, too, about my arm getting tired playing with the Revolution's controller, but one could always resort to the "traditional" controller Nintendo will also be offering.

Shouldn't everyone stop comparing the Revolution to the PS3 and Xbox360? It's in a class of its own.

[enzo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Does anyone else think it was pretty amazing that nothing leaked about the Nintendo controler, that no member of the public had any clue as to what it was going to be?

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#4, This isn't dual core, its multi-threaded. This would mean something along the lines of HyperThreading on the Pentium 4.

Actual performance benefits would likely be greater than on the P4, however. Since this is a console, the games could specifically take advantage of this.

If they enable say 3-4 threads on the processor, this could make porting from Xbox360 a sinch (remember developers saying anything more than 3 cores, 4 max is a completely waste, since only certain jobs can be split).

Goodness I hope these specs are real. If they are, holy cow; Nintendo is NOT going on the cheap end. Now all it needs is a hard drive and 13+GB optical drive. If it indeed does have 800MB of RAM, I'm going to have to say I bet this console will have the best graphics, simply because of the extra space for textures and whatnot. Lets just hope their disc format has the space for the texturing, or an extra processor for decompression.

[Trejkaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Well, we've seen in the past that graphics capacity != graphics prettiness.

Case in point: XBOX supposedly has the highest specifications, graphically, but all the best looking games seem to be GameCube ones.

Nintendo with this extra graphics power, when they already made the most of the power they already had... this is thoroughly terrifying. Maybe it should be Nintendo making claims about their graphics simulating reality, instead of Sony. :-)

[akatsuki @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I think Nintendo really needs to get 3rd party development revved up for the Revolution. I just finished God of War on PS2, and frankly that game would never appear on the family-friendly Nintendo.

The people who are slamming the remote are idiots. Wait until you've used it and wait for the killer games that Nintendo undoubtedly will have for it. I can't wait to play a Star Wars light saber game and be able to slash and parry with my controller.

[Raffi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Well the main difference between Nintendo and the rest is that they are not in this race for who has the best graphics. They are in it for who has the most innovative hardware. Powerful system is just a bonus, and the more powerful it is, the happier I'll be in the long run.

[TomtheWombat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

There is one thing about the XBox's graphics. It is powerful enough so developers can write gobbly gook for code and it won't skip or flaunder.

[Extinction @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"Case in point: XBOX supposedly has the highest specifications, graphically, but all the best looking games seem to be GameCube ones."

No, the best have been on xbox, sorry fanboy. There are so many things wrong with those specs. Its not possible for rev to come close to XBOX360s specs without major heat problems AND a higher cost given its smaller size

[Code @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Nope. This is just a rumor. At least that what I think for now.

They said that they'll have the 1T-SRAM which is the same kind that's in GameCube right now. All they have is about 50MB, but since it was so well built and designed, it could run RE4 more smoother than PS2.

50MB of RAM that runs RE4 in 30FPS. That's pretty amazing!

But remember, SRAM is one of the fastest RAM you can have, and pricey too. They are not going to have 512MB of SRAM. Well, it's been a long time so maybe 256MB of SRAM is possible but it's still just too darn expansive to have 256MB of 1T-SRAM.

But..
If it really is 256MB or 512MB of 1T-SRAM, I'm gonna be so excited! That's a damn fast machine we're going to play on!

[Niccolo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

""Case in point: XBOX supposedly has the highest specifications, graphically, but all the best looking games seem to be GameCube ones."

No, the best have been on xbox, sorry fanboy. There are so many things wrong with those specs. Its not possible for rev to come close to XBOX360s specs without major heat problems AND a higher cost given its smaller size"

Who's the fanboy?

Funny thing how you never mentioned what games on the xbox. All we have is your opinion and that sounds like fanboy to me.

Resident Evil4 for the GameCube probably has the best looking visuals out there. The visuals are so good that the game looks better than most 360 games.

Now play the game before you call anyone else a fanboy.

[That one guy's best friend @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Holy crap, this is probably going to derail from the current subject but I just had a revelation of what the name is...

"Nintendo eMotion"

...Sure its knowcking the name from the PS2 processor, however I think it seems to be perfect. I mean "Electronic Motion" or "Emotionally engrossing games through movement" It has the same style as "iPod" (first letter lowercased" but yeah. I just felt like saying that.

[Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"The main controller is a sort of motion-sensor that senses movement and produces reactions onscreen?
Well what happens when you're arm gets tired of floating around?"

In many, if not most, of the hands-on impressions of the controller people mention you can simply kick back, rest your hands on you legs, and play perfectly with only moving your wrist small amounts. It's sensitive enough to do that.

Of course you can still get up and wave your arms like an idiot if you want, you have both options.

[Vincent @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Extinction:

Don't slam the "fanboy". There have been equally pretty games on both systems--and, in fact, some games that ran better on GC than Xbox--despite the 'Cube's supposed lack of power. Slick programming can often make the difference between a beautiful game and one that's not so beautiful, rather than the processing power.

But the fact is, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some of us will be dazzled by lots of polygons and pretty textures; others of us will look at it and say, "pff. Obsoleted in three months" and look for something that offers us newness, rather than oldness with a pretty face.

If they CAN pack all that into the size of three DVD cases (and if anybody can, Nintendo can, given the hardware of the GC packed into its tiny box; that Xbox is unnecessarily large), then I say go Nintendo. That's futureproofing. If their machine has that much processing prowess, then games on the Rev will be huge and gorgeous for years to come, right alongside the other two behemoths.

Anyway, you just sound dumb when you say "There are so many things wrong with those specs. It's not possible for rev to come close to XBOX360s specs without major heat problems AND a higher cost given its smaller size". You don't know what you're talking about; you're no videogame system engineer. I don't care if you built and casemodded your own boss PC. Until you've visited the labs at Nintendo or MS or Sony you simply don't know what you're talking about, and it's therefore idiocy and vanity to speak in such (dare I say it) fanboyish absolutes. When you talk crap like that, you only show ignorance.

Besides that, there has been nothing to indicate that those specs are final or remotely close to what will be in the system. As the post said, take it with a grain of salt. Not blind incredulity.

[David R @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Here's the thing; There's so much great buzz about the Revolution's controller right now that every serious gamer is going to have to give it a good look. If Nintendo gives it system specs that are very comparable to the XBox and PS3, graphic quality between the systems becomes a non-issue.

If Nintendo prices it the same as the other consoles, more people might just stick with it rather than invest in one of the other two consoles with similar capabilities and nothing to really distinguish them.

[Google Nazi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

From what has been seen and what has been announced by ATI this is how the graphics is at:

1st Place: Playstation 3 (no Sh$@!)
2nd Place: Revolution
3rd Place: Xbox360

Now you might ask.. why does 360 have the worst graphics of all 3? Well, i'm not saying that just yet but judging by what ATI has stated, I will have to just say that Rev has better graphics than x360. The xbox 360 has features that nobody really needs in a console unless your trying to have a console as your entertainment center. Case in point the size of it.

The PS3 was lucky because of their development of cell processors. Because of this the PS3 is god when it comes to graphics, though it might end up being $499 but who knows!

The revolution doesn't have any features that will draw people into playing it as a all-in-one enteratinment system although it does play games beyond what any other console can do (like using the rev controller or legally downloading classic games).

Where am I going with this? Without any useless features you can have a console very small look at the Mac mini. It isn't big because most of the room is for the cd rom it self, that is pretty much what takes the most place in a console.

I don't believe these are the real specs and I believe that Nintendo will be ready to reveal their specs in February or March and they don't know them selves! (console is shrinking half the size for pete sakes!)

----------------------------------------------
If you think Nintendo's revolution is just a simple gyro remote then your wrong. Go to IGN and research everything about it and yes, there is a SHELL which is essencially the Wavebird ver 2 with probobly a slot in the center to import the gyro "tv remote" as some would call it.

It is truely a revolution, and 3rd party support is on its way however there is a little bit of wait before they allow alot of 3rd party publishers to work on games for it (understandable).

Don't forget that the Rev still has secrets to it including about the controller!

Don't buy an xbox360, buy a PS3 and Revo because you know that Playstation and Nintendo have always been successful, and xbox was not successful at all. Plus PS3 has a bigger lineup of high quality games and of course has better graphics which is a plus :)

[DIJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I think the controller is great and will encourage kids to be more active.
I can't wait to get one and I know my daughter will love playing it too.

DIJ
http://www.titangames.co.uk

[Johnny Hitler Jr. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

If the Nintendo Revolution comes out at $200-250 it WILL be number one. I still don't know why everyone is pegging Sony as the winner already for this next generation. The system is rumored to cost almost $500 with no games.

The Xbox360 will have at least a six month start and then will have Halo 3 ready by Sony's launch date. The only thing that will screw up Microsoft is their really stupid decision to have a "core" system, that showed that they did not have the confidence to launch the system at $399, which is absurb: the system is worth more than worth it.

I project that for about a year the XBoX 360 will be number one, but when the Revolution launches and if they have the games to back up their new controller scheme AND an attractive price point, M$ might actually have to give up the number one spot to Nintendo.

The ONLY way Sony is going to come in number one is if they release the PS3 at a price point at least equivalent to the XBox 360. Otherwise it will become a "trophy" item, as only the rich will be able to afford $499+ cost of games at the release date.

[eric @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

for someone who doesnt speak the or understand the lingo, and also can not remember what the xbox360 and PS3 are going to have, could someone do what the engadget article would not and say how these stack up with the other two consoles?
-eric

[Daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"I think Nintendo really needs to get 3rd party development revved up for the Revolution. I just finished God of War on PS2, and frankly that game would never appear on the family-friendly Nintendo."

Right, and Resident Evil, Killer 7 and the rest were just mistakes that got through the cracks?
Boy am I tired of this tired argument.

[Shin @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

To tell you all the truth, I think you're all idiots.

Market = Mainstream

You guys =/= Mainstream

Mainstream = Doesn't care a damn thing about specs.

Me = Ex-Hardcore, I don't !@#%! care about specs anymore.

If matching multiple points is too difficult for some of you, in short this means: Your opinions really doesn't matter, what you predict is WRONG, mainstream's mind is what defines a console's succes, not what you people predict.

[Gil @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Shin: Have a nice warm cup of STFU :P

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"The company has repeatedly said, almost redundantly so, that they are NOT in competition with Microsoft or Sony in this next round,"

They can say whatever they want, and people like you will believe them, but the fact of the matter is they *are* in competition with Sony and MS. There is no way around that. MS sells video games and systems. Sony sells video games and systems. Nintendo sells video games and systems. People have a finite amount of money. Some people will buy one system, some two, some three. Those who buy all three will do it no matter what. Those who buy one or two will pick and choose.

You can't make the same product category as somebody else and then say you're not in competition with them. iRiver can't say they're not in competition with Apple just because their mp3 players have a different interface. Toshiba can't say they're not in competition with Sony just because they're promoting two different optical formats. I mean, yeah, they can *say* it, just like Nintendo is, but that doesn't make it true. Nothing can make it true.

Now, as for these specs, nice if true, but doesn't seem too likely to me that they are. No way a 2.5ghz PPC is going in that little box; too much heat. Same with the graphics. That box is a major limiting factor in what you can stuff in there - it's smaller than one of Apple's PowerBooks, for one example, and why do you think Apple just announced a switch to Intel? It was for exactly this reason. And that's not even talking about this kind of graphics power at the same time.

"If matching multiple points is too difficult for some of you, in short this means: Your opinions really doesn't matter, what you predict is WRONG, mainstream's mind is what defines a console's succes, not what you people predict."

Excuse us for providing opinions in a public comment thread. I don't think any of us are getting paid to be analysts (well, maybe some are, you never know), so I don't think anybody here ever said their opinion is what determines a system's success. They are OPINIONS.

If you don't understand the concept of interacting with other human beings, vis-a-vis having a conversation (however heated) about something you're interested in, then feel free to sit in your isolation tank and sulk.

[GrandTrain @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Those specs seems remotely possible except for the insane amounts of RAM. RAM has a pretty fixed cost so the Rev just can't afford to have that much RAM and still be cheaper than the rest. I'm also suspect of the physics processor, it would be great mind you... but also costly.

A more likely scenanio would work out like:
- Dual Core PPC CPU @ ~2.4GHz
- Custom R520 based GPU @ ~500MHz
- 512MB unified Direct-Rambus RAM.
- regular DL DVD Drive

These specs would keep it small and cool enough, and still have ~75% the power of the other two systems. Which is really good! i.e. any game PS3 or Xbox can run @ 60FPS the Rev could run at 45FPS... and you'll be using the coolest damn controller ever made.

My two cents.

[Nahir @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Didnt IBM just release a new ppc chip that had was meant for laptops? if that is the case then im guessing that the revolution has that new latpop chip at a higher clock speed, so in that case im pretty sure a 2.5 ghz ppc can fit in that thing

[KirbyMeister @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

The RAM is the thing that really jumps out at me as suspect. The PPC chip is the next thing, since Apple couldnt get it into a laptop bigger than the Revo.

[MacD @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

What I find most stricking about the specs (and the comments...can't believe no-one has mentioned this yet) is the PPU.
Sure, xbox and PS3 will have a core to spare for physics...but the Rev not only has a natural motion controller, but also a dedicated physics processing unit (which always beats a general PU in terms of speed). To me, thats a clue about where N might be going with it's games.

I'm also curious about the media used...guess N will stick with a proprietary medium, but will the drive play DVD's?

[anonymous coward @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

> The RAM is the thing that really jumps out at
> me as suspect. The PPC chip is the next thing,
> since Apple couldnt get it into a laptop bigger
> than the Revo.

I don't think the Revolution is going to run off batteries. (The console, anyway.)

[Aganack @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

The week after Apple announced their parting of ways with ibm, IBM announced a super low power ppc and a faster one too. I believe it was in the 25 watts range... which would be completely work for the revolution.

[eric @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

what do these stats mean?

[Chance @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

800MB RAM too much? No way man. Keep in mind that Nintendo is again licensing 1T-RAM from MoSys. 1T-RAM (for those of you that don't know) is 1 sixth the density of conventional D-RAM - DDR3 > 1T. Greater density means greater yield. Greater yield means smaller cost. Also keep in mind that the 24MB of 1T-RAM that the big N used in the cube was at the time about 1 third the cost of competing high-speed D-RAM technologies.

As for the CPU, IBM just announced an embedded line of PPC CPUs for next gen, high capacity printers. 25 watts.

The PPU is the only hard pill to swallow. Why would Nintendo try to jam and additional proc in that thing when they are already trying to keep costs down?

Sounds good - but wishful thinking.

[mo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Agree with Jeff #33.

How on earth do people think they're going to get 2.5Ghz multi-core processors on a system the size of Rev?

As I've posted on the same thread in Joystiq before, think of the Mac Mini (which is a similar size to Rev) and it's 1.25Ghz or 1.42 Ghz Power PC processor and ATI Radeon graphics chipset and you're looking at what will probably be similar specs to the Nintendo Revolution. Since the Rev's technical grunt will be optimised for Standard Definition (640x480 Progressive Scan with probably Widescreen support as standard) gaming, you can bet it'll still be able to hold it's own to the PS3/360.

All of the above makes sense given the widely-held belief of a $199 launch price of Rev and Nintendo's commitment to concentrating primarily on the game-playing experience.

[Chance @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

It's not a multi-core CPU Mr Mo. All PPC procs are multi-THREADED by default. Read: single core. If it had two cores it would sport four concurrent threads.

[timby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Here's the one question I'm surprised nobody's asked: Factor 5 is an exclusive PlayStation 3 developer, and has been since May (when the Rev's specs likely weren't even finalized). How on Earth would a supposed Factor 5 employee have access to this information?

[Google Nazi @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"The company has repeatedly said, almost redundantly so, that they are NOT in competition with Microsoft or Sony in this next round,"

A video game is a video game. Have a console to play a video game and you are in the same market as the rest. The only difference is if they say they are not competing is probobly because they are confident they will have no competition as they think they are gods.. Although they are gods I wouldn't be too cocky.

[treach @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

"Now, as for these specs, nice if true, but doesn't seem too likely to me that they are. No way a 2.5ghz PPC is going in that little box; too much heat. Same with the graphics. That box is a major limiting factor in what you can stuff in there - it's smaller than one of Apple's PowerBooks, for one example, and why do you think Apple just announced a switch to Intel? It was for exactly this reason. And that's not even talking about this kind of graphics power at the same time. "

- Just for the record, Apple's switch had to do with Intel's roadmap *not* because they couldn't stick a fat PPC chip in a laptop. trust me.

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Apple switched because IBM hadn't upped the speed of the PowerPC. They hadn't upped the speed because of heat problems...the same heat problems Apple was having with their laptops.

Anyone have a link for the IBM-25watt-PowerPC thing?
Aside from that, it would be perfectly possible to put a 2.5Ghz processor in such a small box; all N would have to do is a little air funnelling. Funnel the heated air from cooling the processor down its own duct right out the back using the CPU's fan, and do the same with the GPU air. Make sure the CPU, GPU, and PPU don't get heated air from themselves or eachother, and cooling wouldn't be a problem at all.

[Vincent @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I agree with you, Ben.

It's possible, and knowing them, they could pull it off.

Anyway, even if they made the console just a little bigger, it'd still be a fraction of the size of the Xbox and PS3. Perhaps they'd be willing to make small concessions, even at this point, since nothing has been finalized.

It's hard to take this seriously though. I'd like to see a Nintendo system with that kind of power, but oh well if they don't. It'll still be a great system and it'll still have great games; they don't really have a choice in THAT matter.