More unsubstantiated Revolution info emerges
This time it's from consolewars.de, calmly claiming to have exclusive access to all manner of Revolution tidbits but failing to mention who exactly their "reliable" developer source is. This means, of course, that it could all be made up. Regardless, we know that you want to know what they know, and that you know that we'll be happy to tell you what we know about what they know. Now.
Apparently, the Revolution controller functions on the Gamecube if the development kits are any indication. We've heard that the development kits are essentially jazzed up Gamecubes, but that hardly indicates that the retail console has the hardware or software necessary to interpret the Revolution 3D space requirements.
In terms of technological power, the development kits aren't far removed from the Gamecube. This fits in with what several developers have noted, namely that the Revolution isn't that powerful. Even though non-final development kits aren't always to be trusted, cutting-edge graphics were never what Nintendo had in mind for the Revolution.
Though it would have to be scaled down, Unreal Engine 3 can run on the Revolution hardware. This should allay the graphical fears of some, but it depends an awful lot on just how much "scaling down" were talking about.
Nintendo might offer an Opera-like browser for the Revolution. We've heard this one before.
The controller is finished and fully functional, though the development kit is still connected through a serial port. We imagine that'll be gone for the final version.
It also functions like a 3D mouse, with actions like swordfighting working very intuitively. Let me guess. Light sabers.
The console uses a "low-power" G5 processor. That seems like it would be a standard placeholder chip used exclusively in the development kit. ATi has previously stated that the Revolution's chipset would be built completely from scratch and differ greatly from traditional computer architecture.
The Revolution is thicker that an Apple Powerbook. Well, that seems random and not quite as catchy as the "3 DVD stack" size description we've come to accept.
It can't play DVDs right out of the box. Instead, you need to attach a seperately purchased dongle. This is one of the things Satoru Iwata mentioned when the Revolution was first unveiled during E3 2005.
Needless to say, you should be absolutely covered in salt by now.
[Via GoNintendo]
