John Siracusa on the Revolution's controller

FatBits: John Siracusa's Journal: You say you got a real solution.

And on and on. There are plenty of fast, easy experiments that could have been done to answer at least some of these questions. For example, try facing away from the TV and see if anything still works. Try covering the front of the controller. Try turning the controller upside-down. Or, hell, how about asking the Nintendo representatives all these questions? (They could start with, "Why do I have to stand on this red X' on the floor in order to play this demo?") I think there's a word for this kind of inquisitive and determined information gathering: reporting.

Amen. Also, doesn't anyone hate this thing? For instance, I can't imagine the trigger underneath the remote is any good. And how does that power button work? That's just asking for it. Only one remote should have the power button. And why is it still in the top left position?

If not, I'm worried. It reminds me of the airline controllers that double as VCR remotes and gameboy remotes.

Comments

[Wiley Wiggins]

I think it's absolutely awesome. It's going to open up gaming to a whole host of people who are put off by the inelegant torture devices that currently pass as controllers.

[David Jacobs]

Slashdot (1) has a lot to say as well, of course. As always, only read mod 4 and above.

(1) http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/16/0527240&tid=234&tid=227&tid=10

[Natali]

I am also a little worried. I'm not sure whether to like, love, ignore or hate all the new bits and pieces they are throwing at us. I've posted a big arsed commentary on my own blog, but it really boils down to "this makes me feel uncomfortable and like it's not really going to work".

[mike]

I think it's a horrible idea. It'll be good for niche games (like the Guncon, Nes Zapper, etc were) but for general use? It doesn't like like it will accommodate fast action very well, since your grip of the remote control thingy is a) working against gravity if you hold it naturally (slanted) or b) awkward if you hold it "face up" since you're not gripping it very firmly that way.

And one action button? and a trigger button? Wow. That'll be great if I want to play, I don't know, Lode Runner or something else with only ONE ACTION.

[CPFace]

I would imagine that the power button is for the controller itself, much like how the Wavebird has its own power switch.

Speaking personally, I think this is exactly the sort of thing that I've secretly hoped Nintendo would do. Just throw out a completely screwball "to hell with what you guys think" idea. I mean, there were jokes about how they were going to make a controller that's nothing but one great big button, and here it is. I, for one, am looking forward to the wave of fleeing fans who just can't wrap their heads around the idea.

I'm not worried. Have you played Wario Ware Twisted? They did some fantastic things with nothing more than rotational motion and the A button. So many of the toys and bonus games -- and even some of the microgames -- would work well as their own concept.

Are you worried about how deeper games can work with the limited controls? Have you ever played the Legend of Zelda games written for the Game Boy? They worked out fantastic with only two action buttons -- the two-piece controller's going to have at least that much going for it.

There's certainly going to be some games that won't work with this scheme. But there's going to be games that wouldn't work any other way. At the end of the day, I think we're going to have some fun with this.

[Riku]

I love Nintendo but when I saw this design I flipped.I seriously thought they went crazy.I can't even imagine how this might work.I currently have a Gcube so obviously the controller is alot different.I'm still trying to figure out how you can play fast action games with something that looks exactly like my DVD remote.

Nintendo, I hope you know what you're doing.:|

[applezoid]

Picture swinging the controller as a lightsaber in an onscreen battle and I think you can get an idea of why I'm excited.

Besides, what else could they do? Update the graphics? There's a limit to how far you can go with that. Realistic is realistic. It's time for a revolution[sic], and Nintendo is the one to do it.

Look at it this way. If it fails, doubters can go buy a PS2, which is what the revolution would have been another version of if they stuck with the "beef up the graphics" mentality anyway. The only one who really stands to lose is Nintendo.

Anyway, I see the revolution as the next step. Just like 2d to 3d platforming, now we'll have the move from 2d controlling to 3d controlling. Am I the only one looking for something new? How many times can one play a variation on the Tomb Raider control scheme?

[travis hall]

Now how the hell are you suppose to drink a pepsi while holding that thing?

[Khalib]

For those who don't know there are also shells this thing snaps into for those who prefer standard game play. looks a lot like game cube controller check ign website. Im just happy theres a company out there offering more for next gen than just enhanced graphics.

[ammar]

hiهلا وغلا

[Brent]

Well from what I've seen in pictures, the Revolution has Gamecube controller slots, so you could plug one it.

[Joseph]

The Revolution controller is a good idea. This allows third-party companies to make different ideas in games such as swinging the controller to swing a sword, or move a gun around. The only problem Nintendo might have is that people might not accept the idea.

[David]

I have to say - I am sad that it fails the "katamari" test. That is, "Can I play katamari with it?" I wonder if Nintendo will offer the possibility to attach two joysticks (ps2 style)

[Eric]

When I first saw it I thought Nintendo had lost their marbles. But as I learned more I got more and more excited. Especially since it won't be all tv remote style.
They've left alot of room for peripheral enhancements and for the third party developers that don't want to change play styles from system to system they have what seems to be a shell of the already existing GCN controller.
With all this I think they've got a steady platform to build from and plenty of room for intuitive games. It's gonna be a good year.

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