Nintendo Revolution Controller Revealed? [RUMOR]

[Doctor Setebos]

A scan from a Japanese magazine supposedly reveals Nintendo's much discussed and never actually witnessed mysterious Revolution controller (http://lounge.punchjump.com/viewtopic.php?p=342).

Wow. The Revolution will be...separated?

[bapenguin]

hmmm...doesn't look really "scanned' to me. If this is real then....I don't even know what to say.

update: I got it...it's a mix and match controller system...or you need 4 hands to play!

[joruussuun]

Connected with magnetic grapplers like Pod Racers!

I don't think it's even in the realm of possibility of being authentic.

[Blue]

I don't even know what I'm looking at there. If by Revolution they mean impossible to hold and operate, then I'm with them there. That would be a change for the video game industry and therefore, by definition, a revolution: make a console that absolutely no-one can use and see if people still buy it.

[bapenguin]

Translation anyone?

[Blade]

It's possible that the Revolution controller will have multiple combinations of 50/50 connectable at a center hub.

So, you could configure the two parts of your controller depending on the game you're playing. (i.e. analog for platformers, d-pad for fighters)

That's what I got out of the "scan"..

[Phades]

I'm not buying it. I don't think it's legit. That could very well be a concept model that Nintendo looked at though. They've said that it's not done yet. Could just be one of hundreds.

[automaton]

I learned years ago that you can't judge controllers by looking at pictures of them. I remember the first time I saw a picture of a Gamecube controller. I thought it was the most obtuse looking thing I ever saw. When I finally got hold of it, the thing melted into my hands.

This should be even more true for such a radically different controller (if you accept that these pics are for real). I'll judge it when I see it in action and get my hands on it.

[gravey]

I don't even know what I'm looking at there. If by Revolution they mean impossible to hold and operate, then I'm with them there. That would be a change for the video game industry and therefore, by definition, a revolution: make a console that absolutely no-one can use and see if people still buy it.
You're looking at what's probably a controller seperated into left and right parts that are held in each hand. Provided you have thumbs, it shouldn't be that impossible to hold and operate--there are precedents in the form of, for instance, portable keyboards designed to be used with one hand.

Of course I can't say for sure since I can't read Japanese, but it's my guess that most everyone else who will be jumping to conclusions here can't read Japanese either.

[joruussuun]

It's possible that the Revolution controller will have multiple combinations of 50/50 connectable at a center hub.

So, you could configure the two parts of your controller depending on the game you're playing. (i.e. analog for platformers, d-pad for fighters)

That's what I got out of the "scan"..

Whoa... now that actually made sense and if done properly might be a cool idea.

[Doctor Setebos]

Whoa... now that actually made sense and if done properly might be a cool idea.No, that makes no sense whatsoever. What you're seeing in the scan are 2 parts of one controller. The reason you see what looks like 4 controllers is because the top 2 are the front, and the bottom 2 are the back.

[joruussuun]

No, that makes no sense whatsoever. What you're seeing in the scan are 2 parts of one controller. The reason you see what looks like 4 controllers is because the top 2 are the front, and the bottom 2 are the back.

I was saying Blade's idea of connectable sides to make different "types" of controllers made sense. I realized those were different sides of the same piece. It doesn't make sense to have them one handed though, it takes the resistance of holding with your other hand to reach your thumb over to reach some buttons.
If it was meant to be one handed, the location where the d-pad is would be at an angle more built into the handle then straight out horizontally like that similiar to modern controllers.

[fushi]

It's a photoshop, the jaggy title font makes it apparent. The text itself is also weird.

[Kelegacy]

i get it that there are only 2 pieces, but there are buttons on the back of each, hence the 4 parts shown on the website. So you control with analog, digital on the front, buttons on the back.

Could be neat if this is true...

[kizke]

I'm calling bullshit. No magazine would waste such a massive amount of space like that on white blankness.

[thFOOL]

It's a photoshop, the jaggy title font makes it apparent. The text itself is also weird.

Of course, never mind the fact that photoshop (and other adobe products) was likely used to author the magazine in the first place...

There is no question that it's a photoshopped image. The question is if it's authentic.

The massive amount of whitespace is a little odd, however

[Kamalot]

I learned years ago that you can't judge controllers by looking at pictures of them. I remember the first time I saw a picture of a Gamecube controller. I thought it was the most obtuse looking thing I ever saw. When I finally got hold of it, the thing melted into my hands.

I had the EXACT same experience. I saw photos of the GameCube controller and laughed my ass off. The first time I played Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II, I didn't even realize I was using a controller. It was COMPLETELY natural.

[Kamalot]

Is each controller gyroscopic?

If I could wield a controller like a sword, and have the blade move around on screen, I'd be set! With two of them, dual-wielding!

[Zanzibar]

Guys, guys, you're missing the point. I bet this thing is real, with GYROSCOPES inside each housing. So, instead of needing your thumb to move a joystick, your WRIST acts like a joystick, thus your fingers/thumbs never have to leave the important buttons.

But I think that the 'mix and match' idea is correct as well, you will use 2 of these 4 at any given time. Hell, some of the simple or old games may only require one hand to use this way.

[crunchymonkey]

what is that supposed to be? Can't be real.

[Justin_McElroy]

Let's not insult the fine people at Adobe. This is quite clearly Paint Shop.

Stay gold,

Justin

[Rommel]

Bwahahaha!

[Kefkataran]

I wish they'd officially reveal the controller already so we can get past these rumors.

[abso]

The Revolution is that Nintendo has found a way to grow two more hands for the people that buy it.

A gyroscopic controller would be pretty sweet though. That would really open fps gaming on consoles. Imagine playing zelda where you can swing the controler like a sword. Would also make for intuitive controls for 3D puzzle games.

[Steve_Erhardt]

I'd have to hope, if those really ARE a seperated controller, that it's gyroscopic. I can see all KINDS of aggravation working the d-pad or stick with no counter-force from your other hand to stabilize the platform. Gimme something a little more traditional please and thank you.

[jeffool]

It gets the Jeffool seal of approval! Go Nintendo! (I've been wanting this for ages. But only if they've built in rumble and gyroscopic technology.)

[Kefkataran]

Gyroscopic tech in controllers interests me to a point. but I still fear looking like an even bigger nerd when playing my games.

[Heretic Machine]

Anyone got a mirror? This thing is coming up blank.

[erasmus]

Anyone got a mirror? This thing is coming up blank.

Yeah, the image is dead now, somebody please post a mirror.

[Bone]

but I still fear looking like an even bigger nerd when playing my games.

That ship has sailed, my friend. Embrace your geekiness and use a gyroscopic controller!

Seriously, playing WarioWare Twisted (with built-in gyroscopic control for the GBA) was like a revolution unto itself. I can only imagine what they would do with multiple gyros. Steering a car with the GBA by turning the handheld was so intuitive it made existing controllers seem like Pong paddles.

[Royal Fool]

Needs more mirroring.

[falak]

Steering a car with the GBA by turning the handheld was so intuitive it made existing controllers seem like Pong paddles.Controlling a car with two gyroscopes would require no buttons? Consider my boner officially popped.

I haven't seen the image. Someone trawl their temp cache and hosty hosty. Quickly now.

[if76]

mirror please

[7ofswords]

Mirrorage required.

[fushi]

Of course, never mind the fact that photoshop (and other adobe products) was likely used to author the magazine in the first place...

There is no question that it's a photoshopped image. The question is if it's authentic.

The massive amount of whitespace is a little odd, however
To be more obvious: No professional magazine or anything else printed would make the edges of the characters (especially kanji) look so jagged as in that "scan". Text and everything related to it are done in vector graphic programs, not Photoshop.

Edit: Imageshack mirror (http://img34.echo.cx/img34/1030/4357789lb2hz.png)

[Royal Fool]

Thanks for the mirror.

I'd have to say it's fake. Based on the simple fact that the controller hasn't been completed yet, so why would Nintendo send out a pamphlet for it?

Add to that the fact that no magazine name is mentioned and there is actually no sign of the magazine-ness anywhere (It just looks like a press pamphlet or something Nintendo would have up on their website)... yeah, I'm voting fake.

[KarmaGhost]

Good God, what the fuck is that?

[pacman]

Good God, what the fuck is that?

you know, I was thinking the exact same thing :confused:

Thanks for the mirror fushi

[Cha-Ka]

Thanks for mirror. This looks....really, REALLY dumb. But it's not fair to judge it until Nintendo makes their official announcement.

Guys, guys, you're missing the point. I bet this thing is real, with GYROSCOPES inside each housing. So, instead of needing your thumb to move a joystick, your WRIST acts like a joystick, thus your fingers/thumbs never have to leave the important buttons.
If that's true, then Nintendo should really remember the disaster that was The Glove for playstation (http://www.gamevortex.com/gamevortex/hard_rev.php/292). That thing was used the wrist to handle D-pad/Left Analog Stick actions and it was universally scorned as being crap. Personally, I think the concept has merit but it had a steep learning curve and would have a hard time taking hold in the current market. If this wrist-steering is the standard to the controls of Nintendo's next-gen console, then that's one revolution I won't be televising.

[DarkPhenomenon]

This thing is clearly fake, Just thinking about about how you USE a controller makes this mockup impossible.

When you press any of the buttons on the right hand side of a controller with your thumb, you are supporting the pressure of the button press with the left hand. You can't play games for a substantial period of time without that support. The only controllers that do decent one handed button presses are triggers.

The second biggest reason why this is fake is because it's not revolutionary, it's breaking a controller in half and making each half more difficult to use.

[zsears]

Thanks for mirror. This looks....really, REALLY dumb. But it's not fair to judge it until Nintendo makes their official announcement.


If that's true, then Nintendo should really remember the disaster that was The Glove for playstation (http://www.gamevortex.com/gamevortex/hard_rev.php/292). That thing was used the wrist to handle D-pad/Left Analog Stick actions and it was universally scorned as being crap. Personally, I think the concept has merit but it had a steep learning curve and would have a hard time taking hold in the current market. If this wrist-steering is the standard to the controls of Nintendo's next-gen console, then that's one revolution I won't be televising.

It's funny that the site gave it a good score and you said it was crap.

[Heretic Machine]

WTF is that?

[Dracula-X]

Man, I don't even know what to say...

[Cha-Ka]

It's funny that the site gave it a good score and you said it was crap.

Correction: I said everyone else called it crap, which isn't supported well by my link. *sigh* Of course, the fact that it totally vanished from the market and was never improved or re-released might also be construed as failure.

[mister_slim]

Actually, it looks like the bottom images are the rear view of the top. Stick and pad under thumbs, and buttons nestled under fingers. Could be interesting, but I'd say it's both fake and unlikely.

[KDups]

Yes, all these outside sources have images and feature breakdowns of the controller before Nintendo officially shows it off. Like that's ever happened, ever.

[montemuscle1970]

I didn't read through most of the thread so forgive me if this was already said, but other than most likely not being the revolution controller, maybe its a mix and match thing depending on the type of game you're playing.

[Doctor Setebos]

Actually, it looks like the bottom images are the rear view of the top. Stick and pad under thumbs, and buttons nestled under fingers. Could be interesting, but I'd say it's both fake and unlikely.I think you're right. Thanks for noticing that. It certainly makes a lot more sense than the analog stick and d-pad being on one side and all the buttons being on the other, like I originally speculated.

[Shifteh]

Even with the button placement, I can't see this working. A joystick would be hard enough to use like that, but the D-pad? Come on. Imagine Trying to press the far left part of it.

And remember, Nintendo likes to make controllers that anyone can use (Might want to take a page of that book, XBox..). Can you see a kid using that? Seriously.

[Dirty Harry]

This thing is clearly fake, Just thinking about about how you USE a controller makes this mockup impossible.

When you press any of the buttons on the right hand side of a controller with your thumb, you are supporting the pressure of the button press with the left hand. You can't play games for a substantial period of time without that support. The only controllers that do decent one handed button presses are triggers.

The second biggest reason why this is fake is because it's not revolutionary, it's breaking a controller in half and making each half more difficult to use.
It could work out compared to the controllers with gyros in them because they suck seriously. I bet this would add so much to games like flight sims and racing games and maybe even fps games if this would work. you would probally be connected via wifi wavebird style to the new rev and you could have a docking station that recharges the controllers.

[Revolutionary1]

I suppose they could work with the gyro idea, but I still don't like the idea of this design. I'm voting fake, but congrats to whoever thought it up, because it is an interesting (if ill-conceived) design.

[Zeal]

LMAO. A joke, right.

[jeffool]

Ha! I just remembered something! I honestly hope this is real. Then I can say I (almost) predicted it (http://www.igda.org/Forums/showthread.php?threadid=11846&perpage=11&pagenumber=1) back in August of 2004. (Last post on the page.)

But I want my touchpad buttons on top in addition to the analog and d-pad, darn it. :(

[Heretic Machine]

Well... if the buttons were on the bottom, that would mean that you would be using your other fingers a lot more... I guess that's sort of revolutionary <.<

[mkelehan]

That's a waste. I can't see it being real. All a modular controller would do is fragment the userbase, unless every controller... set... came with all of them, which would be too expensive. A d-pad, two sticks, and a bunch of buttons is just fine.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

It would take me 2 weeks to lose half of it somewhere in my room.

[Furious Wang]

Seems more than reasonable to me. There really is no functional purpose to holding a singular controller with both hands now that wireless has taken over. Split the damn thing in two and let me hold one in both hands. If you put a seperate gyro in each half you could have full 3-d movement without an analog stick. Developers could make their own controller halves and package them with their titles for the cheap as well.

If this is the Revolution (or part of it) I'd say its pretty solid and a brilliant idea. I'm excited.

There could even be a function that monitors the distance between the two halves which could translate into a gameplay element.

Funny how everyone's so quick to immediately jump on anything as fake and photoshopped without any knowledge of how to detect a photoshopped image.

This thing is legit. Its far too genius an idea to come from some random fanboy with too much time on his hands.

This is from a pamphlet sent out to developers to garner interest in the Revolution. I doubt it was meant to get out.

And to the person who said you have to hold a controller with two hands: Do you hold your tv remote with two hands?

[Lon Lon Rabbit]

My Japanese is almost non existant, but I just wanted to confirm that the katakana (character system for foreign words) on the far left point of the picture, the one pointing to the handle of the left portion of the controller, says "jairosucoupu" (gairoscope). So, fake or not, this article indeed claims it is gyroscopic.

EDIT: Concerning the above post, that indeed does sound very cool, but I dunno where I'd keep a whole bag of controller halves, each one for a different game...

[Grimgrock]

The picture didn't even load for me. Perhaps I skipped over the post where someone else put it on their site?

[Steve_Erhardt]

And to the person who said you have to hold a controller with two hands: Do you hold your tv remote with two hands?
Nope. Then again, I'm not playing games with it either, though, so that seems like a real non-starter.

Like I implied earlier, unless the controllers will respond to butterfly kisses on the d-pad/stick (and, indeed, if you can control your own inputs to such a feather-light degree), your hands are likely to cramp up from simultaneously trying to control the game and not flip the controller out of your fingers at the same time. I'd be happy enough to be wrong about this because I like Nintendo, but they just don't seem like they'll be comfortable OR functional controllers. :confused:

[Furious Wang]

Nope. Then again, I'm not playing games with it either, though, so that seems like a real non-starter.

Like I implied earlier, unless the controllers will respond to butterfly kisses on the d-pad/stick (and, indeed, if you can control your own inputs to such a feather-light degree), your hands are likely to cramp up from simultaneously trying to control the game and not flip the controller out of your fingers at the same time. I'd be happy enough to be wrong about this because I like Nintendo, but they just don't seem like they'll be comfortable OR functional controllers. :confused:

You are wrong. In fact, you're so far off base you're out in the parking lot still trying to get out of your car. Take two gamecube controllers. Hold one in your left hand and one in your right hand. See how easy that is? Now imagine the same thing with better ergonomics. There ya go. Doesn't work so well with a PS2 or Xbox controller, but with a gamcube one it does.

[Kamalot]

Take two gamecube controllers. Hold one in your left hand and one in your right hand.
I'll have to try that.

I do know that, for the Dreamcast, I used to play Quake III with the mouse and controller.

Right hand used the mouse for looking and shooting.
Left hand used the thumb stick for forward-back, left-right movement. Left trigger jumped.

It worked alarmingly well since the thumb stick game me analog movement, something you don't get with a keyboard. I have since lamented the fact that there haven't been any good fps joysticks for a similiar setup. If this controller works as some are claiming ( i know i know its'a fake! ) the right controller could be used to 'point' in the direction you want to look like a gyro mouse.

And, if you haven't gotten an opportunity to try a gyro mouse, you are missing out. The frist time I used one on my friend's Media PC I KNEW it had to be built into a game system controller at some point.

[Strand]

A rep for Nintendo during the G4 E3 coverage dropped one hint about the Revolution Controller. He basically said knowing that this console will play games for all previous nintendo systems then the controller would have to mimic the controllers for all those old systems.

Other than some touch screen setup some people think will happen, what better way to do that than have interchangable controller pieces? If you look at those images as 2 halves that snap together then you can imagine a NES/SNES/N64 piece that snaps into place to more realistically mimic those controllers.

[ninjagamer]

Has anyone else entertained the idea that the controller might NOT be separated, and that we may simply looking at the two sides of the controller, without the middle?

Perhaps the design for the middle isn't completed yet, but the sides are. It's not that unbelievable, once you think about it.

[emperordahc]

Ditto on that about the middle being gone. If they're adding a super neat feature like a mini screen or something, they may just not be showing that part yet.

Geeze. I wish they'd hurry up and tell us!

[sh103]

From IGNCube.com

"From Japanese Publication Shukan Diamond

In late December of last year, Shuken Diamond published a rather interesting bit of information concerning the GameCube's successor. The article, found in the 2005 Preview Edition of the magazine, claimed the Nintendo Revolution Controller would not feature a traditional D-Pad or "A" and "B" buttons. While the information goes unverified by Nintendo, the information strengthens the company's claim that Revolution will alter the way people interact with games. It also ties in nicely with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's recent statement, in that Revolution presents a "paradigm shift" in gaming. "

Even though this information was unconfirmed by Nintendo, the source seems more reliable than this 'unknown Jap mag' claiming to show pics of the controller. Therefore I think the picture is a fake.

[JM_Zen]

Looks fake. Nintendo said they were doing away with the D-pad as well as the A and B buttons. This 'leak' seems to have all of those elements in place.

[Steve_Erhardt]

You are wrong. In fact, you're so far off base you're out in the parking lot still trying to get out of your car. Take two gamecube controllers. Hold one in your left hand and one in your right hand. See how easy that is? Now imagine the same thing with better ergonomics. There ya go. Doesn't work so well with a PS2 or Xbox controller, but with a gamcube one it does.

You know what... you're right. Cool.

Now I just gotta get over the mental block of my hands being controller-independant of each other and I'll be all set.

[Kamalot]

Take two gamecube controllers. Hold one in your left hand and one in your right hand.You know, I tried it, and it works! Wow! If the units were designed to be one-handed, it would be amazing.

[danhoo]

Random late-to-the-thread post on this, but someone who's fluent in Japanese told me that the "Japanese" in the "scan" is total gibberish, adding more confirmation that this is a total fake.

[Mashko1]

I just read through the PS3 controller thread and again I don't see the point. Everyone will say it's too big, it's not comfortable, why is this button here? Once it's in our hand, then decide. I know we're all excited to play these things but months of speculation may destroy any enjoyment we may have once we get it. Took me three years to get an X-Box and I still think it was a mistake.