Time Praises Revolution Controller

[bapenguin]

Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/) has an article called 5 Things that Will Blow Your Mind (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1118338-1,00.html) posted on their website. The 5 Items include a new Airplane, Less Fat Chicken Nuggets, an MP3 Cell Phone, a Visual Language translator, and the Revolution from Nintendo.

When it comes to video-game controllers, Nintendo has always been an innovator. Back when Atari and its one-button joystick ruled, Nintendo devised a two-button controller with a directional thumb pad. Then came action-sensitive vibration, wireless connectivity and an analog stick for 360˚ steering. Now the company hopes to shake things up with a wireless controller for next year's Revolution console that will allow players to apply real-world physical experience to games. The one-handed grip has motion and position sensors, so if you're playing a Ping-Pong game, you just flick the controller like a paddle. Or, to shoot, take aim and tap a button. For more elaborate games, a second piece with analog stick and two triggers (for that extra itchy finger) can be connected.
That's some variety of company Nintendo is with right there, and it's good to see they are getting national media attention for this.
Thanks 1UP (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144800) for the scoop.

[fitbabits]

I'm still not entirely convinced. That said, I've yet to hold the damn thing and use it.

It is, however, pleasing that the national media are on board.

[NoName]

It is, however, pleasing that the national media are on board.
Yea, though most of the mainstream (non-gamer) public will read this and have no clue or care.

That being said, I think Nintendo has succesfully created a controller that can pull in a lot of this non-gamer public. Their biggest challenge will be raising interest in people who don't think about games or follow gaming news...

I suppose word of mouth will be one of their biggest drives. Commercials and magazine ads can only interest a non-gamer in playing a video game so much...

[Jacob Singer]

Yes, I would agree with Time that the Revolution controller is on par with lowfat chicken nuggets, and will probably have the exact same effect on my life.

[HumpYourWay]

And Time is of course my first choice for videogame related articles and expertise... NOT.
Time reporting about the controller is actually a bad sign ;)

[BabyJesus]

Time, it's where I get all my gaming information.

I'm just surprised that Nintendo hasn't named the controller something cute like the Magic Wand(tm). Or even better, Mario's Magic Wand(tm).

[Ka_Feosh]

Why is that cell phone on the list? MP3s and online access on cell phones isn't even a remotely new concept (even the original N-gage had both and it's been over two years since it was released), isn't downloading MP3s using the mobile web the next logical step? I was thinking "took them long enough" more than I was thinking "woah! OMGWTF!"

[TrackZero]

Damn, I never thought about Pong (no, seriously). With the rumble feature and the controller as it is, that would actually be fun.

[Doctor Setebos]

Well, obviously Time magazine isn't the best source for gaming-related news. But what's cool about this feature is the general non-gaming public exposure. I've said before that the Revolution concept has the potential to bring in people who want to play video games, but are scared of all the buttons on those oversized controllers. Being featured among 5 things that will blow your mind in Time magazine will give it a huge boost in the non-gamer public. I think it's fantastic for Nintendo.

[Jacob Singer]

I'm still not convinced that people who haven't even gotten into gaming yet (after what, thirty years?) are going to suddenly desire to wave a wand at their tv sets.

[BabyJesus]

I'm still not convinced that people who haven't even gotten into gaming yet (after what, thirty years?) are going to suddenly desire to wave a wand at their tv sets.

Hey!, Thats Mario's Magic Wand(tm).

[Bone]

I'm still not convinced that people who haven't even gotten into gaming yet (after what, thirty years?) are going to suddenly desire to wave a wand at their tv sets.

I dunno. I already watched Mario Party and Monkey Ball convert a lot of non-gamers (girls and guys) when they would come over and play at our place. If anybody can pull more people into gaming, it's Nintendo, and having a controller that looks like a remote control may be just the bait the mainstream needs.

[kickmybum]

Did Nintendo really invent all of those things?

[ElectricMonk]

actually, every single console gen they come out with a controller feature that is forever copied:

nes - d-pad
snes - shoulder buttons
n64 - analog stick (& rumble pack?)
gc - wireless

so i'm inclined to trust nintendo just because their track record in that area has been flawless, even though i haven't owned a nintendo system since the original nes.

[mister_slim]

actually, every single console gen they come out with a controller feature that is forever copied:

nes - d-pad
snes - shoulder buttons
n64 - analog stick (& rumble pack?)
gc - wireless

so i'm inclined to trust nintendo just because their track record in that area has been flawless, even though i haven't owned a nintendo system since the original nes.
Actually, the d-pad started on the Game & Watch. Several of those weren't completely new ideas, but Nintendo just executes these things perfectly. They seem to have Apple-like instincts in that regard.

[Draft]

Nintendo Revolution == Less Fat Chicken McNuggets.

Yes, sounds about right.

[NoName]

Actually, the d-pad started on the Game & Watch. Several of those weren't completely new ideas, but Nintendo just executes these things perfectly. They seem to have Apple-like instincts in that regard.
But Game & Watch was still Nintendo, and they have a patent on it. So when they got copied everyone else had to make their d-pad look different enough to get around the patent :D

[nonchalance]

I dunno. I already watched Mario Party and Monkey Ball convert a lot of non-gamers (girls and guys) when they would come over and play at our place.

Mario Kart does the same thing.

Interesting.
In the last two days, I've seen Time rank a comic book in the top 100 English-language novels of the last eighty years, and a video game controller in 5 new awesome things.

What's next?

[RMan]

I'm still not convinced that people who haven't even gotten into gaming yet (after what, thirty years?) are going to suddenly desire to wave a wand at their tv sets.
I think there are a ton of people that are not interested in the games that are currently available but would be interested in the things the Revolution can do. The controller allows many games to be accessible while still being powerful, to allow sophistication in the controls without requiring mastery from the player. Honestly, I've been a gamer for a long time, and I actually think games are too complicated for my current tastes, and it's almost entirely because I have to learn and remember a bunch of arbitrary buttons to play a game. Honestly, I do not think this is primarily because of games being more complicated, but because of my being more impatient and wanting more pure experiences. For these reasons and more, the Revolution is easily the most exciting piece of hardware I've ever seen.