Gamerfeed has posted some info about a touchscreen that's capabale of giving the user the physical sensation that he's pushing a button. Could this be the secret behind the Nintendo Revolution?
Quote:
With Immersion TouchSense technology, instead of feeling just the hard surface of the screen, graphical buttons can seem to depress and release. This responsive action supplies a more intuitive, natural, multisensory experience.
I may not be a "casual" gamer, but I've never had a problem of too many buttons. I only see this being useful for taking away buttons on a controller, not adding them.
we're getting conflicting information left and right, aren't we? wasn't it just a short while ago that iwata said the controller wouldn't have a touch screen? what am i missing?
Could also be useful for customizing button layouts for different games and/or users. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with (most) current controllers, but I am willing to be blown away with something thats entirely superior and not just a gradual evolution of what we have now.
I think that by not releasing information Nintendo is hurting themselves. There is a good chance that their revolution will not be as good as the speculations their fans denote. That leads to disappointment.
I think that by not releasing information Nintendo is hurting themselves. There is a good chance that their revolution will not be as good as the speculations their fans denote. That leads to disappointment.
Kinda how Xbox fans are disappointed in the 360? Disappoinment only come from having lofty expectations. Nintendo for the most part always seem very conservative in the spec game. They clearly gave out the low end of the GC spec wise, as RS and RE4 were easily pushing above the 6-8 million polygon level Nintendo stated with the Cube.
As far as touch controllers, if this allows you to create your OWN button layouts, and as long as you can still press 2+ buttons at the same time, this is great. Heck developers could create their optimized button layouts for THEIR games and not be forced to use the hardware makers standard layout.
I'd have to get my hands on something like this before I make any decisions.
Personally, I thought the GameCube controller was FUGLY until I got my hands on it and realized how intellligent the design decisons are. I won't discount this one until I can actually try it with my own two hands first.
A touch screen controller would allow developers to finally bring over the RTS games from the PC. RTS games just do not translate well to consoles when using a standard controller.
Oh, and Xbox fans aren't disappointed with the 360.
Could also be useful for customizing button layouts for different games and/or users. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with (most) current controllers, but I am willing to be blown away with something thats entirely superior and not just a gradual evolution of what we have now.
Anyone remember the Atari Jaguar? They had those interchangeable button layouts that you attached to the controller. I remember that in Wolf 3D, for example, they let you select your weapon and in another game, the name of which escapes me, pushing different buttons make your vehicle morph into different shapes.
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I may not be a "casual" gamer, but I've never had a problem of too many buttons. I only see this being useful for taking away buttons on a controller, not adding them.
I can tell you've never experienced the joy that is playing an Atari Jaguar. If the graphics didn't make your eyes bleed then the controller will surly give you carpel-tunnel. It also puts the rev1.0 Xbox controller to shame for sheer size and clunkyness.
Gah, KarmaGhost beat me to the punch. Funny how revolutionary controller designs bring up the Atari Jaguar of all things. Oh wait...you liked the controller?
Last edited by netcraazzy; 05-25-2005 at 01:25 PM..
I don't see how a touch-screen controller could EVER be comfortable...
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I'm not sure about the whole idea of touchscreens and changeable interfaces. I do think that tactile feedback would make them a lot more viable... but still. And, by the way, Xbox owners haven't been disappointed at all with the 360.
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I don't see how a touch-screen controller could EVER be comfortable...
Cause you would still be pressing with your thumb??? Considering I haven't ever used a touchscreen controller, I am not about to guess if it is uncomfortable or not.
Maybe the whole controller will be touch sensitive and provide realistic tactile feedback over the whole surface? And maybe it'll sense when your response time slows down and pulse a gentle massage into your fingers to ease the carpal tunnel. Maybe they'll release Mario Rez and you'll have to fight with your girlfriend to get the controller back...
Maybe we should all just stfu and accept the fact that Nintendo isn't going to release details for awhile...
First, good reference on the Rez Japan-only peripheral, lurker.
Second, does anyone know how this would actually work? By making areas of the screen vibrate? They're not very clear. The company's website says that "TouchSense" has been in use since 1996 in peripherals and in car controls, etc. They must mean something else, right?
I just don't think a touch screen controller, even with tactile feedback, would be useful. How much of videogaming is muscle memory? I don't have to look down at my controller because I have, at most 3 options available (PS2, XB, & GC controllers) which all have fundamentally similar layouts. If you had a different controller, not just for each system, but for each game, how confusing would it be? You'd probably spend more time looking at the controller than at the screen. It's a nice theory but likely not practical for gaming.
I don't think the Revolution controler is going to BE a touch screen, but I definitely think it will HAVE a touch screen.
Look at the compatability the Cube has with the GBA. Now for a lot of games, it's not that significant. However, if any of you played some multiplayer Final Fantasy:Chrystal Chronicles, then you've seen how useful it can be. I think Nintendo was using that connectivity to experiment with the idea of having a controler that incorporates a screen.
Then you look at the DS, where again a screen is built in with regular buttons as part of the controler. Except, with the DS, the touch features of the screen could be used to partially control the game.
Neither of those things tries to replace the standard buttons with a screen. They just use the idea of using the second screen to enhance the first.
I think the Revolution controllers will have a touch screen along with the kind of buttons we're used to. In some games, you might use the screen to control the game directly (like with the DS Metroid) and other times it will work as in FF:CC, giving you a personal screen to work with.
I think the button layout will be reconfigurable somehow. In an interview on G4 at E3, Reggie posed a question similar to this: The Revolution will play games from all previous consoles. If you look at all the controllers from those systems, they are very different. How would we overcome this?
My thought for a while has been that the controller may be a generic looking gamepad with a surface that would rise up where the developer wanted to put buttons.
I think the button layout will be reconfigurable somehow. In an interview on G4 at E3, Reggie posed a question similar to this: The Revolution will play games from all previous consoles. If you look at all the controllers from those systems, they are very different. How would we overcome this?
My thought for a while has been that the controller may be a generic looking gamepad with a surface that would rise up where the developer wanted to put buttons.
thats an idea i have not heard before. the controller will create buttons that arent just fake buttons but ACTUAL buttons.
for some reason that makes me think of those things you see at the mall shops that have tiny metal pins that are against a clear plastic screen. and if you pressy your hand against the other side the pins drop around your hand leaving the other pins against the glass forming a three-dimensional mold of your hand.
