All you want to know on Nintendo Revolution

Why Nintendo Revolution doesn't need HD support !

2006-03-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Here is an article that i just wrote and that i want to share with you! Have a good read.

About HD (High Definition)

One of the first things that a Sony or Microsoft fanboy will tell you about Nintendo Revolution is : « Lame, this console does not support HD ». HD. High Definition. Who cared about this two years ago? Nobody. However today it seems for a large part of gamers that a console not supporting HD is a big mistake. They're partially true because HD-televisions are becoming cheaper and cheaper, even if they are much more expansive than regular TV's. HD brings nicer graphics by offering a display much more detailed because it's composed of much more pixels. With the increasing computing power of video games consoles, HD is becoming possible, but at what price! If you want to display HD textures, you need to store in RAM heavy textures... Which makes that your console needs many RAM. Just look at the Xbox 360 for example: it has 512 MB of RAM. You may think this is huge which is true compared to the 64 MB of the first Xbox. However, the Xbox only had to display « normal » graphics, because it was meant to play on usual TV's. Proposing a new gaming experience with awesome HD graphics also implies that you'll buy a new TV to enjoy it at its maximum. Only a fraction of the population currently knows it, and a smaller fraction is ready to spend a huge amount of money in a HD-TV. But the question is: does Nintendo Revolution really needs to support HD? If you're bored to read my article, i can tell you the answer is no. If you're curious and want to know why, read the rest!

Nintendo Revolution and its display

Since this point there will be much speculation from my part. However, i've been quite a good guesser by the past, and many clues came to support my theories. But please read this speculation, it coasts nothing uh? There is currently large evidence that Nintendo Revolution will display graphics in a totally new way: for example the total lack of screenshots, strange quotes and hints from Nintendo executives... I won't quote them all here because this is not the purpose of this article and because i don't have a week to write them all down! One of the strongest of these proofs comes from connections of Nintendo with the movies industry. First, the name that Nintendo gave to its CPU : Hollywood and Broadway. Hollywood is known worldwide to be the capital of movies, and Broadway the capital of entertainement with awesome shows. This single hint wouldn't be enough to prove anything, i agree. But Nintendo also announced (dig in Kevin's blog...) that Nintendo bought a movie studio. Mmmmh, a second clue. Nintendo even wants to make Metroid and Zelda movies! For sure, Nintendo has a connection with movie, there are several solid proofs to it. But what else?

3D display and Nintendo Revolution

The unusual way to display graphics of Revolution is rumored to be a form of 3D projection like Stereoscopic 3D, which would make you feel like the game would take place in your room, and you'd really feel inside the game. The game elements that would appear in 3D-space would seem real to the player. Many people on the web brought solid proofs that this kind of technology could be cheap and easy to implement: a societey named Light Blue Optics produces such a system. You'll note the « Blue Light » name in the society and the blue light in front of the Revolution, just up to the slot. It could be a hint to the relation between this society and Nintendo. But you'll tell me: « Well, and what about HD? ». I'm coming to this point. Steven Spielberg said at a movie realisators conference that he was going to release 3D versions of his movies with a new technology and that a japanese video game company will use it in 2006... Isn't it enough? It's an evidence today that any form of 3D projection is the main secret of Nintendo Revolution. And the fact that Nintendo Revolution is going to use the same technology that will be widely used in movies industry is the key to understand why Revolution does not need HD.

Nintendo Revolution: a universal movie player

It has officially been announced that Revolution will be able to read usual DVD movies with a dongle (which will be an add-on), which will allow to read all the movies you already have. But imagine just one moment that a new DVD-format (let's call it 3DVD) would appear to support the 3D projection capacity of future movies like it's going to begin this year. Using this format, you can feel like if you were on Tatooine, or flying in a spaceship, by seeing everything from the scene just around you and your beer. A movie that would not be confined to the usual screen and his four corners, like would say Shigeru Miyamoto. What would be the best player for 3DVD? You already guessed the answer: Nintendo Revolution. A console that can read all your DVDs. All future 3DVDs movies. A console that would be a universal movie player, in addition to be a universal Nintendo games player with his capability to run NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Game Cube games (and Revolution games of course). In my opinion, this is the revolution that is awaiting. What would you prefer? Watching a movie in HD with awesome graphics, but on an expansive screen with a fixed size, or watching a movie like if you'd be inside this movie? My answer like yours will be an big YES, for sure.

A universal Revolution

Nintendo with his virtual console wants to appeal 80's gamers, 90's gamers, casual gamers, and even non-gamers. In addition to this, Nintendo will appeal parents, grand-parents and the whole family with games fun and easy to use, with a simple remote control like they've known for years and 3D projection; and with a new way to see movies with 3DVDs (like i call them in this article) on this 3DVDs player that you control with the same remote! So Revolution would be a universal movie player (usual DVDs and new 3DVDs), a universal Nintendo games console (NES, SNES, N64, GC and Revolution games), appealing all kinds of players and non-players. This would be a very tactical approach because it would immediately make the HD obsolete for most people. And who would buy a Blu-Ray player (PS3 or player alone) with a Revolution able to offer an amazing visual and gaming experience? That's what i thought, nobody.

Conclusion

By developping a new hybrid video game machine, Nintendo is going to take part in another main part of entertainement: movies. By offering a 3D projection experience for movies, they are aiming a market that has never seemed so wide. So why spending money in HD-support? Why proposing a video game console at 400$ when you can propose optimized and ingenious technology for much cheaper? Why putting large amounts of RAM when it becomes useless? Definitely, Nintendo Revolution does not need HD but for sure Sony and Microsoft need to sit down and relax until Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo of Japan, finally drops the awesome bomb Nintendo Revolution is.

PS : comments are back ;-) With moderation in order to keep away troublemakers!

The Revolution Philosophy

2006-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

The Revolution Philosophy

Introduction

The video game market has gained considerable expansion since it appeared to the public (early eighteen). In order to offer a better game experience, video game systems offer smarter graphics, optimized sound effects and so on at each generation. These improvements are also developed, of course, to appeal the consumer. However, the basis of each video game that is released today lies on concepts from very old games. At this time, do we often see the emergence of new concepts? The answer is: no. When it is the case, the game is usually seen as a masterpiece, as it innovates and allows a new gaming experience. With these things in mind, we could predict that the future of gaming is using concepts previously developed in games with better graphics and a more complex gameplay. So evolution of hardware would only be a succession of machines, always more powerful. But would a player with this point of view would be a long-term player? Certainly not. In this article, we'll try to explain why Nintendo Revolution will be a real revolution in gaming and why its development strategy is so relevant to the situation in which the market is.

Why and how innovate?

Innovation is a very dangerous thing because of its randomness: it costs much to the company, and this makes unsure the success of the product. Cost reasons are obvious as innovation needs research & development, a very expansive domain with uncertain results. Furthermore, even if players always ask for something new, they're very attached to well-known concepts and are refractory when you present them a new concept. You can find this paradox in the domain of 2D fighting games for example. However, if innovation is thought in a ingenious way, then it will be a success: just look how many Nintendogs games have been sold in the world.

The risks of innovation explain why editors prefer improving concepts, or rather proposing a simple upgrade each year (FIFA 2056...). It's easy too to release a game related to a very popular movie that has just came out. The paradox is that big companies like EA prefer to follow this point of view, whereas little companies tend to have few bucks but much ideas, and finally innovation comes quite often from them. So the key of innovation is to propose universal concepts that will be understandable in 10 seconds, or original concepts including a part of existing elements the player will be familiar with. This fragile alchemy is the key of innovation's success. You'll notice that nowadays soul of innovation lies anyway on software, and not on hardware. Controllers are basically the same since the NES : sticks and buttons. Hardware is becoming more and more powerful, but can we call it "innovation"? Basics of video games hardware have not changed much in 20 years. So a real and huge innovation would be a system offering a new kind of hardware and original software. Nintendo Revolution is on that way as we'll see in the next part.

Hardware of Revolution : designed to « expand gaming », but not only

In this part, I’ll try to extract the key points that characterize Nintendo Revolution's philosophy. We'll see how each of these points agrees with the concept of innovation and expansion of the gaming market.

Innovation allows to have long-term players, but it can appeal new players too. That's what Nintendo likes to call "Expand the market of gaming". Video game players are typically between 10 and 30 years old. Older people are afraid by complexity of video games: who hasn't heard his parents say, trying to make them play "Oh my god, all these buttons! So complicated...". A system which can be played easily even by older people would be massively more played, this is an evidence. It could make a whole family play together to video games. This aspect of simplicity is one of the keys of Revolution. Furthermore, by directly playing by moving the controller, which can represent a sword, a tennis racket, a golf club and so on, everyone can have fun immediately. These reasons explain why the Revolution will be without any doubt the console with maximal accessibility for people of various ages.

Now let's talk about the immersive side. Existing video games systems can be very immersive: if the story is fascinating enough, or if it requires much concentration, you'll make an abstraction of your whole real environment. But this is only one of the immersion aspects. A few years ago, Nintendo tried to develop immersive hardware with few success: the Virtual Boy for example. Not really a home system, not really a handled console, this system allowed not much innovation, but much headaches for sure! Poor graphics and sounds, very few games, this system did not have many reasons to convince a gamer to buy it. Nintendo worked on a virtual glove too, which has been released for the NES. This one was impressive, but not really immersive. However, this was a good attempt to make the player directly interacting with the game using moves. The Nintendo Revolution controller is a modern version of this virtual glove, much more efficient and wireless but basically this is the same thing. This controller is a very ingenious idea, because it is very similar with virtual reality or motion sensing technologies, but much cheaper, let me explain. Nowadays engineers can manipulate virtual molecules, virtual pieces of a car prototype and others with expansive and advanced systems of virtual reality (VR). Nintendo found the way to develop a controller which has the same functions as these advanced systems of VR, but much cheaper using mass production and simplification. With this new controller, your acts will be directly included in the game, there is a real fusion between the player and the game: immersion is very high.

Finally, let's talk about nostalgia. Many players who began video games with Mario Bros around 1985 have stopped to play with the age of 3D gaming. Since 1995, and the arrival of Playstation and Nintendo 64, a huge number of players did not recognize themselves in what video games were becoming. Graphics progressively took a more and more important place in gaming, and sweet concepts started to disappear. A part of these players is coming back to gaming with the Nintendo DS, which offers many 2D gaming and innovative concepts of games. One of the reasons of Nintendo DS's success is this feeling of nostalgia that this kind of players have in their heart: the good times of 2D, with NES, Super NES, Master System, Genesis... Nintendo Revolution will use player's nostalgia in a better way that Nintendo DS does: it will allow to download games from NES, Super NES and Nintendo 64, and Nintendo Revolution will be able to run every Nintendo game ever made. If you belong to the category of players I described before, you'll want a Nintendo Revolution at home for sure: you won't resist to this alchemy of retro gaming and innovation.

Well, it's a nice thing to propose new hardware and new games concepts. But innovation has a price! Just look at the price of next-gen consoles: Xbox 360 is $300-400, PS3 is announced around $400. Price is a major problem for most gamers, and this point can influence what system they'll buy. By proposing a relative low-price (less than $300), Nintendo will make Revolution available for a large part of the population. It has always been Nintendo's strategy to offer consoles at low prices, and it perfectly works: the perfect example is DS versus PSP. One of the reasons which explains why DS is a success is its price, Sony PSP does not sell so much because of its very high price ($250). Using mass production and technological tricks, Nintendo is able to offer these low prices.

Conclusion

Accessibility, immersion, nostalgia and a low price are the four key-concepts which summarize the philosophy of Nintendo Revolution. Each of these concepts brings one or several categories of players : accessibility will appeal older people, immersion will appeal people from various ages, nostalgia will bring back "old" players, and the low price will be an argument for everyone. But Nintendo Revolution does more than expanding the market of gaming: it will probably be a new basis for future generations of consoles, even if Revolution's direction is radically different from Sony and Microsoft. It's a high risk, but Nintendo saw with DS that people had a very positive feeling with the DS. Finally, the Nintendo Revolution definitely seems to be the perfect answer to the question: "How can we expand and revolutionize the market of gaming?".

Nintendo Revolution : du lourd en perspective

2006-01-31T03:54:00.000-08:00

Bonjour à tous,

Je vous laisse méditer ces quelques lignes de Perrin Kaplan, vice-présidente du marketing chez Nintendo USA, lors de la "minute d'IGN". A la première lecture, on se dit "bouarf, rien de neuf". Et pourtant, si vous lisez les passages que j'ai surlignés, vous comprendrez qu'une grosse surprise (probablement hardware vu les termes) nous attend... Et on comprend également que LA surprise n'a pas été encore révélée.

Bonne journée !

n5_dev

La question de cette semaine : les lecteurs meurent d'envie d'en savoir plus sur la Revolution. Pourquoi tant de silence ? Quand aura-t-on de nouvelles informations ? Et devra-t-on vraiment atendre jusqu'à l'E3 ?

Perrin Kaplan, vice president du marketing, Nintendo of America:

Matt, toi et moi avons joué à ce petit jeu depuis un bon moment, toi me posant des questions et moi ne répondant qu'à certaines d'entre elles ! Tu sais, j'adore te torturer, donc... Les informations concernant les nouveaux produits n'arrivent jamais assez vite pour ceux ayant un gros apétit, et ce n'est pas différent [pour la Revolution]. Toutefois, comme l'histoire l'a montré, Nintendo n'invite les gens à se mettre à table que lorsque le repas est fin prêt. Ceci dit, nous ne voulons pas que vous arriviez complètement affamés à table, vous aurez donc droit à quelques informations intéressantes [d'ici l'E3].

Souviens-toi [Matt] que tu es quelqu'un de vraiment particulier pour nous, et quand nous serons prêts à révéler ce qu'il y a de si unique et innovant à propos de la Revolution, tu feras partie des premiers au monde à mettre les mains dessus, tu pourras alors raconter à tes lecteurs tout l'émotion que tu auras ressentie en y jouant. Jusqu'à ce jour important, continue de faire de l'exercice et de bien dormir, et de manger équilibré !

Viva la Revolution!

A game is over, the final wait begins !

2006-01-22T23:20:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone !

I got news for you today. I never worked on Revolution. I never worked for Nintendo. So, you will ask, why did i do this blog ? There are three main reasons :

- I wanted to prove how easy it is to spread false information on the internet.

- I wanted to study reactions of people to rumours and how people make their own interpretation of them.

- To show how easy it is to "predict" things that you don't know, and how people turn facts into something compatible with "predictions", like this is the case with mediums for example... Furthermore, people often only remember about matching events, and not about non-matching events. Everyone has noticed i had announced the Revolution Controller in his design. But very few had note that i did a big mistake in its description, which is that the two parts would be motion sensitive, which is obviously not the case. People only remember what the positive part. Like when a medium does 10 predictions, if only 1 really happens, you'll say "Wow, he predicted it". When you make a certain amount of predictions, some of them are always true at the end !

So you'll ask : "But how did you know all this stuff about the controller, the MMORPG, new features of Zelda and stuff ?". Very simple : i knew nothing. I'm only a Nintendo fan since i'm 9 years old. I think Revolution will be a true revolution of gaming, and make me fill like in front of my NES the very first time, on Christmas day. I follow very closely every information related to Revolution and i was often wondering : "What could be intersting from Nintendo to do ?". And i thought. One day i was thinking about it, i thought "It would be amazing for example if the new Zelda, which has been delayed, could use the new controller." Another day, as i'm a RPG fan, i thought "How great it could be if wizards could sommon spells with moves, formulas and so on !". So, i'm only a good "gesser" let's say.

This blog will remain open, and i'll update it with news and personal articles on Nintendo Revolution. I hope that you won't blame me for having shared a dream with you, and i hope you'll keep following my blog even if i'm a 'fake'. Finally, i hope that you enjoyed reading my blog, and that you are not too much disappointed ;-) Personal message for Kevin from Zogdog : my identity is fake, but my friendship for you is true, mon cher :-)

Comments are back, so go on !

See ya, guys !

------------------------------------------------

Bonjour à tous !

J'ai du nouveau pour vous aujourd'hui. Je n'ai jamais travaillé sur la Revolution. Je n'ai jamais travaillé pour Nintendo. Alors, vous demanderez-vous,

pourquoi ai-je fait ce blog ? Il y a trois principales raisons :

- Je voulais montrer combien il est facile de répandre des informations errronées sur Internet.

- Je voulais étudier la réaction des gens face aux rumeurs, et comment ces gens se font leur propre interprétation de ces rumeurs.

- Pour montrer enfin combien il est aisé de "prédire" des choses que vous ne savez pas, et comment les gens transforment des faits en quelque chose de compatible avec les "prédictions", comme cela peut être le cas avec les voyants par exemple... De plus, les gens ne se souviennent souvent que de événements qui arrivent effectivement, et pas ceux qui ont été prédits et qui n'arrivent pas. Tout le monde a bien noté que j'avais correctement prédit le design du controlleur de la Revolution. En revanche, seules quelques très rares personnes ont vu que j'avais commis une grosse erreur dans sa description, qui est que les deux parties seraient sensibles au mouvement, ce qui n'est évidemment pas le cas. Les gens ne se souviennent que des prédictions positives. Comme quand un voyant vous fait 10 prédictions, si une seule se révèle exacte, alors vous vous direz "Wouaw, il l'avait prédit!". Quand vous faites un certain nombre de prédictions, il y en a toujours des correctes au final !

Alors vous vous demanderez sûrement : "Mais comment savais-tu pour la manette, le MMORPG, les nouvelles fonctionnalités de Zelda et le reste ?". C'est très simple : je ne savais rien. Je suis un fan de Nintendo depuis l'âge de 9 ans. Je pense que la Revolution sera une vraie révolution de notre manière de jouer, et qu'elle me fera revenir en arrière en ce jour de Noël où j'ai eu ma NES et où je l'ai allumée pour la première fois. Je suis de très près l'actualité de la Révolution, et je me demandais souvent : "Qu'est-ce qu'il serait intéressant de faire pour Nintendo ?". Et je réfléchissais. Un jour où j'y pensais, je me suis dit "Ce serait excellent si dans le nouveau Zelda, qui a été retardé, on pouvait utiliser les capacités uniques de la manette". Un autre jour, comme j'adore les RPG, je me suis dit "Et si dans un jeu, les magiciens pouvaient lancer un sort avec des mouvements spéciaux et des formules !". Je n'ai qu'une bonne intuition dirons-nous.

Ce blog restera ouvert, et je le mettrai à jour avec des news et des articles personnels sur la Revolution. J'espère que vous ne m'en voudrez pas d'avoir partagé un rêve avec vous, et j'espère que vous continuerez à suivre mon blog même si je suis un 'fake'. Enfin, j'espère que vous avez aimé ce blog, et que n'êtes pas trop déçus ;-) Un message personnel pour Kevin de Zogdog : mon identité est fausse, mais mon amitié pour toi est sincère, mon cher :-)

Vous pouvez de nouveau poster des commentaires, alors allez-y !

A la prochaine !

Revolution definitive name and dashboard

2006-01-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

First i'd like to wish to all of you a happy new hear, with love, happiness, money, health and so on. And 2006, of course, will also be the year of Nintendo Revolution !

Before going further, i'll precise some little details. In the comments section, it appears that some people have not read my previous posts : Nintendo "ON" will be an Add-on, and won't be sold with the console. This includes the brain and the visor. I precise too that the motion detection using an infrared system has been cancelled, and that the Nunchaku attachment will replace it in its role of moving in the virtual environment. It's much cheaper.

I'll begin this year by announcing you the final name of the codenamed Nintendo Revolution. This name has been floating around for a long time, but it was in competition with two main others, which are Nintendo Millenium System and Nintendo Infinity System. So, the definitive name of Revolution will be Nintendo Revolution System, or Nintendo RS. Many of you will think : "hey, we already heard this name before, with Osoko Tanaka for example... ", or "Nintendo RS is the name of the fake video found on Google a few days ago...". You are true :-) But the final name is Nintendo RS, that's all. Why such a similarity with Nintendo DS ?

Simply because RS and DS will be able to connect each other for some exclusive functionalities that i'll explain soon, you'll see that RS has been developped in a way that DS will have an important role in some features. They will complete each other, in a kind of unique system. This is one of the surprises to come. Furthermore, DS and RS have in common that they represent a new way to play, and are radically different from other hardware. Finally, the public heards about "Revolution" for a long time, so the "Revolution" word had to be in the final name. You know every reasons by now, and next month at DICE, you'll see that i'm right. Reggie will say during his speech at DICE 2006 (February) that Nintendo RS is the official name of Nintendo Revolution.

Finally, i'll say some words about the dashboard picture that you can find easily on the Internet :

When i saw it : "Wouahahahah". Nice try. But very bad fake, really. The definitive dashboard does not look like this poor one, and the logo is very different too. Poor fakers :-) I wanted to say people how bad this fake is, because the real dashboard is really very nice-looking.

See ya !

NB : une petite note en français pour ceux qui m'ont laissé des messages dans cette langue dans la section comentaire et qui sont allergiques à l'anglais : le "ON" est un add-on, et n'est en aucun cas vendu avec la console ! De plus, le systèm de détection de mouvements par infrarouge a été abandonné, car trop couteux, et remplacé par le controlleur "Nunchaku". Désolé de ne pas avoir le temps de répondre à toutes les questions, mais la grande majorité a déjà trouvé réponse dans des messages précédents, consultez les archives de ce blog. Merci.

PS : Kevin, your questions are on the way ;-)

Quelques petites choses en français...

2005-12-29T09:50:00.000-08:00

...histoire que ceux qui ont posté dans les commentaires et qui n'aiment pas l'anglais ne restent pas sur leur faim. Tout d'abord quelques précisions : le "casque", ou "ON" pour que tout le monde se repère (je ne donnerai pas le nom définitif de cet add-on), ne sert qu'à voir et entendre ce qui se passe dans le jeu. La fonctionnalité de détection de mouvements par infrarouge a été abandonnée, car trop approximative et surtout chère... Afin de pouvoir interagir avec l'environnement virtuel, cela se passe en deux temps : agir (avec le controlleur), et se déplacer (avec l'extension "nunchaku").

Les informations sur les spécifications techniques de la Revolution qui ont filtré des développeurs sont pour leur grande majorité exactes, à quelques subtilités près.

Pour ceux qui attendent que je réponde à la seconde partie des questions, qu'ils lisent mes messages précédents. La réponse s'y trouve dans 90% des cas... Merci de prendre la peine de lire.

Enfin, j'invite ceux qui sont "sceptiques" envers l'existence du "ON" (le casque, mais aussi le "cerveau" qui contient son CPU et GPU, comme je l'ai déjà dit) à se poser les questions ci-dessous. Après, je ne vais pas vous forcer à y croire...Vous verrez en temps voulu.

=> La Nintendo Revolution sera plus petite que la Game Cube, et même beaucoup plus petite. Paraît-il plausible qu'une technologie supérieure à celle de cette console, sans compter les fonctionnalités de "console virtuelle", puisse tenir la-dedans ?

=> A votre avis, pourquoi tout ce mystère de la part de Nintendo, cette volonté délibérée de créer des rumeurs et un phénomène d'attente ? Pour un simple gadget ?

=> Croyez-vous vraiment qu'une console un peu plus puissante que la Game Cube aurait couté si cher à développer ?

Voilà, j'ai dit ce que j'avais à dire. Que vous croyiez ou pas, c'est votre affaire : je ne vais pas passer mon temps à me justifier ou à répondre à des questions essayant de me mettre en défaut. Je crois avoir assez diffusé, au travers de ce blog, suffisemment d'informations qui se sont révélées exactes.

Très bientôt, de nouvelles informations sur les nouvelles fonctionnalités ajoutées à Zelda : TP, ainsi que sur le superbe MMORPG actuellement en développement.

Bonnes fêtes à tous !

Fake or not ?

2005-12-27T03:21:00.000-08:00

I had a long conversation with Kevin from Zogdog forum, which has a nice blog on Revolution news. He wrote an article, on how he tried to see if i'm fake or not. Now, read his article that he kindly proposed to me to copy/paste here, and make YOUR opinion.

It's the question that most Revolution conspiratist are asking. Is N5_Dev fake or real? Showing up in August, Nv_Dev oppened up a blog and claimed to know the very secrets of the Revolution. Within the same day many people made up their minds that N5_Dev was fake. Specially when showing a picture of the ON and calling it a prototype to the Revolution. However N5_Dev had joined the ZogDog forums? and posted that the controller was going to be in two parts. Once piece to move the character around and the other to aim. Most people wrote him off as fake. However come TGS he was found to be corrected. Recent news from N5_Dev about Zelda: Twilight Princess being compatable with the Revolution controller and the mentioning of an MMORPG came true. Zelda: Twilight Princess was confirmed to be playable with the Revolution controller and Reggie gives strong hints about MMORPG's.

Just a lucky coincidence you might think. So did I. I was lucky to score a few conversations with him on messenger and just tonight I got the bright idea to test his identity. How so? He claimed to have lived between Japan, France and the US so why not give him some small tests? I first asked him what languages he knows. He told me French and English. I gave him a few short text messages to translate from French to English (including some text in a picture) and he was able to do it. I asked him who the Prime Minister of France was and again guessed right. So I figured well maybe he just got lucky and really just lives in France. So I asked him who the Prime Minister of Japan was and again quickly he guess right. Could he have looked them up? Well it took him about 20 seconds to respond so I don't think so. It took me quite a bit longer to look up the answers. Also I would say that the average Revolution fan would not know the answers to those questions. I didn't before I looked them up. I asked him the time and in a European form he gave me the time quickly.

OK so there is no way to prove his identity 100% but I have been unable to prove him wrong and I can not outsmart him. We had a three way conversation and he answered every question very well without stumbling or slowing down. We had about an hour long chat today inwhich more then 50 new questions where asked and answered. He was very kind the entire time and even had a European way of talking and had poor English which is understandable for it being a second language. I just can't out smart him. He has offered to play some DS WiFi games with him online so I am thinking about picking them up so we can play. If I am lucky perhaps I can get to actually talk to him over the microphone. I am not one to believe these blogs but I must admit he has answered everything I threw at him very well and he definitely knows his French. I didn't give him enough time to even look up the answers so it does seem he actually knows.

Some of the people who read my blog may get mad at me for making this post and giving into the hype. Everyones been so anti-ON that just recently a guy actually threatened to kill someone who mentioned it on GameSpot. He was eventually modded. I mean people go crazy over the very mention of it. I have for the longest time thought it was fake and right now I sit here with uncertainty. N5_Dev just seems to real to be fake. I will not post the conversation online as requested by N5_Dev so don't ask to see it. I really don't know what to think. IF he is fake then he is by far the best fake I have ever seen. He was at the very least accurate on his character background and he does know French. He wanted to make that very clear throughout our conversation. I will most likely have quite a few more chats with N5_Dev so if ayone has any questions send them to me (preferably in the comments section below this post).

Huge list of questions, first part...

2005-12-20T13:40:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Here is the first part of my answers to the huge list Kevin from Zogdog sent to me. The others will be avaible soon.

See ya !

1. In the ON video it show a red screen with the ON brain and arrows pointing to the GameCube and a box with a question mark in it. Whats does this screen mean?

=> It is a reference to a relation between the "ON" and Nintendo Game Cube. I'll tell you everything : the "ON" will be compatible with Nintendo ame Cube.

2. If someone has poor vision like say a bad eye will they have any problems using the ON Visor? For example, if someone can not watch a 3D Stereoscopic movie like the ones where you have those paper glasses with red and blue lens will they have a problem using the Visor?

=> If you have read what i said before, games can be play with or without the ON.

3. Will DVD Movie playback be supported out of the box? Will it work in the ON Visor?

=> This is not definitive yet, but it should be outside the box. Compatility with the ON is on the way.

4. You mention a Mario MMORPG but have not given any details about it. Can you give us some details?

=> In a few time for sure, but not before about a month.

5. You said the Revolution might be called "MS" what does that stand for?

=> Let us say that the final name of Revolution is a very sensitive subject, so i give you some clues but not the whole thing. You'll know at the beginnong of 2006, believe me.

6. How much money has Nintendo spent for Research and Development of the ON?

=> I don't know how much exactly, but a nice amount of money ;-) For sure.

7. What can you say about this mysterious ON video which supposely showed up the same day the Revolution was unveiled at E3? http://www.sendover.com/RFBN-2I-GVQ9 what about this one? http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=iHbheJlmdjI

=> The second video is a fake. But the first one is absolutely real. Why, will you ask ? I'll give you an argument that nobody gave to my knowledge. If you carefully look at the video, you'll see that the video is projected on a screen. This video has been captured during the presentation of the whole Revolution System to very few developpers and IGN, on the day Revolution has been shown to public at E3.

8. Who worked with Nintendo to develope the ON?

=> I really cannot tell you. You'll know on May 9th.

9. How come developers seem not to be aware of the ON? You would think there would be a lot more comotion with something like that being the key to Revolution. Even if there is NDA's.

=> I don't really understand the question, but as i told in a previous answer, the ON has been shown to very few developers.

10. How come the dates in the Nintendo ON video for the past Nintendo systems are set as the European launch dates? You would think they would be listed as the American launch dates for the systems.

=> You know, i don't really care about these details. Only fans can see it !

11. In the ON video it says "Make Games" how does this function work?

=> Making games will be a great function of Nintendo Revolution. Let us say briefly that some games will allow to create your own environment, characters...very easily, and then play in it. Nothing very sophisticated, but you can make a great game if you are very imaginative.

12. On the front of the Revolution is a slot cover. Whats in there?

=> What do you want it to be ???

13. About 5 minutes and 16 seconds into the ON video on the Visor itself on the top piece that goes over your head you can see two little black dots. Is this for recharging the Visor with the Brain unit?

=> Yes, i can confirm it.

14. Have you used the ON and on the whole what are your impressions of the Revolution?

=> I used the ON, of course ! My impressions are really excellent : it changed my view of games, forever i think (but who knows ?). Honeslty, i did not think five years ago that such a system would be created nowdays. This is really impressive. Some very good technological tricks allow to have a very effective technology for a moderate price.

15. Visors have often times been considered bad for gaming due to getting headaches a lot. Is this the case with the ON? What kind of internal display does the ON use (LCD, OLED, ETC)?

=> As i said in a previous post, this is one of the points that i really can't answer to. But i can tell you that you will have no headaches ;-)

16. Is Nintendo developing a new version of the Power Glove?

=> Absolutely not at the moment, but why not in a few years...

17. What is the blue light on the console for?

=> For esthetic purpose.

18. What country are you in and is English a primary or secondary language for?

=> Wow, it's not really easy ! I was born in France, but i lived half of my life in the USA. Now i share my time between USA, Europe and Japan.

19. Is there a microphone for the controller or just the Visor?

=> There will be a microphone for the controller, for people who do not have the ON.

20. Reading through some of the past interviews and such with Pablo Belmonte I noticed that his Triangle character symbol is the same ones that where used in the ON video. He seems to be quite sure that he created the ON video. I posted his interviews on my blog. Several Pablo related article are on the front page on my blog. Anything you would like to say about this strong evidence that tends to lean in Pablo's favor?

=> This is not a simple story. But Pablo is implied in the ON video, not in the way he claims however.

21. How long has the Visor technology been in development?

=> Since the Virtual Boy in fact... About some months later.

22. Is Pablo Belmonte part of Nintendo's Viral Marketing campaign and if so how did they set everything up?

=> Yes, as i answered some lines before. Details will come up later.

23. Don't know if you would know this one or not but can't hurt to ask. Reggie is suppose to give a speech at D.I.C.E in February. Do you know if any information about the Revolution will be given there and if so what? Also Valve is suppose give a speech there as well. Is it Revolution related?

=> Yes, Reggie will give informations on Revolution. The most important will be the definitive name of the system, and some game titles for sure. Valve will talk about Revolution too, but not only.

24. Rumor has it that Nintendo could be using "Displacement Mapping" "Cube Mapping" "Parallax Mapping" and "NURBS" as ways to produce amazing graphics on weaker hardware. Is any of this true?

=> Some of these effects are used in order to have a powerful system with low-coast technology. Nintendo wanted to optimize graphics-rendering rather than proposing a system with lots of RAM and stuff. This is a more reasonable approach.

25. Is Emagin or etrafficjams working with Nintendo? Or anyone else? List who if you know any.

=> emagin has been implied in some steps of the ON development.

26. Is Nintendo going to try and market the Visor as sorta like a seperate system? What I mean is will it be seperated from the main Revolution which was shown at E3 and then you can purchase the Visor as an addon for those who are interested. Is this what Nintendo is going to do?

=> As i told on my blog, the ON will be an add-on. You don't need it to play Revolution games, but this is so good...

27. What can you say about this weird pic: http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/9396/25338415os.jpg Is this pic real or fake? This was a pic that you showed a lot of interest for on the ZogDog forums. Why?

=> I showed interest for it because there are some real elements in it. In particular, this was very close to a beta-dashboard. But there are other fake elements. Strange picture from my point of view...Mostly fake.

28. How many games will be available for the backwards compatable feature?

=> About one or two hundred at the launch, but the list should grow with the months.

29. Can you discuss the menu system for the Revolution?

=> I think you're talking about the dashboard, right ? It's very intuitive, even for non-gamers. You have to choose between different options, including : play a "virtual-console" game, play a Revolution game, download a game, or play using nintendo Wifi connection. Some settings like clock and so on are avaible, of course.

2 things today !

2005-12-20T00:32:00.000-08:00

Hello,

Just some words today to inform you about two things. The first is that Kevin from Zogdog forums sent me a LOT of questions, when i say a lot it's about 50 or 100 i think ! I began to answer them, but i did not finish yet. Soon i hope.

The second thing is that a screenshot of the Revolution game "No End Soon" is floating around. You may ask : "Is this screenshot true ?". I can confirm you that yes, it is. No End Soon is a great FPS developed on Revolution, and using both the remote controller and the "ON". Ubisoft is working on it for some months now. On a TV screen it looks fine, but with the "ON", it will look better than all you can imagine.

See ya for answers to many questions...

PS : you'll note that Reggie told about MMORPGs just after i told you...

About the MMORPG...

2005-12-14T04:32:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

Last time i told you about a new MMORPG currently in development on Nintendo Revolution. I thought it'd be a good idea to share what know about it, because i was excited like a kid when i've been told the concept. Hardware of Nintendo Revolution is amazing, but software will be fantastic. I know, you're tired to hear this ;-) But... this is true.

So, what about this game ? I'll explain briefly the basics, and then the gameplay. In fact, the world of this MMORPG (name is not definitive yet) is like Dungeons and Dragons, or like The Lord of he Rings if you prefer. Let's tell a Tolkien-like. Humans, elves, dwarfs, orcs, trolls and stuff. Not all of these races are playable of course. ou can play a warrior, a rogue, a wizard... like in every good RPGs or MMORPGs. At that point, you are probably thinking "Ok, nothing very new". I agree. But the way to play it is new.

You'll need two controllers (most of the time) to play this game. Let's talk about the best perspective from my poin of view (i'll tell about the others later i think). In RPGs, i love wizards. But sometimes, it's a few boring, because you can't fight and using spells is not very cool. In this game, you'll have one controller on each wrist, attached by a very esthetic accessory sold with the game. To make a spell, you'll have to make some specific moves for each spell with your hands, and you'll have to tell the correct formula ! The voice recognition system will recognize (or not) the formula, and if the formula is OK and the specific moves too, your spell is on the way !

Wonderful, isn't it ? With this gameplay, you'll really be inside the game... against players from all over the world. I can't wait, really !

See you for some other news...

Details on the Revolution System... and a new MMORPG

2005-12-12T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hi all !

I've been asked many questions again by Kevin from Zogdog.com, which has an informative blog on Nintendo Revolution. I'll answer to them, and these days i'll do even more : i'll talk about a completly new game on Revolution : a MMORPG that will use many features of the Nintendo Revolution controller. I'll tell you about the philosophy of Nintendo Revolution, and why we developed such a hardware. So here we go.

The interview (again ???)
----------------------------------

Will the ON Visor simply be an addon that is not required to play the Revolution?
=> Yes. Games which are not compatible with the "ON" (i'll keep this name) can be played on usual TVs. But it's not very impressive like this...

Will Nintendo sell the system say with the console shown at E3, the Freehand Style controller and numbchuck attachement and then you play the games on a standard TV or do you NEED to use the Visor?

=> Yes, see my previous answer.

Casual gamers would be turned off by the prospect of wearing the Visor. I can't see the ON being a required piece of hardware but rather an addon like the Zapper was for the NES.

=> This is the case, as I explain.

It would be really nice if you could break down and doo a full article on how exactly the ON and the system shown at E3 works together and talk about the ports on the console shown at E3, where the memory card slots go, etc. I just want to get an idea of how all this works. Surely you can talk about that if you can reveal that a Visor is in the works. Could you step by step explain how the units work together? Discuss everything and also talk about the video card if you can if not at least explain in full detail how both the console shown at E3 and the ON Visor works together and I mean everything. Whats in the console shown at E3? This is the full console right? I assume the ON Brain is nothing more then perhaps a storage drive, two DVD drives, a WiFi card and sensors where as the graphics. Otherwise how would the other console shown at E3 be able to play games without the use of the ON Brain/Visor setup? Please explain.

=> I think i already explained this, no ? But i'll do it again, in a simple way. There are 3 elements in the Revolution System : the main unit, the controller and the "brain" (including the visor). The main unit allows to play oldies and GC games, but Revolution games too (but without the ON fonction, this is very important). This is for the 'classic' gaming. Then, for interaction with the game like i'll explain later, there are two elements : the ON to see and to hear, and the controller to act. The only thing i can't say because it has too much patents on it is how and what you see during the game. This is the famous 'secret' of Miyamoto. The 'brain' handles every data from the ON, and transmits them to the main unit. In this sense, we can see the main unit as a 'relay' of the brain. I think it's useless to say that games are much more impressive with the ON. The visor allows to see and to hear, by the way you really can hear like if you were in a real environment... Finally, the Nintendo Revolution controller that you already know, allows to directly interact with the environment. Playing has never been so intuitive.

Before developing this hardware, intense reserach has been done in the field of virtual reality : how does a human reacts in a virtual world ? How does he move ? How does he interact ? Some trivial elements are that you have to interact in real-time with virtual environment (VE), so you must have many computation power. You have to see and hear like you would do if you were in a real world, so the visor is here to provide you the eyes and the ears of this virtual world. Moreover, you should be able to move, walk, run and so on. The 'nunchaku' plays this role. Finally, you should touch, take, drop objects. This is the role of the controller. Wih those important results in mind, you see that the development of Nintendo Revolution is the result of research in virtual reality, the system has been thought for a ultimate experience.

I think this is a simple but very clear view of how the system works, and what is the role of each element. If you want more details, please ask. I wanted to provide a global view to everybody first.

Finally, think about these elements : Think about the names of the CPU and GPU. How do you look a movie ? This is THE key. Why did Nintendo Revolution so expansive to develop whereas it only uses updated versions of GCs components ? Why did you not see a game yet ? Why will you say 'Wow' like said Satoru Iwata ?

Also I would like to establish a chat with you via messenger or AIM. It could be a private chat if you wanted to do it that way. Anyways I expect that you will keep your promise and answer out questions...

=> If you want so, no problem. I'll contact you soon.

A new interview

2005-12-04T23:28:00.000-08:00

As i proposed you last ime, you have been much to ask questions, so as promised i'll now answer to the most intersting of them (there is a huge quantity... i think to Kevin anyway. BTW, if you want to publish this interview on your blog, there is no problem). So good reading !

See ya.

Seira

Will SEGA games be available to download alongside for its previous systems?

=> Certainly not.

When we 'buy' a game online with the Virtual Console, does it stay registered forever or is the 'buy' simply a once-a-moment download?

=> You can keep it forever after you bought it a very few bucks.

So if the ON or some form of technology really does exist, does it utilize 3D stereoscopic technology?

=> This is not the exact term, but i see what you mean, and the answer is yes.

What can you tell us about the LCD or displays inside the visor?

=> They won't be so expensive to produce. And great quality, believe me.

Are they panoramic to fill the entire eye's viewpoint?

=> This is a very relevant question, and th answer is yes, of course. Virtual Reality studies showed that if people do not see the limits of the screen, and so do not see the environment outside the screen; they really feel inside the virtual world. Wonderful and easy perspective.

Why do you think Nintendo has chose the huge Kodak theatre to unveil the Revolution?

=> Hey, a huge theatre for a huge event, isn't it the best choice ?

How far along are Mario and Smash Brothers 3 in development?

=> Mario development i on the way for more than two years now, and is almost finished to be avaible at te launch of the console. However, even if Smash Bros is on the way for a few months, i doubt it would be finished for the launch of the system. As you probably saw, the real programmation part has just begun as Nintendo is looking for graphists and so on.

How much will the system be and will it be sold in pieces (EX: Main system and Visor)?

=> Less than Xbox 360 and PS3, bu the definiive price hasn't been defined yet.

What can you say about the system specs?

=> Nothing for the moment, sorry. At the beginning of 2006 maybe.

How does multi player modes work? Does it support 4 or more Visors?

=> 4 players will be able to play together, you'll see how. Little surprise. I think you're tired to hear this, but Revolution is a surprising system !

Does the Visor use Augmented Immersion technology which means you can view your room in the game and have it look like say a level in Metroid as the video appeared to showcase?

=> This is one of the ultimate tricks...

Miyamoto claimed to have never seen the ON video. What do you think about his comments?

=> I think that Miyamoto-san is lying on this point. He's so intersted in innovation in he world of video games that he must have seen it. Why does he tell he never saw it ? Intersting question, but i do not have the answer.

Whats the official name of the system?

=> Nintendo RS or Nintendo MS very probably. But some news ideas emerged recently, so...

Can you explain how Nintendo can develope this technology affordably when other Visors sell for around $900?

=> Mass production, and anyway some technologic tricks...

Miyamoto is working on a new game franchise for Revolution. Do you know anything about it?

=> I know nothing about that.

When is the system coming out?

=> In the best of cases, June 2006; else it will be between September or December 2006, which is more realistic.

Do any other blogs contain any facts about the Revolution or are they all fake? What about this blog: http://www.freewebs.com/revealingtherevolution/

=> Most of blogs are fake. But some real details sometimes. About the blog you talk, i know it. Intersting data, but beware.

Ask your questions !

2005-11-21T03:53:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

As the day when Revolution will be fully revealed is becoming closer, i propose you to ask me questions, and i'll answer them like i did in the past.

So, feel free to write questions in the "comments" section and i'll post the anwsers very soon, in the limits of NDA.

Do not hesitate !

See ya.

Seira

Revolution games... and more

2005-11-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

As promised, i come to give you some new informations about Nintendo Revolution. Many time has passed since 16 September... the day where you finally saw it. And i had tons of work, but that was amazing. Hardware development has taken a slightly different way. Because the controller is finished but... not the Revolution itself.

What you previously saw as Nintendo ON, which was then called Immersive Game System, has evolved in its final form i think. The form you'll see at E3 2006. It's so amazing, you can't imagine it ! Because of NDA, i'm still limited... But i think i can give you a clue that will not be contradictory with NDA : IGS (the ON) is for a single player. Final IGS of Revolution is up to 4 players. As much immersive.

You may ask how ? It's up to you to find the answer. I really can't tell more.

Let's talk about games now, you're waiting for it i'm sure ? As you may heard, a new Zelda is on the way. It's about this one i'll tell some words. New gameplay is amazing . The first time you'll play to it, you won't be believe it, for sure ! When everything around you becomes Hyrule... And when you really are Link... Everything is different. Hard to describe without the final piece... But maybe you already understood !

Very soon, i'll try to give you some more informations on Zelda, and anyway on new Mario...

Stay tuned !

More info... very soon.

2005-11-05T02:24:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

It's been a while. I'm not dead, but just so busy... So much work. I'll give you, in some hours, very intersting informations.

Stay tuned... And sorry if i let you so long.

Some questions... and some answers !

2005-09-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

Kevin from Zogdog forums asked me some questions, i'll answer here for everyone :

If the ON is real then how come the ON has 2 DVD drives? The main console has a 3rd... sounds a bit fishy to me. Why would Nintendo need 3 drives?

=> The DVD drive of Revolution is for GC games and common Revolution games. On the ON, the first is for ON games, and the other... is for something that i'll still keep secret.

When do you expect more information will be released on the Visor, name, hardware specs, etc?

=> Not before E3 2006 i think. Maybe later i think. This probably will be the last information given by Nintendo on Revolution.

In the trailer Nintendo released showcasing the controller it showed one guy ducking behind his chair. Can you use objects in your room as cover from lets say enemy fire?

=> Absolutely not. That only was here to illustrate the possibilities of the Revolution controller.

Do you know if the delayed Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess will use any of the features that the Revolution controller and Visor has?

=> All i can say is that Zelda TP will be playable with advanced features for Revolution. This is why it has been delayed.

Do you have any info on any of the games and when we can expect to see them?

=> Maybe some little things in November, but probably not before E3 2006.

What is your personal opinion about the controller?

=> I find it awesome, this is the beginning of a new area. An area where you really are IN the game, and in wich you control everything, more precisely than any other system before.

Is there at all any proof that you can give to prove that you actually have inside information regarding the famous ON video?

=> NDA... Except what i say, i can't show you anything. But i'll say more.

From what I can gather the remote is specifically made for you to be able to point the remote at the TV and interact with the TV. How are you suppose to do that in a Visor since obviously you will not be able to point at the Visor. Not to mention the games will detect how far away the pointer is from the display which would operate entirely different with a Visor.

=> The visor is able to detect the current position and moves of the controller, as the Revolution does. Nothing more.

Nintendo speaks of more surprises to come. Do you think they are referring to the ON Visor or something else?

=> The ON is one of these suprises. This is not the only one, trust me.

The codename "Revolution" was no where to be found at TGS. Some think Nintendo ditched the name "Revolution" and that a new name will be coming. Will it be called Nintendo On? Nintendo RS?

=> The definitive name will probably be Nintendo RS. Nintendo ON was the name of the prototype of the IGS module.

Whats your take on SeriousGamer007 who is now advertising for Microsoft's Xbox 360?

=> I don't have any opinion on him. I don't know what he said or anything else.

The controller is (nearly) here...

2005-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

... and if you read the interview on Zogdog forums (cf. my previous post), you'll see that i was right and that i gave you some real info :

I had told about 2 controllers, one in each hand, pressure sensitive buttons (triggers), that the main part but not everything would be shown during Iwata keynote...

So, sorry for the ones who tought i'm a fake. I'm not. You got the proof.

I'll give you some more info now. Don't you wonder : "Why didn't we see any Revolution game ?" The answer is : because one optional part of the Controller hasn't been revealed yet. One part that you directly plug into the main part of the controller.

No need for me to tell you what this is, i think you all know it...

And do not worry, games will arrive soon. And you'll see the power of this new controller and all his possibilities.

Stay tuned !

"Interview" on ZogDog forums

2005-09-12T05:41:00.000-07:00

No, i'm not dead or left as some comments on my previous post said. I was simply busy... A lot of work. I answered to the questions of Kevin from ZogDog here :

http://www.zogdog.com/theboard/viewtopic.php?p=65700#65700

I'm still here to answer your questions. Hurry up, TGS is soon now.

I'll give some more information before that, really.

Catch the last piece of the whole thing.

Some explanations...

2005-09-07T05:02:00.000-07:00

Hi folks.

I saw many people who believe i'm a lyer. So funny :D These are the same people that belive Osoko Tanaka, or rather the person who claims to be Osoko. Life is so funny somtimes... BTW, we'll see on TGS who was right.

I know what i did and what i worked on. I saw the very last version of Revolution and its controller.

And for those funny people, i'll ask one, that nobody asked :

- Do you really believe that the technology of Revolution could be so small ? It was necessary to have a second unit, with an integrated CPU and RAM. Inside the Revolution, there only backward technology and what's necessary to handle signals from the IGS PU. Broadway, Hollywood and so on are in the IGS MU, not in the Revolution itself !

If you have questions, ask me, i'll answer to everyone.

First concrete informations on Nintendo Revolution controller

2005-08-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

As long as Nintendo Revolution and his controller will be soon presented during the TGS, i will present today the first concrete information on Nintendo controller. I won't do like Osoko Tanaka (or the person who claims he's Osoko...), who makes people believe that he'll say something... But for months, he told you nothing. And all will be over in 3 weeks. Stop kidding.

So, i'll finally present some elements who are the beginning of the whole explanation.

First, many speculations and fakes are on the web for months. But no one is the truth, or even close to the truth. Really none ? No. One is. Or rather, it's half of the whole thing.

I think you all saw that :

This leaked video was a pre-version of the Nintendo IGS (Immersive Game System), the first of the two elements of the controller. The second one is the ICS (Immersive Control System), i'll talk about it later. Man, there's so much to say about Revolution !

The IGS has been designed to allow the player to be in the game, feel what the hero of the game would feel, and see what the hero would see. Of course, Nintendo IGS is not the only part : seeing and feel is good, but how do you play or how do you interact with the game ? The ICS will play his role here.

The hardest thing to develop IGS was to reduce coast, whereas we were using new technologies... Or rather, very expansive technology. This coast notion was a real brake, but we had to deal with it uh ? The IGS allows 3 things :

Detecting moves of the body.
Detecting moves of the head.
Detecting moves of the eyes.

The IGS main unit has to detect body moves. It's done via infrared signals sent around the MU (Main Unit), and sent back to the console. But this is not its only function. It's here to get signals from the IGS PU (Portable Unit) : when you move your head, when your move your eyes, these data go into the IGS MU. How does it work ?

First, move of head. It's important in what direction you look. A direction in a spheric environment is defined by 2 angles, theta and phi. When you switch the IGS on, it gets a frame of reference, a kind of "offset" if you prefer. Then, it can get (theta,phi) values at each time t.

Second, move of eyes. When you look into a direction, you can see a certain field, of some dozens square degrees for example. You can move your eyes in either point of this field, so a second couple of (theta,phi) values is needed. With these 2 couples of data, the IGS can compute the precise direction you are looking at.

Third, move of body. Fine, IGS knows the direction you are looking at. But in a 3D space, you need a third coordinate. This is distance. When you will simulate walk/run, IGS will estimate the distance you do and the distance from you to all other objetcs of the environment.

For playing all these roles, the IGS MU integrates one main CPU for handling signals from the IGS PU, and treating information to send to the Revolution itself. For its part, Revolution really handles and treats signals from IGS PU. The IGS MU integrates 512 Mega bytes of RAM to keep program data. You simply put these data in memory by inserting the disc game a few seconds in the IGS MU drive.

More info to come...

Every experience has a beginning...

2005-08-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

... And today it's yours. Or rather, it's Nintendo Revolution's developement story that i'll begin today on this blog. I know that, when you'll be reading this, you'll think "Uh, i'm bored of these fakes on the web". Think so if you want. I dont't care.

I decided creating this blog to inform all Nintendo fans about Revolution developpement, and anyway, about THE thing that makes all of you crazy : the controller.

I did not work on Revolution during the earlier states of developement, during which several ideas were proposed. The main goal in the developement of Revolution was creating a completely new controller. First, it had to be wireless. When you have several consoles at home, it's so boring to have hundreds of wires...

But this is not a very revolutionnary step. We had to think a higher concept. The player had to be in the environment of the game, he had to feel the game. The first idea of controller for Revolution naturally came... You all know it, it is Nintendo DS.

It could be the end of the Revolution controller development, as Nintendo DS seemed to be the perfect thing : the touch screen allowed the player to interact with the game environment, and even speak with characters in games. The alliance of a new voice-recognition specially made for Revolution with the micro of Nintendo DS lead us to think that a totally-new generation of games could born, particularly RPG's. You could directly interact with others characters and so on. Finally, Nintendo DS is wireless, and can communicate with Revolution easily. So, what could we ask more ?

Something that would be more immersive than that... Something more original, wich would be a totally new way to play... But this story is another story.

Stay tuned...