The Revolution Controller and Pokemon Demo!

[PokemonElite2000]

The Revolution Controller and Pokemon Demo!
-09/19/05-

Nintendo has brought us two screens from the Nintendo DS. The world's smallest console with the Game Boy Micro. So how creative can Nintendo get? How about a completely redesign of the most recognizable items today, the game controller.

At the Tokyo Game Show event, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed a brand new look for the their controller for their next system, the code-named Revolution. This won't be any game controller you've ever seen before, instead, it looks and feels just like your a TV remote controller. As Satoru Iwate explains:

"The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today,” explains Satoru Iwata, Nintendo president. "This is an extremely exciting innovation – one that will thrill current players and entice new ones."

You can read the full story on the Revolution Controller here: Nintendo Reveals 'Revolution'-ary Controller in Keynote Speech

Pokemon Demo
IGN, a gaming website, was able to test drive the new controller. Here's some of the main features pointed out:

Main Controller Features
-3D Pointing. Sensors understand up, down, left, right, forward and backward.
-Tilt Sensitive. Controller can be rotated or rolled from side-to-side.
-Buttons Included. Has a trigger on its backside, face buttons, and a D-Pad.
-Multifunctional. Has an expansion port which can be used with different types of controller peripherals. Analog stick with two trigger buttons planned for left hand.
-Wireless. Totally wire-free. Currently there are no details on the max distance, source or power, or otherwise.
-Rumble Built-in. Included as a standard in all the controllers.

Some demo games were available, although quickly put together, showed the unique potential for the new controller. A Pokemon demo game was one of demo games put together, IGN described the demo as a "Where's Pikachu" game:

Demo #7: Where's Pikachu?
One of the crudest demos, the screen displayed a flat map with many Pokemon characters crowded together on it. It was a spoof on Where's Waldo, the famous find-the-needle-in-the-haystack illustrated book. The controller lent the ability to look left and right by just pointing the cursor across the map, but also zooming in by moving towards the screen (or zooming back out by moving away). One can imagine how a sniper rifle in a first-person shooter might take advantage of those kinds of controls.

Note that this is just a demo game to show case the Revolution Controller, there's no indication that it will actually be turned into a game.

You can read the full story on the hands on review of the Revolution Controller here: TGS 2005: Hands-on the Revolution Controller

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