That Nintendo Controller
So, Nintendo finally release details of their much-hyped revolutionary game controller that will accompany the Revolution console, the successor to the Gamecube. Some people hate it; naturally, I love it.
If you haven’t yet seen images of the controller, then you’re just not making the effort. There are some good shots here at Edge Online, though, so go and look at those and then come back.
My first thought was ‘Jesus. Seriously?’ and I felt terribly disloyal for that, but come on — it’s a TV remote control. It looks like something that could control the temperature of the bath water in an old people’s home, or adjust their bed to help sit them up straight. But, it grew on me quickly as I read more about it, and I remembered that this was my gut reaction to the Nintendo DS as well — what I had originally thought ugly and gimmicky has become one of my favourite consoles.
Essentially what you have is a TV remote control — this is entirely intentional, with the point being that it’s a familiar object and people who may have balked at the traditional controller with its multitude of triggers and buttons will be more comfortable picking up something that looks like this. In place of an analogue thumbstick, the controller itself is the analogue thumbstick — it detects where it is in relation to the TV screen (using Science) and detects movement, direction etc. You won’t be pressing a button to fight an on-screen enemy; you’ll be swinging the sword yourself.
That said, you can see from the photos that there is an analogue thumbstick, which plugs into the base of the controller and is held in the spare hand. This, coupled with the fact that the console will accept Gamecube controllers, and that the controller also has the ability to slot into a ‘shell’ and be turned into a regular controller suggests that the Revolution won’t just be about waving your arms around, Minority Report style.
Really, though my initial impression wasn’t positive, this controller can be all things to all people. For people who want to try something different, that’s possible and is the main objective. For people who want to download old NES games and play those, that’s fine as well (just rotate the controller 90° and you have a perfectly good NES pad). For people who want to play mainstream games, no problem — use a Gamecube controller, or use the analogue extension.
The new controller also happens to make the Xbox 360 pad and the ‘boomerang’ DualShock3 look outdated before they’ve even gone on sale.
I think it’s going to be good.
Which colour will you be going for? Or will you be one of those weird, mini-iPod type, people who have to buy it in each and every colour?
I was going for the black, but I like the look of the white controller so I might go for the white instead. I’m not keen on the other colours, they’re all a bit bright and garish.
It’s pretty interesting, this ‘ere controller. Can you see a world of new RSI-style injuries, though?
Imagine playing a game like Super Monkey Ball. Controller held tight in three-dimensional space, one millimetre of movement up, down, left, right, forward or even backwards and your ball will drop off the edge it teeters on.
Try it now, you don’t even need a controller. Hold that pose repeatedly for hours of committed game play and you can imagine just how tense your lower arm muscles will be.
That said, it’s great to see Nintendo reinventing things, and I particularly like the split of the controllers. Although, the aesthetics of the main “remote” are a little too reminiscent of the SNES – maybe they could round the edges just a little?
I’m not sure that arm strain will be any more of a problem than it is with traditional controllers. By all accounts this remote can be held in your lap just like you would with a joypad, and although promotional videos show actors waving it around all over the place, it’s also apparently very sensitive to movement.
Given the Big N’s disappointing outings last few times – you really like the DS? – maybe they feel the only market left is the leftovers who would feel comforted by another Sky+ remote?
As for playing games – it looks about as user friendly as a Dobermann with an elastic band around its knackers… the PS3 bat wing doesn’t look much better either!
Could M$360 really be the best of the next gen???
I don’t think Nintendog’s last offerings have been disappointing at all. While the Gamecube has failed to perform as well as I think it should have done (mostly due to the lack of third-party games and a sluggish first-party release schedule — GAME in Oxford now only has a single shelf rack devoted to the GC), the GBA SP, DS and Micro have all performed brilliantly. Yes, I like the DS like many other people (the DS is outselling the PSP in the Japanese market at least) — with games such as Feel The Magic, Pac-Pix, Another Code, Nintendogs, Advance Wars and so many more, what’s not to like? It may lack the good looks of the PSP but it more than makes up for it with the quality and originality of the games.
I agree about the PS3 batarang, it looks really uncomfortable, but I don’t expect it to stay like that. The first mockups of the PSP showed a much smoother, sleeker, and less usable console in just the same way. I disagree that the Revolution controller doesn’t look user-friendly though, and I really think you’re in the minority — the reaction from the gaming press, the gaming industry and gamers themselves has been overwhelmingly positive.
GBA was undoubtedly a success – what was its competition tho’?
I guess we’ll just have to disagree about the DS, two small screens instead of one big’un a la PSP, plus the concept is too ‘gimmicky’ for me, probably why the Japanese love it tho’ ;-) Be interesting to read which slugs it out as top seller the world over…
I’m suprised the press is so good for the ‘remote style’ Revolution controller?!
I find the XBox S controller bad enough if used for more than an hour or so. Only the PS2s is ergonomic enough for really long stints IMO (I never got to use the GCs for long enough to find out).
I really enjoyed reading the post, and hope you’ll revisit the topic again :-)
“GBA was undoubtedly a success – what was its competition tho’?
Yeah, fair point — it had no real competition at all. That said, the entire history of the Gameboy is made up of it going up against technically-superior competitors — the Lynx, the Game Gear, the Neo Geo Pocket — and trouncing them each time.
“I guess we’ll just have to disagree about the DS, two small screens instead of one big’un a la PSP, plus the concept is too ‘gimmicky’ for me, probably why the Japanese love it tho’ ;-) Be interesting to read which slugs it out as top seller the world over…”
I admit quite happily that the DS has its flaws, in particular the small screens — the quality just doesn’t compare to the PSP. I’d still recommend it to any gamer though, particularly as a lot of what sounds gimmicky turns out to be really well-realised and fun. I expect that ultimately the PSP will sell more in the global market, though the DS will sell more in Japan — but I also think that the DS will play host to better, more original games, while the PSP will have a lot of PS2-style games and ports.
“I’m suprised the press is so good for the ‘remote style’ Revolution controller?!”
The reaction to the controller has been almost entirely positive, with a recent exception:
Publishers Reaction to Revolution Controller
Revolution Responses
Japanese Creators Speak
TIME: 5 New Things that will Blow Your Mind
Gamasutra: Controller Revolution?
More Controller Talk
The Revolution Begins Now
And that’s just online; check the latest issue of Edge for an in-depth look at this. Also, if you haven’t seen it already, it’s worth watching Nintendo’s Revolution teaser trailer to see various ways in which the controller could be used.
“I find the XBox S controller bad enough if used for more than an hour or so. Only the PS2s is ergonomic enough for really long stints IMO (I never got to use the GCs for long enough to find out).”
I’ve found the PS2′s controller to be the worst of the current lot, with the Xbox S second and the GC first. Making the Xbox S controller standard was a good move on Microsoft’s part — the original one reminded me of the Jaguar’s telephone-style brick.