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You Say You Want A Revolution
Editorial by Jay Giacchino AKA Jay G. Money
That time is nearly upon us again, and as with each generation before it, I still feel like the current platforms haven't been fully exploited yet. I am, of course, referring to the next generation of game consoles. It appears, for some of the combatants anyway, that the days of coming up with fancy names for the equipment such as Dreamcast, Genesis, or Super Nintendo have given way to the new trend of simply adding a higher numeric value to the original consoles title. Most annoying of course, would have to be PlayStation 3, which makes one wonder if their own kids will be playing PlayStation 17 one day. Rather than rant aimlessly about that which has already been beaten to death on this next generation, namely sneak peaks, screen shots, or tech readouts, I intend to focus exclusively on Nintendo's latest offering: The Revolution. And why not single out the underdog coming into the battle baring scars of the continual lashings generated by the Gamecube? Its only logical that we study the big N's game pan in effort to predict success of their latest hardware and more importantly, to figure out at last if they have learned from their failures.
We will start by returning to the present day of video gaming where it is fairly common knowledge that the Gamecube console lags severely in terms of units sold and software support. I have already done a feature here at Gamevortex in which I singled out the 'Cube in terms of its hardware capabilities, basically concluding that it was rules and stipulations enacted by Nintendo itself that restrained the sensibly priced unit from achieving its true potential. (See the editorial here.)
So what does Nintendo have in mind for their next entry in the ever competitive console wars? Well, a physically small unit even by today's standards, reportedly equivalent to merely three video game (DVD) cases! Taking a chapter out of Sony's book, N also elected to design the unit to operate as both a shelf component (sitting flat) or a space-saving vertical stance. Also borrowing from the Sony success formula, Nintendo has decided to make the system backward compatible, allowing it to play the entire Gamecube library in addition to its own.
Historically one to resist the latest trends in hardware design and development, Nintendo has this time decided to go with the flow and use the popular full sized DVD medium in which to store software as well as to allow the unit to play DVD movies. Also caving in to the popular demand, the Revolution will come equipped to offer broadband access to a free hub service to link with other players, but also in which the potential to download from Nintendo's immensely vast library of past game titles will exist.
The goal this time around was to attract game developers (both loyal and deserter) into programming for the hardware through ease of development. Nintendo has been careful to keep its configuration close to the Gamecube's setup in that developers will not have to master new techniques to get the most out of the system's increased performance. This indicates that Nintendo is banking on preliminary rumors of Sony's Cell chip being a developer's nightmare of complexity.
It is the popular opinion of insider analysts and gamers alike that it is Nintendo's stubborn business tactics and inability to accept change of popular trend that have resulted in their lack of supporters, particularly on the software front. However, this is the first time since the Super Nintendo that Nintendo seems to have accepted the features and formats that are proving successful with their competition. It comes as no surprise that Nintendo's main focus is to lure the older portion of the console gaming demographic back into its court. Skeptics who wrote off the Gamecube hardware due to its colorful shell and convenient carrying handle should be pleased to know the early, but not yet finalized prototypes of the Revolution are all business in appearance, sticking to a deep glossy black exterior apparently devoid of any buttons of ports. Like the remaining contenders, wireless controllers and accessories will be the means in which the user interacts with the hardware.
Only time will tell who will emerge victorious in this next big console battle, but at least it can be said for certain that Nintendo has been paying attention to the market trends and taking notes. The information released thus far gives loyal supporters much to be excited about and for the first time in over ten years, appears as though Nintedo will not be entering the competition with premeditated disadvantages. |
