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Q: What is the Nintendo Revolution?
A: The official codename for the successor to GameCube.
Q: How long has the Revolution been in development?
A: Preliminary development on Revolution began shortly after the release of Nintendo GameCube.
Q: When was the Nintendo Revolution codename announced?
A:: On May 11, 2004 at Nintendo's pre-Electronics Entertainment Expo 2004 press conference, which took place in Los Angeles, California. (The console had been tentatively referred to as "GCNext" by the press before the unveiling of the official codename.)
Q: Who announced the codename Nintendo Revolution?
A: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. On stage at Nintendo's pre-E3 2004 press conference, Iwata said:
"Different also defines our approach to our next home system. It won't simply be new or include new technologies. Better technology is good, but not enough. Today's consoles already offer fairly realistic expressions so simply beefing up the graphics will not let most of us see a difference. So what should a new machine do? Much more. An unprecedented gameplay experience. Something no other machine has delivered before.
"The definition for a new machine must be different. I want you to know that Nintendo is working on our next system and that system will create a gaming revolution. Internal development is underway.
"I could give you our technical specs, as I'd know you'd like that, but I won't for a simple reason: they really don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made all the difference is over.
"Work on Revolution is well underway. When you see it you will be excited because you will experience a gaming revolution."
Q: Will Revolution feature more powerful hardware than GameCube?
A: Yes.
Q: What are Revolution's technical specs?
A: Currently unknown.
Rumors abound indicated that Nintendo could separately be working on two systems and that ultimately one would be chosen for retail. System 1 allegedly featured a 2.7GHz PowerPC G5 processor, 512MBs of RAM, and a 600MHz graphics chip. System 2 allegedly featured dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5 processors. 256MBS of DDR Main Memory RAM, 128MBS of GDDR3 Video RAM and a 500MHz graphics chip. Both systems allegedly featured a built in 15GB hard drive. As of this time, these rumors cannot be validated.
More recent hearsay from development studios working closely with Nintendo suggest that Revolution's power is on track to compete with Microsoft's forthcoming successor to Xbox. Some studios have suggested that Revolution could be slightly underpowered when stacked side by side with Microsoft's next system, but that the differences would be marginal. Other sources maintain that the recently reported Xenon hardware specs exactly mimicked internal hardware documentation for Revolution. Again, none of this information can yet be validated.
In March 2005, both IBM and ATI confirmed that they have been making the CPU and GPU for Revolution respectively.
Q: How will Revolution be unique?
A: That is the big question. The console is codenamed Revolution for a reason: Nintendo expects it to be revolutionary. The system will, according to Nintendo, fundamentally change how games are played. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said in recent interviews that the dual-screened Nintendo DS offers a hint of what to expect from Revolution. DS players can use a stylus pen to input control data into the portable device. It's always possible that Revolution may feature similar functionality.
Nintendo believes that technology alone cannot advance videogames, which is why it plans to take Revolution into a dramatic new direction.
Iwata in June 2004 described Revolution as a videogame machine "of a different nature that does not follow the conventional path of new game systems that increase speed and visual quality for making elaborate games." He added: "The rule of satisfying customers by increasing specifications worked once, but no longer applies now."
Q: What is so special about Revolution?
A: Not yet known, but the console's revolutionary new mechanic may go hand-in-hand with its input device, which may no longer look or function like today's controllers. In a March 2005 interview with BusinessWeek, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that Revolution's new input device was still incomplete, and that multiple ideas were still being tossed around.
"The new interface will allow some new forms of innovation," Iwata explained on the subject. "Already, you're seeing changes in Nintendo DS, which has a microphone, input pen, and touch screen. We have a number of candidates for a new [Revolution] interface but are not ready to reveal them. All I can say right now is that whatever we choose will be intuitive and easy to use for everyone."
Q: Will Revolution feature screens on the console or the controller?
A: No. At a June 2004 analyst briefing in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have no intention of making a two-screen console akin to the [Nintendo] DS."
Q: Will Revolution hook up to a television?
A: Yes. It will also be able to interface with a computer monitor. In June 2004 Nintendo engineer Genyo Takeda said: "You'll be able to play [Revolution] not just by linking up to a television but to a computer monitor as well."
Q: Will Revolution go online?
A: Yes. The Revolution console will feature online play out of the box. Nintendo at the March 15, 2005 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco announced an aggressive new Wi-Fi strategy for both DS and Revolution. Wi-Fi enables wireless, high-speed connections to the Internet using such popular standards as 802.11b and 802.11g. Company executives made strong statements about Nintendo's belief that gamers should be able to wirelessly go online and play against each other.
"We intend to incorporate wireless technology in all we do," Iwata announced at the event. "Therefore, Nintendo Revolution will be Wi-Fi enabled, built into every system."
Few other details regarding Revolution's online functionality are known, but we can infer at least one important bit based on information announced about the nature of wireless play for DS. Nintendo announced that Wi-Fi gaming on DS would be free. In stark contrast to Microsoft's Xbox Live service, the Big N will not charge any fee for gamers to go online through its infrastructure. The same could be true for Revolution's wireless play.
Q: Will Revolution be backward compatible?
A: Yes. At the March 2005 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that Revolution would be backward compatible.
"Contrary to much speculation, I can announce today that Revolution will be backward compatible. The best of the Nintendo GameCube library will still be enjoyed by players years from now," Iwata revealed.
The announcement was a surprise because analysts and media, IGN included, figured that Revolution's radically different new input device would make backward compatibility a near impossibility. Evidently Nintendo has found a way around this hurdle.
Q: Who are Nintendo's hardware partners on Revolution?
A: During the course of the last two years, several major hardware companies have been linked to Revolution including IBM, ATI, and NEC.
In December 2002 Bloomberg reported that Nintendo had agreed to collaborate with NEC on a system LSI that would serve as the core for the new console.
Just a few months later GameCube graphics chip maker ATI announced a vague "technology development agreement" for use in future "Nintendo products." Unconfirmed reports from insiders alleged that ATI had been in development with the graphics chip for Revolution well before that announcement.
And several unsubstantiated rumors have suggested that IBM will deliver a modified version of its PowerPC G5 processor for Revolution.
In March 2005, Nintendo confirmed that both IBM and ATI would supply the CPU and GPU respectively for the Revolution console.
"We're excited to be developing the graphics chip set for Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with Nintendo," explained Dave Orton, ATI Technologies' president and chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds. ATI is proud to support Nintendo's innovative contributions to gaming."
Q: When will Revolution be released?
A: "If you're asking for a specific date for our next system -- we don't have one. Nintendo is going to remain competitive and will launch around the same time as competitors -- not later than," said Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs in a May 2004 interview. This is the same line other Nintendo executives, including company president Satoru Iwata, have said for months.
Nintendo feels that its inability to bring GameCube to market before PlayStation 2 gave Sony an advantage that it could never overcome. For that reason, Nintendo will not launch Revolution after PlayStation 3.
Revolution will launch sometime in 2006.
Q: How much will Revolution cost?
A: Currently unknown. But we feel confident that Nintendo will aim for a mass-market friendly price on the lower side of the spectrum.
Link
After reading this article, it has made me really interested about the Revolution, and I love how you can play games from older systems like N64, Super Nintendo, etc. I think Nintendo is really going to push to get back on top it seems like. And you can hook it up to your computer AND your TV which is pretty cool also. And it sounds like they're going for a bit lower price than Sony and Microsoft, hopefully maybe $350-$400.
