Project Revolution

This article is about the Nintendo game console. For the Linkin Park tour, please see Projekt Revolution.

Project Revolution is the code name for the next Nintendo video game console. Presently, not much information has been released about Project Revolution. The system will be discussed and be partially demonstrated, at E³ in May 2005. According to Satoru Iwata, they didn't want other developers to mimic their idea at this early stage. Nintendo's executive vice president of sales and marketing Reginald Fils-Aime has stated that the console will be released in 2006 [1], about the same time as Sony's PlayStation 3 and after Microsoft's Xbox 360, which is planned for release in November 2005.

Nintendo has stated that they wish for their new console to provide more than simply better graphics over its predecessor. It is not yet known how they will achieve this but it is speculated that it may provide new methods of interaction.

Confirmed hardware and technology

Nintendo has announced that IBM has been working with the development of the CPU, codenamed "Broadway". IBM was previously involved with the development of the processor in Nintendo's current system, GameCube. Nintendo has also announced that Canadian graphics card maker ATI Technologies is involved with the GPU codenamed "Hollywood". Before the Gamecube's release, ATI had bought ArtX, the company responsible for the Gamecube's GPU and whose members were made of former SGI employees involved with the Nintendo 64. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also announced that the Revolution will be backward compatible with GameCube games and have built-in Wi-Fi for online playing, provided by Broadcom Corporation [2]. MoSYS, whose 1T-SRAM memory technology was used in the Gamecube, will again provide the same technology for Revolution.

Nintendo has gone on record as stating that the Revolution will use standard DVD as its medium, and the Nihon Keizai has added onto this specification by stating that the system will employ 12 cm optical discs.[3] It will also play DVD movies. They also have said the console will be "sleek", approximately the thickness of three DVD cases, and stand both horizontally and vertically, as does Sony's PS2 and the more contemporarily competitive Xbox 360 [4]. In addition, Revolution will be able to hook up to a computer monitor as well as a TV.

Rumors

• A video clip claiming to be Nintendo's E3 footage for Revolution has appeared online, supposing the name to be "Nintendo ON". The system is based on virtual reality. IGN has covered the video in an article. However, it is believed to be an elaborate (and extremely well-engineered) hoax, as the unit's description clashes with the information revealed by Nintendo (above), and character models of major characters are not Nintendo-standard.

• The future Microsoft and Nintendo consoles may use similar technologies. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have all contracted IBM for CPUs, but only Nintendo and Microsoft have contracted ATI to develop their next-generation GPU hardware.

• The Revolution could have connectivity with the Nintendo DS or Nintendo's next Game Boy system.

• Revolution's largest innovation is speculated to be incorporated in the next controller. There is a rumor from a magazine in Japan called "The Diamond Weekly" that the new console's controllers will not have the traditional A / B buttons or the d-pad, which have been present since the NES era in the early 1980s. It's worth noting that Nintendo has, since 2001, invested a great deal of money and resources into the company Gyration, which focuses on creating controllers for the PC using gyroscopes. Nintendo has previously included motion-sensors in the game cartridges for titles in the Wario Ware and Kirby franchises.

• Another theory is that the controller of the Revolution will be touch sensitive, in similar fashion to the Nintendo DS. In Issue #144 (April 2005) of Game Informer, there was a brief confirmation that the Revolution's controllers will indeed be touch screens. However the validity of this statement is yet to be proven.

• It has also been hinted at that the Revolution's graphics may be holographic, using technology that will be featured in upcoming movies.[5] This has been debunked by the company which was supposedly developing the technology for Nintendo. [6]

• For Nintendo DS, Nintendo plans to install many Wi-Fi booths around Japan so the DS can go online. Many people believe these booths will be used for the Revolution's online as well.

References

• N-Sider, October 2004 in-depth FAQ, updated on all the known details about the Revolution.
• Gyration, Press release involving Nintendo investment
• IGN GameCube FAQ
• Game Informer interview with Reggie Fils-Aime

External links

• Slashdot discussion on Revolution – March 11, 2005
• n-revolt.com – blog
• Nintendo Revolution – news site