Nintendo has alot of money, and finally they are throwing it around. As Reggie stated once, Nintendo actually paid for the development kits for the DS and sent them to certain developers. They are doing the same thing with the Revolution. Many aquisitions are going to be revealed at E3.
I would say the development world is very excited about the next generation of consoles. As I talk to people, I get the sense that everyone wants to explore this new territory. Everyone wants to make the next Super Mario Bros. With respects to the Revolution, there was some hesitation to develop for it. Now, everything is different. As you all know, the development costs for the Xbox 360 are very high. The same can be said of the PS3, although it is easier to develop for than the Xbox 360. But with the Revolution, everything is cheaper and easier to navigate. All the features I mentioned greatly expand what we can do with games. People are looking forward to this machine, don’t worry.
A new Wave Race is in development, and it should be at E3. Many people wrote off the Gamecube as a weak, baby console, but the Wave Race game on it proves that it is very capible. The water effects in that game are amazing; they still look very good today. With the new Zelda and the water in it, Nintendo is again showing how good they are at what they do. But I think this Wave Race is going to top everything out there in respects to graphics. It is going to be the GT of water racing games. You will be able to around in many different levels, all of which will sport many obstacles for the player. For instance, one early design I saw had a racer avoiding enormous cruise ships, which could destroy your speeder if you got too close to it.
One of the more interesting games I saw was a totally new IP. Outside of Geist, Nintendo has never really worked on a “mature” game. This all is going to change. They are working on a 3rd person action game that is very, very interesting. When Ninja Gaiden came out, I remember hearing that Aonuma was really into the game. I found this very interesting, but I didn’t take much interest into the story. Later, one of my co-workers showed me what he was working on. Nintendo, along with Hideo Kojima, are working on a futuristic action game. There is a reason why Kojima isn’t directing the next Metal Gear game. He’s been working with Nintendo on this game. In many ways, it reminded me of a apocolyptic, futuristic version of Zelda and Ninja Gaiden mixed. The earliest ideas I heard involved a cult of humans (humans are near extinction) who are menacing a cybernetic country. In the game, humans were almost wiped out by a race of higher beings, who then created cybernetic humans to take their place as rulers of the planet (not earth). The main character is one of the synthetic robots. Very, very interesting. I only got to see this one time, and I pray it will be at E3.
Camelot is not working on a new Golden Sun game. They are not woring on the DS either. Before I left Nintendo, they began working on the Revolution. They are working on creating a new RPG to combat Final Fantasy, which is strange. Square Enix is working on an RPG for the Revolution’s launch, so I don’t think Camelot’s game will be a launch title. If Square Enix leaves Sony (which is not a big if), they could possibly rejoin with Nintendo. Or they could wind up with Microsoft, but I doubt that.
Nintendo is really doing something special with the Revolution. This is a system that will appeal to all gamers, and developers will find it pretty easy to work on. I think it is going to be very successful, especially in Japan. The Gamecube has been a failure over seas. The Revolution should do much better, mainly due to the fact that it will correct many of the mistakes made this generation. There will not be a sub par Luigi game at launch. The system isn’t going to resemble a purple lunch box either. But in my mind 3rd party suport was the biggest reason the Gamecube failed. I don’t see any reason why developers would shun the Revolution. If it is able to sell, it will be supported. Like I said earlier, it will have the greatest launch titles ever seen on a console.
Like I said earlier, Nintendo is watching Sony very closely. They do not think that the Xbox 360 is going to be a competitor next generation. As many of you have probally heard, Microsoft is going to launch the Xbox 360 in November. Nintendo has plans on releasing the new Zelda game on whatever date Microsoft chooses. I have also heard rumors that Sony is planning on doing something similar. Apparantly, they are going to release Final Fantasy 12 in Japan to combat the Xbox 360 launch. I actually think there is some truth behind this rumor, but I could be wrong. I think Nintendo is making a mistake by not taking the Xbox 360 seriously.
Despite being the most financially successful company this generation, many people feel that Nintendo is close to their demise. There is no denying that the Gamecube underpreformed this generation, and many gamers have lost faith in Nintendo. But I am confident this is going to change at E3. Last year, all gamers were exicited beyond belief after Nintendo showed the Zelda trailer. A few months after that event, the spirit of optimism began to die down as Nintendo fell back into their old ways. At GDC this year, the optimism was rekindled again. When E3 closes its doors later this year, we are going to see a level of glee and happiness that hasn’t been seen in many years. I would dare say that most if not all gamers love Nintendo deep down, even if they do not show it. These feelings will be brought to the surface after E3.
I doubt the Revolution will use a keyboard. I can confirm that it will not use a mouse though. The gyroscopic functionality of the system allows for a level of control similar to that of a mouse. This function will be used to navigate the Revolution’s “homepage”. If you have ever used a mouse with gyroscopic technology, you will be familiar with this.
The fact is that the Revolution is going to steal the show at E3. The Nintendo Revolution will use wireless controllers. The controller will incude gyroscopic and pressure sensitive capabilities. The Revolution will also have a very advanced for of voice control; a headset will allow gamers to use this function. The Nintendo Revolution will also contain a very detailed online service that will allow gamers to chat and play with each other. Nintendo will use this service to provide previews, demos, and exclusive information with gamers.
