Nintendo Rubbishes Revolution Rumours

Finally, some concrete information, but it's accompanied by the usual Nintendo equivocating anyway.

We know a fair bit already about Revolution, like that it will include a Virtual Console, allowing you to play NES, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 games, and that it will play both GameCube and Revolution games and support wireless connections out the box.

Satoru Iwata wants to keep games simple, unless they're Nintendo's epic games. Then complexity is cool.

And while there's still a lot to uncover, the biggest question mark is stamped on Revolution's controller - or at least it would be if there were a controller yet.

It seems that the real reason for Nintendo not showing off the enigmatic joystick at its pre-E3 conference last month had less to do with the company wanting to keep its supposedly revolutionary features away from competitors and more to do with the controller still being in the design phase.

"We're at a stage where we're adding and removing various kinds of functions, which has been very fun," Shigeru Miyamoto said at a Nintendo business conference this week, as reported GameSpot.

"The Revolution will have an interesting interface," he continued. "We're investing a lot of money into the [development of the] interface, and it's still not finalized."

But while Miyamoto is having fun with his new creation, he's also trying to make sure that the controller isn't too complicated, which would defeat the whole purpose of Revolution - that being to open up gaming to everyone again.

Also at the meeting, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata rubbished reports on the Web that the company's back-catalogue of classic games would be downloadable for free.

"There are rumours floating on the Internet that the Virtual Console will be available for play for free, but we have no plans to distribute [the games] without charge."

That said, Nintendo is still toying with the pricing and distribution possibilities, figuring out some of the ways they'll be getting games to you.

"We believe that there's a number of ways that we can use the system," said Iwata, "such as to offer a bonus download with the purchase of a new game, or allow some games to be downloaded during a limited time during a campaign period."

Part of Nintendo's mantra for Revolution and the next generation is the importance of simple, accessible games. Iwata has touted an end to overly complex games, which he says are putting of would-be gamers.

Iwata isn't totally averse to more in-depth experiences though - gamers are, after all, anxiously awaiting next generation instalments in the Mario and Zelda franchises.

"People have only a limited amount of time," Iwata said. "They want to play splendid titles that are like a full-course French meal for once or twice during the year, but I think we need to stop all the games from becoming like that."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games