Seen@GDC: Nintendo Revolution; it's wittle
by Christopher Grant 
{ Mar 26th 2006 at 5:15PM }
I know you've already seen shots of Nintendo's little white box at this year's GDC, but you haven't seen these shots. "What makes these shots different?" you ask, politely.
Only one thing: I was there! I saw it with my own two eyes and the Revolution is, in a word, tiny. It's deceptively small. Think about the first time you pulled the GameCube out of its box and marveled at how it was smaller than you'd imagined. Think Mac mini small. Think Xbox 360 power supply small. Think parking lot from the window seat of an airplane small... alright, maybe not that small, but small!
Continue reading for more shots...
The size of the revmote controller is the most shocking. It looks like it could fit in my hand with room to spare. Now I have to make the papercraft version!
Yup, its shiny. There's practically a mirror finish to the thing.
You can see how the top panel flips up for the Gamecube controllers.
Two USB ports, A/V port, and the power port. It's a sad day for anyone holding onto hope that the base would double as a power supply.
The illumination gives the console a sacred glow. Judging by the fanboys swarming the thing, offering sacrifices of virgin('s) drool, the analogy is peculiarly apt.
I wonder if the glass lid lifted off. I'm wondering how many people wondered the same thing while basking in its glow. I'm wondering how many actually tried it. There had to be at least one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jimmy @ Mar 26th 2006 5:21PM
sure its tiny and pretty...
question is what does it do??
will they show it do something already...
God knows anyone can make a sexy white shell heh
James @ Mar 26th 2006 5:24PM
I wonder how loud it's going to be if it's so small.
GTgamer @ Mar 26th 2006 5:35PM
The Revolution will probably become my old-school nostalgia box of choice. I'm not gonna wave a wand around like a lunatic begging for arthritis, but I'm excited about getting some old school gaming on in my living room...assuming they don't quarter and dollar me to death with it. I'll have my "white" set...a 360 and the rev. New school and the new old school.
JoseMiguel @ Mar 26th 2006 5:43PM
Ok. The thing looks beautiful, that's for sure. Now what I wonder is if it's a finished version of the console or what?
And only god knows I can't wait to see tha games. Hopefuly may is soon enough.
shitup @ Mar 26th 2006 5:45PM
the joystiq attachment should be boxy too
Back_Lit @ Mar 26th 2006 5:46PM
It might be TOO under powered...which to me is a bit of an issue. I don't really care to have something overly powerful (that supports HD) but I do want something that can handle physics, lots of enemies, and greater detail. What I want is a next gen SD-TV system, more powerful, but not ungodly.
Matters @ Mar 26th 2006 5:49PM
It's was a sad day for anybody who EVER thought the base might double as a power supply.
Nintendo said very clearly that the console could sit both horizontally and vertically. It wouldn't sit horizontally too well with the base on it don't you think?
In my opinion it was NEVER believable that the base would double as a power supply. I was laughing at people who believed it then and I'm laughing at them now.
benhc911 @ Mar 26th 2006 5:51PM
quick someone give us dimensions based off the usb !! XD or whatever, we all know it's small... i just cant wait to get one in my hands.
mwahaha @ Mar 26th 2006 5:53PM
Small or not, I want to have its babies. Together, we will make fat Italian plumbers.
It will be beautiful.
As much as I'm on Sony's jock, this will be the first (only?) next-gen console I buy. Ah, I remember when, in 1987, I first got a NES. 'Twas beautiful....
2Kings @ Mar 26th 2006 5:57PM
yes. we've all see the revolution for months now
but where are the friken games??
thats what video game consoles are for right?
murc @ Mar 26th 2006 5:59PM
thats one damn good lookin console...simple yet elegant. and if you can play old games on it...and it costs $200, then this will sell like water in the desert.
I got 3-to-1 odds that the power suply is bigger then the console...any takers? lol
Scott @ Mar 26th 2006 6:12PM
Can anyone tell me what the flap is on the left hand side of the cd drive, the one that would be under the cd drive if it were horizontal. Nintendo have already stated that the main drive would use the gamecube and revolution disks. Maybe it has been change and that little flap lookin thing is where the gamecube disks go....any ideas?
carson @ Mar 26th 2006 6:20PM
Maybe the flap is a bay for a bigger harddrive. one that doesn't cost as much as the 20 gig one for 360. that would be nice.
Jamie @ Mar 26th 2006 6:21PM
It's a Retro Revolution
Best Slogan ever lol
carson @ Mar 26th 2006 6:23PM
oh and given a rough judgement based on the usb prot the system is 4-6 inches tall!
neale @ Mar 26th 2006 6:24PM
looks like a cartridge slot. maybe for nes and snes games
chris @ Mar 26th 2006 6:31PM
It's for additional SD cards to add to the 512MB of flash memory inside the system Scott, maybe a HDD eventually would be connected through there if Nintendo release one, not sure.
vidGuy @ Mar 26th 2006 6:36PM
I believe the slot under the drive slit is for SD cards.
A usb slot is roughly 1/2" wide, so I would agree with the estimate of 4-6 inches tall (backside only). With the slaint, I'd eyeball the front to be between 7 and 8 inches, excluding the base. The system is probably between 2 and 3 inches thick. Lay those dimensions out on a piece of paper and the thing does indeed look very tiny. Hope the old adage "good things come in small packages" holds true here!
carson @ Mar 26th 2006 6:37PM
judging by the DVD slot the system is almost exactly 5.75 inches tall.
don_sf @ Mar 26th 2006 6:40PM
even though the sony's ps3 black looks sooooo slikkkk, and is the best looking console.
however, that looks real nice, better than the profesional pics released by nintendo. just like the real ps3s look better than the ones sony released.
playin metroid prime hunters on the ds is an amazing experience but i still dont know if waving a controler around would be good. but ppl were sceptical of the ds.
the only problem i find with the ds is the graphics dont look that good. graphics do make a difference because the ds feels tacky. with the rev they should make sure that it has respectable graphics. i can imagine mario on it easy but seeing mor serious fps?
Kye @ Mar 26th 2006 6:41PM
*He touches his laptop screen with big, longing eyes as a drop of drool runs down his chin*
"I love you" * he whispers*
Joshi @ Mar 26th 2006 6:51PM
Best. Looking. Console. Period.
If Nintendo A) names this the NES2, B) prices it at $199, and C) markets the thing to adults, playing up the retro-ness, I don't see how they can't come out on tops in the console wars.
I don't think I've ever been more excited for a system in my life. It'll be the first console I buy on launch day (I got a GBA on Day 1).
Booger @ Mar 26th 2006 6:56PM
Of all things to latch onto... size.
It's NOT the size that matters, it's what it can do.
Brandon @ Mar 26th 2006 7:17PM
We havn't seen a single game, heck, not even a concrete name of any revolution game. It just seems hard to believe that the system will launch with many revolution games that dont come from nintendo itself.
don_sf @ Mar 26th 2006 7:21PM
lol number 20, you think the name price and retro games could make it the best selling console?
sony playstation 2 was not the cheapest console and still broke records. gamecube was too late.
lol you think the name makes a difference. let me tell you something so many parents call xboxs playstations. they see you playing gamecube and they will say 'turn that playstation of'. not all parents but alot, thats when something like playstation 3 name makes a difference.
this virtual service of nintendo doenst have every single nes game, and people dont even know if its gonna b 100% free. ps3 is giving a 60 gig hard drive yes, you seen how big homebrew has been on psp, so they is 100% every posibility that you can dload every single nes and snes game and leave on your ps3 and play for free. even many n64 games and who knows maybe even gamecube later on? huh.
i will be getting a rev but it will be much easier to play my favourite nes, snes, n64, sega mega drive, ps1, gba, gbc games on my ps3.
dam that sounds good, i love nintendo thats why im getting a ps3 lol.
believe me i like ps3 the best, then rev. xbox 1.5 is a waste. i really would recomend everyone getting a ps3 and rev. good nite
jay @ Mar 26th 2006 7:26PM
Shizus! Beautiful.
PowerBook, iPod Mini, Nintendo Revolution.
cha. love good industrial design.
Jamie @ Mar 26th 2006 7:51PM
sorry don_sf but wat the hell are you on about? THERE WILL NOT BE ANY NINTENDO GAMES ON PS3. Sorry if thats not what you meant but that is just not going to happen. At least not for a very long time.
"dam that sounds good, i love nintendo thats why im getting a ps3 lol."
And what do you mean by that?
groovy guy @ Mar 26th 2006 7:59PM
#5
I don't see how you can say this makes the base-as-a-power-supply not work? The power cord attaching to the back of the Revolution makes sense. Power connections on the bottom of the console would connect to the battery located in the base, and that is how it would charge.
Ask yourself this: Why would they need a base that obviously makes the console more prone to falling? Also, why is the console tilted while in the base? Those are two very interesting questions.
neale @ Mar 26th 2006 8:00PM
jay: ipod mini is ugly. dunno if u mean ipod nano or mac mini. or do you actualy mean ipod mini?
mwahaha @ Mar 26th 2006 8:05PM
Jamie said: And what do you mean by that?
I think, and this is hard to figure out based on his writing, that he believes homebrew coders will port NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, etc., emulators to the PS3. Then he will use his PS3 to play old NES games...
Doesn't make sense to me. If all you want is old NES games, you can find cheaper alternatives than the PS3. Whatever. Didn't PT Barnum say a sucker's born every minute?
fawazr @ Mar 26th 2006 8:07PM
"I'm not gonna wave a wand around like a lunatic begging for arthritis"
If waving 'wands' around gave you arthritis, half the guys in the world would be cripples now. But I really am tired of all the "waving wands like a madman" comments. Sure, like any small child those comments were once cute, but then they got old and fat and pubescent. Truth is, NO ONE knows what gameplay will be like, but we do know that it'll be affordable, small, sleek, and have a lot of bang for the buck.
And word is this thing will expand storage space by using SD cards, not a HDD. SD cards are cheap and quiet, HDDs aren't.
FEEZY @ Mar 26th 2006 8:23PM
the whole revolution itself is not slanted. the base has a slant to it, making the system LOOK slanted.
so basically, the front side and the back side should be the same size. prolly bout 5-ish inches! dang. its smaller than my..... cable box.
B @ Mar 26th 2006 8:59PM
This and the PS3 will be sitting at my room.
vidGuy @ Mar 26th 2006 9:34PM
So what you're saying, Feezy, is that the stand has a deeper groove in the back than in the front? Any pics? I guess that's probably right, I always though having it on its side would look weird with one edge all diagonal.
So yeah, without the stand it would be 5-6 inches tall.
embassy @ Mar 26th 2006 9:44PM
looks like the cross breed of an ipod and a ZIP drive...
mikey @ Mar 26th 2006 10:00PM
I don't think that the Rev has a flap on the front, I think that it's the sensor for the Bluetooth wireless technology. At least that would make sense to me. You know, independent of the two sensors that are on your TV. I dunno... I'm too bloody tired.
Cheers!
Mikey
Chuck @ Mar 26th 2006 10:03PM
Yea I saw it in person at GDC as well
and it is VERY VERY small
like new style PC game box small
actually almost exactally that size or 10% larger
-Chuck
vidGuy @ Mar 26th 2006 10:08PM
I just remembered that Nintendo had said that the system would be about the size of three DVD cases stacked together. Just for comparison's sake, those dimensions would be roughly:
7.5" x 5.25" x 1.75"
Garrett @ Mar 26th 2006 10:16PM
That's barely bigger than my ADSL router. It's even smaller than I imagined.
The remote looks a bit square, though. I was hoping for something as rounded as my Sky Digital remote. Of course they could redesign it later like the Xbox S.
But ultimately, between its small size and retrogaming capabilities, adding this to my living room looks to be a very good idea...
And considering how Ninty's Zelda discs were merely ROMs and an emulator shoved together adding your own titles to the console should be very easy, especially since they said you can store copies of your purchased games on your PC. Which will make adding games that due to licensing issues will never resurface (e.g. Zombies Ate My Neighbors) oh so much easier than, say, the Xbox 360.
Warp, the frenchie @ Mar 26th 2006 10:24PM
i've seen also another thing on theses pictures : the A/V port is the same as the digital A/V port of the GameCube...
...and on the GameCube it supports resolutions until 720 i/p...
vrf @ Mar 26th 2006 10:37PM
Ironic that the makers of the lunch-pail-lookin' Gamecube came up with the best system design for the next generation.
Chris @ Mar 26th 2006 10:39PM
If don_sf is not a 14 year old child, he's missing his calling.
I love Nintendo, that's why plan on emulating their old games on somebody else's $300-$500 piece of hardware. And while I'm at it, I'm also going to determine which are the best and worst of these pieces of hardware prior to 66% of them being released.
Internet salt-of-the-earth. Bravo.
Prince @ Mar 26th 2006 10:42PM
I wonder how the sensor for the controller is hooked up. I thought it was gonna have a different connection in the back, but it seems to be either intregated into the system or connected through USB.
Chris Maguire @ Mar 26th 2006 10:42PM
@ #38 -- Actually, it's probably very different from the Gamecube's digital out, since the digital out on the Gamecube doesn't output audio. To play a game in progressive scan on a Gamecube, you need to use both the digital out AND the standard AV out for audio.
For the record, no Gamecube game outputs anything higher than 480p.
don_sf @ Mar 26th 2006 10:51PM
wow man i aint buyin the ps3 just to play nes games. im buyin to play motor storm, sorry but rev cant make you drool with the graphics it will have.
im also gonna watch my blu ray movies on the hd tv i plan to buy in the next few years. im 15 so u no its hard to get cash.
the best thing about ps3 and rev is that you get wifi straight out of the box. so the network ur using with your psp and ds, you can simply connect to it. i dont know how much it costs to have wifi on your 360.
o yeah il be able to enjoy free online gaming with my rev and ps3. im sory but a guys likes me n ma friends cannot aford xbox live. i know how good nex gen online is gonna be, the ds wifi is real simple and quality.
now let me give u a glimse of the future. imagine your sony hdtv, around 42" on ur bedroom wall.
next to it you see this:
http://ployer.com/archives/nintendo-revolution-black.jpg
and in the middle of the room you see this:
http://cache.kotaku.com/gaming/images/ps3black.jpg
that is gonna look amazing. that ps3 looks sooo sliikkkk, by far the best looking console.
see this:?
http://images.wn.com/i/1c/23103f3d0a3f21.jpg
that would spoil the picture eeerrrg. its all bout the style rev and ps3 man thats it.
play free games @ Mar 26th 2006 11:40PM
#43 Xbox 360 wifi costs $100.
The Rev looks fantastic. I think with some announcements of games, and as we learn more about the controller system, Nintendo may have a winner on their hands. They aren't going to outsell the PS3, but should be a strong #2, especially as curious gamers pick it up as a second system.
mike @ Mar 26th 2006 11:55PM
We havn't seen a single game, heck, not even a concrete name of any revolution game. It just seems hard to believe that the system will launch with many revolution games that dont come from nintendo itself.
--
Yea.. no shit.. Nintendo has said as much.. they don't want others to steal their ideas.. namely.. Sony.. Look MS can sell 200 consoles a week.. Nintendo knows they'll kill the X360.. just don't want PS3 to adopt any of Nintendo's ideas... (er.. PNP.. shit..).. so they'll wait until the PS3 specs are finalized etc and then they'll talk..
OF COURSE there are already games in development.. they're just being secretive..
moki @ Mar 26th 2006 11:58PM
well alot of you guys are saying it will be underpowered but nintendo stated there will be no difference and I dont think its gonna be a real #2 choice console in Japan it will be like a #1 console along with PS3... but in America I don't think a lot of people are drooling over it like me im pumped for it I cant wait to use that controller it intregues me sooo much it will be fun if they get resident evil for it cus you can aim directly for the zombies head instead of using a joystick which bugged me cus if it was a freaky part sorta at like 2 am when im jived on coffee and im jittery i'd always die but now it wont be so bad = ) so keep faith people E3 omes soon and heck i bet they have mario for a demo for it cus they did for the gamecube.
CubeGuy @ Mar 27th 2006 12:24AM
Anyone else consider the possibility of hooking up external hard drives or 'pods to store games and saves? That makes a lot of sense. No internal drive, and if anyone wants more than 512MB, then they can use that.
Mac User @ Mar 27th 2006 12:50AM
That panel on the front is for the stereoscopic 3D visual projector. The roll-up screen will come with every "Revolution" sold and will be released at E3 very soon.
http://www.igniq.com/images/nintendo_futurna_011105.jpg
And even though the stand is NOT a battery supply this post is more then enough proof:
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24328400&page=0