Over the past year or so plenty of hype, mystery and controversy has been raised over the new Nintendo Console. Systems like the Xbox have taken the lead in gaming with offering capabilities such as online multiplayer. When Nintendo showed off their new system at the E3 Expo they showed gamers that they truly intend to revolutionize the video game community once again. But until Nintendo “officially” gives us the details, we can only speculate and wait.
The Hype and the Mystery
No one really knows too much about the Nintendo Revolution [http://www.nintendorevolution.ca] . What will it look like? What kind of power will it “actually” have? What games are in development? Nintendo is, for the most part, keeping a lid on things. We don’t even really know when the official release date will be. It has been reported that March of 2006 will be the “unofficial” date.
Living in an online world, it seems everyone has “the inside scoop” on the new console. Members of blogs and forums are saying everything from holographic imaging to new methods of image processing where a developer could create hyper realistic vistas at a fraction of the current processing cost. The bottom line is, with limited facts, speculation is rampid, which creates plenty of misinformation and hype..
What we do know…or think we know?
Nintendo Revolution Technical Specs
[http://www.computerandvideogames.com/screenshots_library/dir_285/vortal_pic_142858.jpg]
• Stylized shell about the thickness of three DVD cases stacked flatly on top of each other
• May come in five different colors including a sleek, glossy black and an Apple-white
• Backward compatible. Plays both GameCube optical discs and proprietary 12cm discs, the latter of which may be dual-layered for upward of 8GBs storage capacity
• Slot-loading drive with stylized blue light
• One proprietary component/digital out located on the rear of the system
• Two USB 2.0 ports located on the rear of the system
• No Ethernet jack; Revolution connects to the Internet using 802.11b and 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless
• GameCube docking station features inputs for four GCN controllers and two Memory Packs
• Two front slots for 512MB flash memory, likely SD Card compatible
• Utilizes wireless controllers
• Custom-built IBM CPU, codenamed Broadway; speed and architecture undetermined at this time
• Custom-built ATI-GPU, codenamed Hollywood; speed and architecture undetermined at this time
• MoSys-developed 1T-SRAM solution; unknown amount of memory at this time
• Nintendo download service: connect online and download classic NES, S-NES and N64 games
Conclusion
As it stands right now, the new Nintendo console will most likely be available early to mid 2006, along with the release of the new PS3 and the Xbox 360. What can we expect? I think it would be naive to think that Nintendo is going to release a system that will be inferior to the competition. They have been around too long to make another big mistake. The new Nintendo gaming system will enter the market as a greater or equal to the competition, enhancing the next generation gaming system. Nintendo Revolution hopes to live up to its name when it hits stores in 2006.
