Revolution Tech Details Emerge
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Revolution Tech Details Emerge
Devs give us the scoop on performance power and RAM capacity. Exclusive information revealed.
by Matt Casamassina
December 5, 2005 - Nintendo has during recent months remained publicly quiet on its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, but even so the company has taken behind-the-scenes steps to prepare development studios for the platform. We spoke with multiple software houses either creating software for or experimenting with the machine in its still incomplete stage and have been able to compile some new technical details.
Readers are advised to make two notes before continuing with this article. The first is that developers are still working with incomplete Revolution hardware. Most studios are, in fact, developing on "GameCube-based kits," according to major software houses we spoke to, which have asked to remain anonymous. The second is that developers are still without final specifications for Revolution's ATI-developed graphics chip, codenamed Hollywood.
That stated, many third parties have been partially briefed by Nintendo representatives about the Revolution hardware, its overall horsepower, and the Big N's plan for the console. Based on the information studios have relayed to us, Revolution is truly poised to cater to an altogether different game market than either Microsoft or Sony with their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles respectively. Nintendo's machine will simply not deliver the same graphic horsepower as its competitors. Revolution is all about the controller and what it can do for gameplay experiences.
When Revolution was initially unveiled, a Nintendo executive said it would be "two-to-three times more powerful than GameCube." The company never commented on Revolution's horsepower again and we were later told that the initial statement was incorrect. However, according to development houses, that description accurately sums up Revolution's power.
"To be honest, it's not much more powerful than an Xbox. It's like a souped up Xbox," a major third party source revealed to us. "But it's the controller that makes the difference and the controller is really nice."
Nintendo has said all along that sheer horsepower has not been a priority with Revolution. Rather, the company hopes to make the console small, quiet and affordable. It is very likely for this reason that the Big N chose not to make Revolution compatible with the emerging 720p, 1080i and 1080p high-definition video resolutions, which are focuses for competing consoles.
Metroid Prime 3 for Revolution as shown at E3 2005. A giant leap in graphics or a marginal improvement over GameCube?
Gamers holding out for Nintendo to reverse its stance on the HD front may be in for a disappointment. Revolution will not have the RAM capacity to store and display an abundant source of high-definition textures. Third parties have revealed to us that the console will top out with 128MBs of RAM, and possibly even less. One studio would not give us an exact figure, but did say, "The same as GameCube plus an extra 64MB of main RAM." That number is by comparison nearly triple the amount of memory in GameCube. However, it is a far cry from the 512MBs present in Xbox 360.
One studio we spoke to hinted at the possibility of accessing further Revolution RAM, but its comments were cryptic. "There is more RAM that you can use, but Nintendo is using that for general memory, like game saves and all sorts of other things. You could use it, but you can't rely on it." This comment seems to suggest that developers might be able to tap into Revolution's 512MBs of on-board Flash memory, but to our knowledge such a solution would be too slow to utilize in games.
Still, the studios we spoke with are still very intrigued by Revolution and are not ruling out the possibility of additional graphic horsepower. No developer that chatted with us had, or was willing to share, details on the console's GPU, Hollywood. One studio said: "As soon as we find out what it can do then we'll know if Revolution will just be like an Xbox or something a little more."
Asked if it was developing for Revolution, one major third party source said that it was well past the experimental stage and was evaluating what types of games might work on the platform. "We are looking at it quite differently. It's like another current generation platform for us. But it's such a nice controller that it opens up a lot of possibilities. It's very different and it's very precise."
Finally, quizzed about publishers' internal reaction to the device, a source responded: "People are interested, but they're still taking it all in at the moment. I'm sure [Nintendo is] going to get a fair amount of support. Probably a lot of people will initially look at existing franchises and whether or not they can kind of do customized versions for Revolution using most of the assets they've got. But whether they'll say, "Okay, let's do something completely original for it," that's the other question because it could be quite expensive to do that. Not as expensive as doing a PS3 or Xbox 360 game. But if you're a third party and you want to do cross platform, if you're doing a game on 360 you can do it on PS3 or PC using the same assets and that does make it a bit easier."
Nintendo has consistently downplayed the role of horsepower with Revolution, often saying that graphics have reached a "saturation point" in today's games. Nintendo bigwig Shigeru Miyamoto has suggested that players might not be able to tell the difference between the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and some high-definition games.
The Big N will reveal much more about Revolution beginning early next year, according to company executives, and will show first games at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2006 next May in Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more.
http://revolution.ign.com/articles/673/673578p1.html
by Matt Casamassina
December 5, 2005 - Nintendo has during recent months remained publicly quiet on its next-generation console, codenamed Revolution, but even so the company has taken behind-the-scenes steps to prepare development studios for the platform. We spoke with multiple software houses either creating software for or experimenting with the machine in its still incomplete stage and have been able to compile some new technical details.
Readers are advised to make two notes before continuing with this article. The first is that developers are still working with incomplete Revolution hardware. Most studios are, in fact, developing on "GameCube-based kits," according to major software houses we spoke to, which have asked to remain anonymous. The second is that developers are still without final specifications for Revolution's ATI-developed graphics chip, codenamed Hollywood.
That stated, many third parties have been partially briefed by Nintendo representatives about the Revolution hardware, its overall horsepower, and the Big N's plan for the console. Based on the information studios have relayed to us, Revolution is truly poised to cater to an altogether different game market than either Microsoft or Sony with their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles respectively. Nintendo's machine will simply not deliver the same graphic horsepower as its competitors. Revolution is all about the controller and what it can do for gameplay experiences.
When Revolution was initially unveiled, a Nintendo executive said it would be "two-to-three times more powerful than GameCube." The company never commented on Revolution's horsepower again and we were later told that the initial statement was incorrect. However, according to development houses, that description accurately sums up Revolution's power.
"To be honest, it's not much more powerful than an Xbox. It's like a souped up Xbox," a major third party source revealed to us. "But it's the controller that makes the difference and the controller is really nice."
Nintendo has said all along that sheer horsepower has not been a priority with Revolution. Rather, the company hopes to make the console small, quiet and affordable. It is very likely for this reason that the Big N chose not to make Revolution compatible with the emerging 720p, 1080i and 1080p high-definition video resolutions, which are focuses for competing consoles.
Metroid Prime 3 for Revolution as shown at E3 2005. A giant leap in graphics or a marginal improvement over GameCube?
Gamers holding out for Nintendo to reverse its stance on the HD front may be in for a disappointment. Revolution will not have the RAM capacity to store and display an abundant source of high-definition textures. Third parties have revealed to us that the console will top out with 128MBs of RAM, and possibly even less. One studio would not give us an exact figure, but did say, "The same as GameCube plus an extra 64MB of main RAM." That number is by comparison nearly triple the amount of memory in GameCube. However, it is a far cry from the 512MBs present in Xbox 360.
One studio we spoke to hinted at the possibility of accessing further Revolution RAM, but its comments were cryptic. "There is more RAM that you can use, but Nintendo is using that for general memory, like game saves and all sorts of other things. You could use it, but you can't rely on it." This comment seems to suggest that developers might be able to tap into Revolution's 512MBs of on-board Flash memory, but to our knowledge such a solution would be too slow to utilize in games.
Still, the studios we spoke with are still very intrigued by Revolution and are not ruling out the possibility of additional graphic horsepower. No developer that chatted with us had, or was willing to share, details on the console's GPU, Hollywood. One studio said: "As soon as we find out what it can do then we'll know if Revolution will just be like an Xbox or something a little more."
Asked if it was developing for Revolution, one major third party source said that it was well past the experimental stage and was evaluating what types of games might work on the platform. "We are looking at it quite differently. It's like another current generation platform for us. But it's such a nice controller that it opens up a lot of possibilities. It's very different and it's very precise."
Finally, quizzed about publishers' internal reaction to the device, a source responded: "People are interested, but they're still taking it all in at the moment. I'm sure [Nintendo is] going to get a fair amount of support. Probably a lot of people will initially look at existing franchises and whether or not they can kind of do customized versions for Revolution using most of the assets they've got. But whether they'll say, "Okay, let's do something completely original for it," that's the other question because it could be quite expensive to do that. Not as expensive as doing a PS3 or Xbox 360 game. But if you're a third party and you want to do cross platform, if you're doing a game on 360 you can do it on PS3 or PC using the same assets and that does make it a bit easier."
Nintendo has consistently downplayed the role of horsepower with Revolution, often saying that graphics have reached a "saturation point" in today's games. Nintendo bigwig Shigeru Miyamoto has suggested that players might not be able to tell the difference between the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and some high-definition games.
The Big N will reveal much more about Revolution beginning early next year, according to company executives, and will show first games at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2006 next May in Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more.
http://revolution.ign.com/articles/673/673578p1.html
Allergic to vitamin D
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From: Earth
Originally Posted by Grifter
Revolution is all about the controller and what it can do for gameplay experiences.
Strike 1
Originally Posted by Grifter
...the Big N chose not to make Revolution compatible with the emerging 720p, 1080i and 1080p high-definition video resolutions...
Originally Posted by Grifter
"There is more RAM that you can use, but Nintendo is using that for general memory, like game saves and all sorts of other things."
Strike 3
Originally Posted by Grifter
Nintendo bigwig Shigeru Miyamoto has suggested that players might not be able to tell the difference between the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and some high-definition games.
It seems that Nintendo just made a really nice N64. I wonder if they went back to cartridges? :lmfao:
I missed Sean
Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Fairfield/Bridgeport CT
nintendo is making the right decision at the wrong time.
the war of games is moving past graphical abilities
think of it in terms of real war. from rock to sticks to arrows to guns to bombs to the sea and in the air.
there just isnt enough change happening on the graphical front ( i know there is a large difference, but it's not the same as it used to be, like going from n64 to xbox or genesis to n64) I think the graphical game will basically end this generation. it will be a side effect from now on, the focus will be on the games and how we play them.
i think they are just makign this decision at the wrong point in time, not that is the worst decsion
the war of games is moving past graphical abilities
think of it in terms of real war. from rock to sticks to arrows to guns to bombs to the sea and in the air.
there just isnt enough change happening on the graphical front ( i know there is a large difference, but it's not the same as it used to be, like going from n64 to xbox or genesis to n64) I think the graphical game will basically end this generation. it will be a side effect from now on, the focus will be on the games and how we play them.
i think they are just makign this decision at the wrong point in time, not that is the worst decsion
ZOMG Pew Pew Laserbeams
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Originally Posted by umop-apisdn
Wow, a nice controller. :eh:
Strike 1
Strike 2
Huh? Gamesaves in RAM?
Strike 3
:rofl: Yeah, right. I can tell a difference between my friends 32" WEGA and my 36". He does have component inputs, but no 720 or 1080, 480P only. (X360)
It seems that Nintendo just made a really nice N64. I wonder if they went back to cartridges? :lmfao:
Strike 1
Strike 2
Huh? Gamesaves in RAM?
Strike 3
:rofl: Yeah, right. I can tell a difference between my friends 32" WEGA and my 36". He does have component inputs, but no 720 or 1080, 480P only. (X360)
It seems that Nintendo just made a really nice N64. I wonder if they went back to cartridges? :lmfao:
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Joined: May 2002
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From: San Francisco, CA
Originally Posted by umop-apisdn
It seems that Nintendo just made a really nice N64.
My main concern with the console is how practical the controller will be towards a variety of genres. The left hand controller attachment and the standard controller shell just seem like a plethora of accessories that, unless every controller comes with both, developers can't count on having, so will therefore design towards the most basic, the single remote controller.
It is nice to hear that third party devs are keeping an open mind on Revolution, but really... if you're not a fan of Nintendo games, there's no point in owning Revolution. Cube and N64 pretty much set the precedent for Big-N fanboys and hardcore gamers.
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don't underestimate this one... the DS is doing better than the PSP, when the PSP is technologically superior in many ways.
we'll see though. there are a ton of PS fanboys.
in my opinion, nintendo's consoles stay true to what i think a console is supposed to be, so i hope to see this thing blow the PS3 and 360 out of the water.
we'll see though. there are a ton of PS fanboys.
in my opinion, nintendo's consoles stay true to what i think a console is supposed to be, so i hope to see this thing blow the PS3 and 360 out of the water.
Allergic to vitamin D
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From: Earth
Originally Posted by reno96teg
the DS is doing better than the PSP, when the PSP is technologically superior in many ways.
What's the best game out for the DS? Animal Crossing, Nintendogs? :rofl: I did have a slight penchant for the Advance Wars series awhile back, but even then, the whole game looked like a cartoon.
Oh, and Burnout looks like shit on the DS. Nintendo made me a PSP fanboy, not Sony.