Well you know, we’d all love to see the plan. But Nintendo didn’t release many specs, but did disclose a couple of tiny surprises.
Microsoft and Sony had their turns in the limelight of the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Late in the day Tuesday, Nintendo stepped on stage to talk about its Revolution console.
The legendary game maker has taken a different tack than its two competitors. While they pile in extra features like DVD playback, Nintendo has focused its machines like the GameCube on the single function of playing games.
If anyone had any complaints about the size of the GameCube, Nintendo must have been listening. The new console will be similar in dimension to three stacked DVD cases. Also, Revolution will have wireless controllers and two USB ports.
Other than verifying IBM and ATI will deliver processors and graphics chips to Revolution, Nintendo did not comment further on the specs for the console. But they did note that Revolution would be able to play GameCube games.
One nifty surprise they did disclose was the ability for Revolution’s built-in wireless Internet to download thousands of games created in the company’s twenty years of game development. That would go all the way to the original Nintendo Entertainment System.
And the other tiny surprise was a little remake of the GameBoy Advance SP in a smaller size. This remake is a flat console, not the familiar folding clamshell design of the current SP. It will offer switchable face plates and a slightly brighter screen, but won’t have any real technology updates.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
