Genesis and TurboGrafx games to be playable on Revolution's Virtual Console service.
Nintendo President Challenges Developers to Create Bold New Games
Nintendo Also Announces Plans to Offer Classic Sega and TurboGrafx Games
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
today challenged a crowd of game developers to think differently and take a
fresh approach to the creation of video games. During his keynote address at
the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., Iwata said Nintendo will
provide developers with the tools they need to disrupt the traditional methods
of game creation, much as the company already has.
These tools include the controller for Nintendo's next home console
(code-named Revolution), which lets users control the action on their
television screens through the motion of the controller itself. The
controller lets game developers create new kinds of gaming experiences, ones
that enhance the experience for hard-core gamers while making video games more
accessible and less intimidating to novices. The new forms of innovative
software that can be created by any size developer will be made available for
download via Revolution's Virtual Console service.
"This new approach is like stepping onto an unexplored continent for the
first time, with all the potential for discovery that suggests," Iwata said.
"No one else can match the environment we're creating for expanding the game
experience to everyone. Our path is not linear, but dynamic."
Iwata also announced partnerships with Sega and Hudson to offer
downloadable access to their classic games via Revolution's Virtual Console.
Revolution owners will be able to relive their past gaming glories from the
Sega Genesis console by playing a "best of" selection from more than 1,000
Genesis titles, as well as games sold for the TurboGrafx console (a system
jointly developed by NEC and Hudson). These games join Revolution's access to
20 years of fan-favorite Nintendo games from the NES(R), Super NES(R) and
Nintendo(R) 64 eras.
Iwata also revealed for the first time that a new game called The Legend
of Zelda(R): Phantom Hourglass would be released for Nintendo DS later this
year.
Iwata, a game developer himself, revealed behind-the-scenes stories about
the development of three key initiatives.
For the industry leading Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, internal engineers and
developers overcame a series of hurdles to make the system seamless and
flexible enough to allow players to choose to play wirelessly either with
friends or against unknown opponents. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection reached
1 million unique users in just 18 weeks -- nearly five times the adoption rate
of the leading online game console network.
He described a pivotal meeting in coming to agreement on development of
the incredibly popular "brain games" in Japan. A leading Japanese scientist
attached a sci-fi-looking wired helmet to a Nintendo staffer and then visually
demonstrated stimulation of brain activity as the staffer played prototype
software.
Finally, he described the hundreds of sketches, dozens of prototypes and
company-wide collaboration that led to the final form of the unique Revolution
controller system, which resembles a traditional TV remote control. He called
the related research and manufacturing costs of the new control system,
"...our method to disrupt the market...realizing a new way to connect a player
to his game."
