26th April 2006, 8:40 AM
hey look, confirmation that needs to be confirmed! i love the french language, even people who speak french cant translate the french language. anyway, important stuff:
Rev Controller Has Force Feedback, Launch Period
During an interview conducted on Canadian internet radio station Radio-Talbot, a Nintendo of Canada representative may have revealed that the Nintendo Revolution's innovative new controller will include force feedback capabilities.
In the interview, Nintendo of Canada's Director of Marketing, Pierre-Paul Trepanier, was asked whether the Revolution's motion sensing controller had force feedback and he answered "Yes, there is forcefeedback in it." Due to the interview being conducted in French there are issues as to whether he was actually referring to force feedback or merely to a simple rumble feature, his words literally translate into English as "force feedback", so we will assume that is what he meant.
The interview was jockeyed by Denis Talbot, very popular in Canada's entertainment industry. He is on staff on Music Plus, a music channel on Canadian television, and he also runs his own video game focused show called Monsieur Net. In his interview with Mr. Trepanier they touch upon many Nintendo related issues including the Revolution's controller and the Nintendo DS Lite, here's some interesting tidbits from the transcript:
NoC = Nintendo of Canada
R-T = Radio-Talbot
ABOUT THE REVOLUTION
NoC: "It looks like a small television remote, very easy to use, very small and wireless."
R-T: "Is there any force feedback in it?"
NoC: "Yes there's feedback in it even though it is wireless, we will show more at E3. Before in our wireless controllers, we didn't put feedback because of battery life problems but now we have found a way to do it without lowering the battery life of the remote."
R-T: "Everyone who talked with me at Radio-Talbot said it was an amazing controller. For example if we want to fly a plane, we could put it upside down and use it like a joystick"
NoC: "Exactly! There's plenty of possibilities and we will see much more of them at e3. We measure a lot of things with the revmote. For example the axis X, Y and the distance with the screen. Also it measures angle, so if you twist the controller, the information is sent to the system. Even before pressing any buttons, the system already has an idea of what the player will do"
R-T: "So that means there will be some sort of thing to place on the tv?"
NoC: "It is to be confirmed, but I'm pretty sure it (the revolution) needs some sensors near the television. This way the revolution will know where the remote is"
NoC: "Everytime the player makes a movement, the controller then sends the information to the system and it calculates everything, for the hardcore gamer it really immerses them into the game"
R-T: "I guess you can't talk about how many games there will be at launch, or you don't have that information? Or you simply can't talk about it?"
NoC: "I can't really say anything about this, I can only repeat what George Harrison from Nintendo of America said to Game Informer magazine, we will have around 20 games for the launch this Autumn"
ABOUT THE DS LITE
R-T: "So when will the DS Lite be released in the USA"
NoC: "We will confirm this in 1 or 2 weeks, it really depends on the japaness market,..."
*some conversation*
NoC: "We are simply waiting for the demand to stop over there so we can gather enough stock from there to launch it here"
A very interesting interview indeed, there are many things to take in. As you can see the reason for the DS Lite not reaching American shores yet is because of the intense demand for the system over in Japan, the Nintendo Revolution's controller may have force feedback features or at the very least, "rumble" capabilities and there will be approximately 20 Revolution games available during the launch window of the system. This is all important news but I will repeat the most unmissable news (in case you missed it)...the Revolution will launch in the Fall! That narrows it down to 3 months, according to Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo's next console will be released sometime during August, September or October this year. This would put it head to head with the Playstation 3's launch.
Thankyou to Moz La Punk forum member Axelferis who broke the story on our own forums and a huge thankyou to Moz La Punk editor Maarch for researching the story and for the translations.
----
Launching earlier than november?? This rumor has come up alot, with some sites rumoring a June release, but August would be just as good in my book - especially if Sony is able to keep on track for November and not push to 2007 (which is highly likely). The forcefeedback talk has me pinpointing one particular line: "Before in our wireless controllers, we didn't put feedback because of battery life problems but now we have found a way to do it without lowering the battery life of the remote". He's talking specifically about the Wavebird and making a reference to the GGC rumble meaning that the revcon could be using the old rumble technology and not gyros that give the feeling of weight or movement. But he actually uses the term force feedback, not rumble. I'll bring up the IGN article when they played revolution last year and felt the controller vibrate like a cellphone, when they asked if this was the type of rumble th controllers would have, nintendo replied that it was there as a placeholder - not the final version.
When you think of the revcon and what it can do, it's very obvious that force feedback is important, so you know when you hit something while moving in 3-D, when your swords strike, etc. And immersion is the name of the game. nintendo got a rumble pak down to the size of a GBA cart, now since the revcon is about 4 inches long this doesn't leave alot of room for gyros (like in the GC controller's rumble) and i'm thinking it may turn out to be cell-phone like - the plus side to this is that it wont kill batteries, it allows for diversity of strengths and can activate faster than the gyros opf the GC controller..
playing Metroid Prime you'll notice that when you charge up, the rumble will feel different each time, you can see this in jumping too. Sometimes a little weaker, sometimes a little stronger, it's because of the positions of the internal gyros which also makes it more difficult to have an immeadiate full stregnth burst. with a cellphone-like rumble, it can be set to its highest setting instantly. i'm also thinking that both parts will have rumble, the revcon and stick attachment. while playing zelda you might be able to control the shield with the stick attachment or rumored/confirmed (:D) motion sensing and feel a hit on your shield independently of the revcon (which would be the sword). other great uses would be like in metroid while walking through rough that the stick attachment will rumble low-pitch with each step or rumble while jumping/landing while the revcon will rumble only when firing your gun.
This would be fantastic but i'm still crossing my fingers for weight displacing gyros, which are the same as the GC's gyros just weighted evenly on both sides and spun faster, then can change direction depending on the direction of push or pull the gameplayer should be recieving. gyroscopes are large, the revcon is not.
However:
http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Apr05/SN0404.html
http://www.gyroscopes.co.uk/d.asp?product=MINIGYRO
http://www.gyroscopes.co.uk/d.asp?product=GYROTOP
http://www.powerballs.com/
The last link takes the idea to extremes, creating 40 pounds of pressure in the resistence, its also very loud. Imagine this smaller, exerting a full pound or two of resistance, and around an inch wide. The motors tell the gryo what direction to rotate in 2 directions; backwards or forwards. i dont see the need for more than two directions (pushing and pulling), but resistence from something pushing down on the controller (holding a heavy gun?) might be a fun experience. So let's give it 4 directions: back, forward, up and down. thus can be accomplished by two micro-motors which is what the GC uses. one controls forwards and backwards, the other controls up and down. you pull back on your bow string, and the gyro starts spinning away from you, giving you resistence as you try to pull the revcon (bowstring) back.
it's a sound idea that can be done cheaply, the question is how cheap. but at the very least, we can expect some kind of rumble feature in the revolution controller which has been a subject of debate.
DS Lite in May, you know it, i know it, the world knows it.
So to sum up; I hate the french.
Rev Controller Has Force Feedback, Launch Period
During an interview conducted on Canadian internet radio station Radio-Talbot, a Nintendo of Canada representative may have revealed that the Nintendo Revolution's innovative new controller will include force feedback capabilities.
In the interview, Nintendo of Canada's Director of Marketing, Pierre-Paul Trepanier, was asked whether the Revolution's motion sensing controller had force feedback and he answered "Yes, there is forcefeedback in it." Due to the interview being conducted in French there are issues as to whether he was actually referring to force feedback or merely to a simple rumble feature, his words literally translate into English as "force feedback", so we will assume that is what he meant.
The interview was jockeyed by Denis Talbot, very popular in Canada's entertainment industry. He is on staff on Music Plus, a music channel on Canadian television, and he also runs his own video game focused show called Monsieur Net. In his interview with Mr. Trepanier they touch upon many Nintendo related issues including the Revolution's controller and the Nintendo DS Lite, here's some interesting tidbits from the transcript:
NoC = Nintendo of Canada
R-T = Radio-Talbot
ABOUT THE REVOLUTION
NoC: "It looks like a small television remote, very easy to use, very small and wireless."
R-T: "Is there any force feedback in it?"
NoC: "Yes there's feedback in it even though it is wireless, we will show more at E3. Before in our wireless controllers, we didn't put feedback because of battery life problems but now we have found a way to do it without lowering the battery life of the remote."
R-T: "Everyone who talked with me at Radio-Talbot said it was an amazing controller. For example if we want to fly a plane, we could put it upside down and use it like a joystick"
NoC: "Exactly! There's plenty of possibilities and we will see much more of them at e3. We measure a lot of things with the revmote. For example the axis X, Y and the distance with the screen. Also it measures angle, so if you twist the controller, the information is sent to the system. Even before pressing any buttons, the system already has an idea of what the player will do"
R-T: "So that means there will be some sort of thing to place on the tv?"
NoC: "It is to be confirmed, but I'm pretty sure it (the revolution) needs some sensors near the television. This way the revolution will know where the remote is"
NoC: "Everytime the player makes a movement, the controller then sends the information to the system and it calculates everything, for the hardcore gamer it really immerses them into the game"
R-T: "I guess you can't talk about how many games there will be at launch, or you don't have that information? Or you simply can't talk about it?"
NoC: "I can't really say anything about this, I can only repeat what George Harrison from Nintendo of America said to Game Informer magazine, we will have around 20 games for the launch this Autumn"
ABOUT THE DS LITE
R-T: "So when will the DS Lite be released in the USA"
NoC: "We will confirm this in 1 or 2 weeks, it really depends on the japaness market,..."
*some conversation*
NoC: "We are simply waiting for the demand to stop over there so we can gather enough stock from there to launch it here"
A very interesting interview indeed, there are many things to take in. As you can see the reason for the DS Lite not reaching American shores yet is because of the intense demand for the system over in Japan, the Nintendo Revolution's controller may have force feedback features or at the very least, "rumble" capabilities and there will be approximately 20 Revolution games available during the launch window of the system. This is all important news but I will repeat the most unmissable news (in case you missed it)...the Revolution will launch in the Fall! That narrows it down to 3 months, according to Nintendo of Canada, Nintendo's next console will be released sometime during August, September or October this year. This would put it head to head with the Playstation 3's launch.
Thankyou to Moz La Punk forum member Axelferis who broke the story on our own forums and a huge thankyou to Moz La Punk editor Maarch for researching the story and for the translations.
----
Launching earlier than november?? This rumor has come up alot, with some sites rumoring a June release, but August would be just as good in my book - especially if Sony is able to keep on track for November and not push to 2007 (which is highly likely). The forcefeedback talk has me pinpointing one particular line: "Before in our wireless controllers, we didn't put feedback because of battery life problems but now we have found a way to do it without lowering the battery life of the remote". He's talking specifically about the Wavebird and making a reference to the GGC rumble meaning that the revcon could be using the old rumble technology and not gyros that give the feeling of weight or movement. But he actually uses the term force feedback, not rumble. I'll bring up the IGN article when they played revolution last year and felt the controller vibrate like a cellphone, when they asked if this was the type of rumble th controllers would have, nintendo replied that it was there as a placeholder - not the final version.
When you think of the revcon and what it can do, it's very obvious that force feedback is important, so you know when you hit something while moving in 3-D, when your swords strike, etc. And immersion is the name of the game. nintendo got a rumble pak down to the size of a GBA cart, now since the revcon is about 4 inches long this doesn't leave alot of room for gyros (like in the GC controller's rumble) and i'm thinking it may turn out to be cell-phone like - the plus side to this is that it wont kill batteries, it allows for diversity of strengths and can activate faster than the gyros opf the GC controller..
playing Metroid Prime you'll notice that when you charge up, the rumble will feel different each time, you can see this in jumping too. Sometimes a little weaker, sometimes a little stronger, it's because of the positions of the internal gyros which also makes it more difficult to have an immeadiate full stregnth burst. with a cellphone-like rumble, it can be set to its highest setting instantly. i'm also thinking that both parts will have rumble, the revcon and stick attachment. while playing zelda you might be able to control the shield with the stick attachment or rumored/confirmed (:D) motion sensing and feel a hit on your shield independently of the revcon (which would be the sword). other great uses would be like in metroid while walking through rough that the stick attachment will rumble low-pitch with each step or rumble while jumping/landing while the revcon will rumble only when firing your gun.
This would be fantastic but i'm still crossing my fingers for weight displacing gyros, which are the same as the GC's gyros just weighted evenly on both sides and spun faster, then can change direction depending on the direction of push or pull the gameplayer should be recieving. gyroscopes are large, the revcon is not.
However:
http://www.afrlhorizons.com/Briefs/Apr05/SN0404.html
http://www.gyroscopes.co.uk/d.asp?product=MINIGYRO
http://www.gyroscopes.co.uk/d.asp?product=GYROTOP
http://www.powerballs.com/
The last link takes the idea to extremes, creating 40 pounds of pressure in the resistence, its also very loud. Imagine this smaller, exerting a full pound or two of resistance, and around an inch wide. The motors tell the gryo what direction to rotate in 2 directions; backwards or forwards. i dont see the need for more than two directions (pushing and pulling), but resistence from something pushing down on the controller (holding a heavy gun?) might be a fun experience. So let's give it 4 directions: back, forward, up and down. thus can be accomplished by two micro-motors which is what the GC uses. one controls forwards and backwards, the other controls up and down. you pull back on your bow string, and the gyro starts spinning away from you, giving you resistence as you try to pull the revcon (bowstring) back.
it's a sound idea that can be done cheaply, the question is how cheap. but at the very least, we can expect some kind of rumble feature in the revolution controller which has been a subject of debate.
DS Lite in May, you know it, i know it, the world knows it.
So to sum up; I hate the french.