Talkin' about a Revolution

I owe Shigeru Miyamoto an apology. Miyamoto is the creative force behind some of the most iconic and influential video games ever created, including Donkey Kong, Zelda and Mario. His credentials are unassailable. Whilst I've never spoken out against the man in any way, I have doubted him, and for that I am sorry.

I thought the man was off his rocker, you see. He's long talked about the need to open up the field of video games to a wider audience instead of the hardcore faithful, and in order to do this he's also cited the need to make the games themselves more accessible, starting with a radical overhaul controller for Nintendo's next console, currently codenamed Revolution. In principle I have to agree with him: controllers of the current generation of consoles typically have between 8 and 10 buttons, 2 analogue sticks and a 8 way directional pad. Introductory levels to teach the control scheme are now mandatory on most games, and there are some games even I've found to have an overly complicated interface. Still the question in my mind remained: how do you reduce the complexity of a controller whilst retaining sort of freedom in games allowed by the current crop of controllers . After all, however complex controllers have become, it's important to remember that a rational exists behind that complexity and many games (and perhaps gamers) rely on the features they offer.

I was optimistic that Nintendo would come up with something interesting, but which would ultimately prove an evolution of current controllers rather than a radical departure. I didn't expect the revolution Nintendo were promising, partly because Nintendo has a spotty record when it comes to such hype. They talked up the release of a new controller to accompany a new Mario Party game for the Gamecube, for example. The frenzy they whipped up subsided immediately when it was discovered that the peripheral was nothing more than a microphone, an accessory Sony had already launched for the PS2 and with a better game to boot. On the other hand the DS handheld turned out to be everything Nintendo promised it would be, and is continues to sell well even the release of Sony's PSP.

My faith finally cracked when I read an interview during which Miyamoto stated that Nintendo hadn't decided whether the new controller would feature an analogue controller, or the older 8 way d-pad. I was astounded. Analogue controls have been standard ever since Nintendo introduced them for the launch of the venerable N64. That they might be absent from the new controller was simply inconceivable. He also intimated that the controller would feature only 2 buttons. A d-pad and two buttons. Remember back to 1985 and you might recall that this was the configuration used by Nintendo's first console, the even more venerable NES. I literally thought that either Miyamoto had genuinely lost the plot or was trying to pull the wool over the eyes of his competitors. He seemed to be proposing neither a revolution nor an evolution, but a massive leap back 20 years to a bygone era. Utter, utter madness.

In some ways my worst fears were confirmed when I actually laid eyes on the controller for the first time. Judge for yourselves:

My initial reaction was accompanied by many exclamation marks. It's a remote control! All that speculation and hype for a remote control which bears a striking resemblance to an obsolete NES control pad!? I was right the first time: Miyamoto was clinically insane and Nintendo were about to take a nosedive into obscurity.

But I was wrong: Miyamoto new exactly what he was talking about. It may look basic, but underneath that innocuous facade is the most innovative controller yet devised for a console, a device of hitherto unseen elegance, incredible flexibility and limitless possibilities. Nintendo has come up with a controller that pictures literally cannot do justice. I take it all back. It's not madness, it's sheer genius.

What you're not seeing from the picture above is that the controller is accompanied by sensors placed around the television that allow detection of the controller's position in 3d space. More so it can also determine the orientation of the controller about all three axes. If you still believe it's lacking, the last bit of icing on the cake is that the controller also features a port into which can be plugged a number of accessories. The most important of these (and the one which shall be included with the system) is small pod which features two trigger buttons and a familiar looking analogue controller. Amusingly Nintendo have christened this the the "nunchucka" configuration:

But as I said above. Pictures alone cannot do this thing justice. I was sold on it's potential from the descriptions I read of the controller in action, but I had to admit that it's such a radical departure from anything that's gone before that I believe Nintendo will have a struggle to convey exactly what it makes possible to a wider audience. Nintendo, however, seem to have considered this already. Take a look at this promotional video which accompanied the announcement of the controller and which does a most excellent job of showing off the possibilities.

The feedback I've read about the controller has been largely positive, both from game developers, and the wider public. The most frustrating argument I've seen comes from those who cannot see beyond the games they already have. They seem to look at the controller and the only question in their minds is "But how do we play the games we already have on that?" This is missing the point: The question isn't "how do we stand still", it's "how do we move forward".

I'd come close to writing Nintendo off. Against the marketing might of Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo appeared to be standing off to one side, content to let Sony and Microsoft make all the noise they wanted. But now Nintendo have simply stepped up quietly and without bluster, and said to the world "here, this is how we think it should be." All of a sudden, Nintendo is playing in an entirely different league.

Make no mistake, I believe this is Nintendo's iPod. It not big, it's not flashy, but it's small elegant and simply the way these things should be. More importantly, it widens Nintendo's appeal to those demographics who have remained tantalisingly out of reach for so long. For all those complaining about the buttons and analogue stick the controller is lacking, Apple have proved time and time again that genius doesn't lie merely in adding features, but in choosing what to leave out. In this regards Nintendo has excelled. A lot of unknowns remain, but I guarantee this will change the face of the gaming world. Microsoft and Sony have been caught napping and I'll be curious to see their responses (unusually, a Microsoft executive, Peter Moore, went on the record with nothing but praise for Nintendo's effort). All of a sudden, the console war is no longer about who has the fastest processors or best graphics. Nintendo have made certain that it's about who is having the most fun.

And it's about time.