Migraine

For some wonderful wonderful reason, HMV were selling it today (May 1st) so I'm listening to the bugger now. Ah it's awesome!!! The guitar solo in Jambi sounds like a whale being killed by a giant robot, it's insane. The title track, 10,000 days, is one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard. Oh, and this CD is worth getting for the casing alone... seriously. It's got fucking sterioscopic lenses embedded in the case and you use them to view the album artwork. It's incredible!! God bless Tool. Anyone else manage to get a ticket to see them in the UK in June ?? I can't wait...

Maybe it's called Wii because they expect to piss all over the competition...

HAHAHAHAAAA!!! It's a dreadful name. But alas, looks like it's here to stay. I'm going to be in a queue of people who all want a Wii on launch day, it seems.

"GI: One big thing that a lot of people have been talking about is that Revolution will be more focused, obviously, on gameplay rather than graphics. How important do you think that the visuals are in the success of the console? Harrison: Well I think that they’re important, but maybe on a different dimension. The dimension that people mostly think about is photo-realism and so you see, for instance, an Xbox 360 game and they show a racing game and everyone sees how shiny the cars are and that the leaves are flowing and that type of thing, but that’s really only one dimension. For some games, photrealism is important. In many other games, the choice of graphics is really just an artistic choice, in the same way that animation’s there. The Simpson’s TV show, for instance, wouldn’t be half as funny if it were live action. So the stylized choice is what really makes it. You know, the Revolution is going to be a multiple of the GameCube in terms of capabilities, a dramatic improvement as possible there, but it’s really going to come down to the creativity of the gameplay and the story itself that’s going to drive this whole piece forward." lol, Just kidding. Man... I need a life. *Realises he's landed in Ironforge and carries on playing*

Bring back the point and click!! Nintendork suggested Myst and I reckon that or something very similar would work brilliantly on the Revolution and help attract a more mature audience. There was also a rumour a while back that nintendo were trying to get hold of the Silent Hill franchise, due to the success of Resident Evil on the cube. I've never properly played a Silent Hill game, but I've always been attracted to them so having them On revolution would be great. Also... (This is wishful thinking) I wanna see an online Zelda :Four Swords. Keep it simple, like on the cube, but allow new levels and missions to be downloaded regularly through virtual console. AND then give us a level/mission creator and let us upload them onto a fan-made database, increasing the longetivity of the game even further. lovely.

One thing that confused me was Nintendo spending a lot of time praising Apple, following their design style etc. and then apparently having the DS's USB wifi connector thingy only compatible with Windows XP...(correct me if i'm wrong). If there is some kind of PC compatibility available and it doesn't work on my Mac, I'll hit the roof.

And just imagine one-on-one online battles!! Defeat your online opponents to climb up league tables. As a Jedi, the more people you defeat who are swaying towards the dark side, the more the force strengthens in you... obviously this would work the other way too! Hey, maybe you could buy prosthetic robot limbs if they get cut off in battle... developing your character over time ok, that last bit was weird.

ZeldaFreak, have you been planted here by Nintendo as part of some weird viral marketing campaign, trying to generate hype or something? I can't think of another single rational explanation for the attitude behind your posts... teh gramm3r a day...

You could fight like that guy from Capcom vs SNK!!! He was so cool!!

Man, the more I think about it, the more the possibilities for the FHC on it's own become blatantly obvious! And exciting! Mario 128 Mario's always situated in the centre of the screen, with a high camera, slightly angled. D-Pad: rotate the camera around mario and Zoom in out. at maximum Zoom in, it switches to 1st person, static viewing (controlled by the FHC) FHC: While holding A, Mario runs towards the spot that the FHC is pointing towards, much like using a mouse in an old isometric RPG such as Diablo. The more you point towards the screen's edge, the faster Mario runs. Small flicks make mario jump. B button: Combines with the FHC pointer (like a mouse cursor) and context sensitive markers in mario's environment to allow for various actions (Kick Kooper shell at line of goombas, fire fireballs at cactus, bounce off wall to reach higher platform etc.) Any kind of FPS D-Pad: Move foreward, back, and strafe left and right (I know some people are gonna hate that!! :P) FHC: Aiming and turning... plus: Flick up: Jump Pull and hold down: Crouch Pull left or right: Reload Quick Twist Left: Secondary weapon function Quick Twist Right: Tertiary weapon function B: Fire A: Hold to bring up weapon and Inventory menu, similar to Perfect dark and Turok 2. Items selectable via the FHC. I know these may seem like weird compromises, but I reckon stuff like this could work, and work well. The FHC alone has so many possibilities It's amazing. I do reckon, however, that while nintendo and a few other developers are thinking outside the box, a great many have simply got out of one box and crawled into a slightly bigger one

Looking back at all the things Nintendo have said about their new system, the controller and the state of the industry, I'm starting to think that the nunchuck add-on will not be used as much as people have assumed. Firstly, Nintendo have stated that the reason behind their dramatic shift from the regular controller style is so non-gamers do not feel intimidated by the look and the idea of using both hands. Secondly, in Iwata's speach at last year's TGS, he seems to stronly associate the Nunchuck add-on with first person shooters and other genres popular in the Western world. I wouldn't be suprised if the large majority of first-party games we get to see at E3 only use the remote and have no need for the nunchuck add-on. In fact, I reckon even the top-secret Mario128 will work this way. This would be a big big suprise and would really freak a lot of people out but i reckon it's possibly the best way for nintendo to silence the critics, prove that you don't need a hand full of buttons to play games and demonstrate the amazing gameplay possible with just a little bit of imagination. I reckon that the majority of 3rd party games will use the nunchuck add-on, however. It's kind of like a way to introduce this new '3D space' interface to developers without scaring them too much (I really hate the idea of this 'shell' or cradle,' it's seems like nintendo have been bullied into taking a step backwards cos people are too set in their ways). Basically, I reckon we'll be seeing a lot of games (especially from old Ninty) that require only one hand to play: Wario ware, pilotwings, strategy titles (like pikmin), sports titles, even 3D platformers and adventure games. They're all possible without the nunchuck add-on. Metroid and Smash Bros, however, are different. They're targeted towards regular games players, and so will use more complex controls - with a refreshing, motion-sensitive twist! What do you think?

That be nail on the head material Err... do all the things that didn't really happen count? like networking on the NES, CD drive for the SNES etc? Also Mode7 and the FX chip on the SNES, those were both pretty impressive for the time. shoulder buttons? Bongos? heheh!

I've had this idea for a while and ive just decided to chuck together some diagrams which help explain it so i can share it with y'all. It is regarding the common belief that the revolution will, in some unknown way, change the way games are currently displayed. Fig.A shows the viewer (1), the TV or Monitor (2), an object being viewed by the viewer (3) and another object which is out of view, but still exists in-game (4). In order to look at object 4, the viewer currently has to turn his character or camera's viewpoint using an analogue stick, or D-pad, say. If he leans or moves to the side in real life, he still sees the same image as would be seen sitting directly in front of the TV (As in Fig.B). Object 4 is still out of view. This is a perfect example of how games are visually confined to the TV, and destroys the illusion of the 3D world trapped inside the telly. So what if this changed? What if, as shown in Fig.C, the in-game viewpoint changed depending on the position the viewer is viewing from? Basically, it would be like looking out of a window, rather than the usual static viewpoint we have at the moment that takes a 3D world and flattens it out onto a 2D screen. This could be done really easily by using some kind of head tracking device like a small earpiece or having something built into a headset or earphones. It'd detect the position of your head much like it does the revmote. So... whadayathink?

I'm not asking for anyone to believe this... i just thought it would be nice to talk about the possibilites this technology may have when applied to gaming. As for april fools day? I think it's hysterical, I got a letter printed in N64 magazine cos i believed the nintedo.com april fools about being able to get the triforce in Zelda: OOT. heheh (Gamespot's World of starcraft one is mean tho!).

cant remember the cube launch price in Euros, but it was £129.99 in the UK. They stated a price of £179.99 and then lowered it a couple of weeks before the launch, if I remember correctly.

This new idea has cropped up on various forums and news sites today (good old april fools day). http://www.revogaming.net/html/modules/news/article.php?storyid=370 Most are dismissing it as an april fool and I'm probably with them... but it's an interesting idea, nevertheless. I must admit i felt it was a little underwhelming at first but once you actually think of the possibilities, it definitely has the potential to enhance the gaming experience in a way similar to the rumble pack on the n64. Imagine the whole room plunged into darkness, then gradually getting lighter as you head towards the cave opening, or a forest clearing. Imagine the room pulsing red in time with a freaky heartbeat if your health is low or if danger is nearby. A pale blue which gets darker as you swim deeper. An orange glow which gets brighter and brighet as samus charges up her plasma beam. Or even... (as the rev can tell the position and angle of the revmote) moving the controller to the left or right to light up the room respectively, as if you were holding a flaming lantern or there was a torch strapped to your gun!! awesome. Maybe i'm just excited cos it's a new idea And i know it's 'just a rumour' and we should 'wait till e3' but i thought it'd be fun to discuss the posibilities of this technology within computer games. Get yer right brains ticking!!

I can't recall nintendo really really saying that there was another secret, as far as i remember all this speculation is off the back off Mr Miyamoto saying something along the lines of " Revolution? there's more to come, but i can't go into that now" at one of his talks after the controller was unveiled. There's so much bollocks flying around (so many bollocks flying around? hehe) that it gets hard to remember what's legit and what's not. For example, the amount of people that think the 'touching is good, feeling is better' quote came from someone tied to nintendo is crazy... It didn't. It came from one of the many nutters who have claimed to be an "insider." It's all a bit confusing... but quite phenomenal.

Tool? good god. I like the fact that they are epic. I like the fact that they are Tool. The very fact that they are appearing in the public is so exciting. That's tool. It's like finding an endangered species or something! Tool are beautiful, jjust be gld they exist... and listen to other stuff in the mean time :P (yeah, i like them).

This one seems a bit interesting... http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20050237323&OS=20050237323&RS=20050237323 It's being discussed over at Gamespot over here: http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24363887&page=0 It describes (in rediculously complex language, as usual with these patents) a specific method of generating three-dimentional images or a three-dimentional environment. It doesn't seem to talk about magic 3d objects floating in space, visors or projectors... but it seems to suggest that the image on the screen responds to the position from which it is viewed, which sounds pretty nifty. I don't see how this could be done without some kind of head-tracking device (attached to a pair of headphones and mic, maybe?), or maybe it can be, i dunno. I just really like the idea of the contents of my TV acting like a real 3D space, can you imagine it? leaning to your left slightly in order to peak round corners and that kinda thing? A bit like a traditional hologram, but with next-gen graphics. It would add an amzing sense of immersion to a game and would also be an impressive visual trick which would make the innocent bystander say 'Wow!'. Funny, this would go really well with the controller, as it follows a pattern... A lot of people have commented on the fact that people move a traditional controller around while playing a game. Turning it from side to side, for example, while playing a racing game. The Revo controller takes this action and impliments it into the gameplay. But am I the only one who has found myself ducking down really low and looking up at the screen in order to desperately try and shoot at a steeper angle (only to wonder what the hell you're doing a few moments later)? Well, maybe nintendo have implimented this into their console as well... It seems a logical step towards making their entertainment more immersive by implimenting even more of the player's natural reactions. Ive possibly gone overboard, here... but it's a nice thought nevertheless, and gives us a breather from the other, seemingly less plausable, possibilities regarding the revolution's display methods.

I can definitely see the Motion sensitivity replacing buttons and analogue sticks, just because it's so versatile... 3D platformers (ok, Mario): you've got your Nunchuck analogue stick for movement, with jump and crouch buttons... the revmote (as it's lovingly been dubbed) can target enemies to send fireballs and koopa shells flying their way with a squeeze of the trigger. Also, hold down 'A' and you switch to having complete control over the camera position... this would usually take up an analogue stick and two buttons to zoom in and out. I haven't even used the D pad yet. Adventure Games (ok... Zelda!): Again, The Nunchuck analogue for movement but also a couple of context sensetive buttons. The Revmote, by default is used to target enemies and objects. Holding the trigger down puts you in combat mode where you use the motion sensitivity of the controller to swing your sword accurately, rather than the two buttons you'd usually use. The 'A' button could have a similar 'camera control' function as in the 3d platformer... and you've got the D pad there for 3 Quick-pick items (<v>) and first person view (^). bootiful. FPS: This has been described loads of times so I won't bore you with the obvious movement possibilities. But what if holding down the A button brought up a transluscent weapons menu (Perfect dark style) with items easily selected using the revmote as a pointer? What about flicking the controller briskly away from the screen or pulling it downwards for a reload? You're left with plenty of buttons for zooming in & out, using 2nd functions etc. That's what I think anyway... Bugger the shell, I don't want it. I reckon it's not only possible to do everything with the remote and nunchuck, but it'll be far superior as well.

I was watching the IGN vids of Reggie's interviews after the Dice Summit, and while the vid was constantly trying to load, I got some hysterical stills of Mr Fils Aime's face, which I thought I'd share with you! (Didn't know whether or not to put this on a Nintendo Board...). Ok, this is really stupid, sorry...

Found this theory about the Rev's extra feature over at the Gamespot forums, naturally most people over there jumped on him and started ripping chunks of flesh out of the poor sod, but I enjoyed reading it and thought i'd spread the lurve. http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24328400

Maybe KuruKuruKururin in reverse...? So you control the angle of the helecopter thing with the revmote while it moves around the course on its own. Agh! Brain melting...

I just think it's weird that nintendo's official magazine is now under the same publisher as the mag which leaked top secret info... but i suppose it doesn't work like that.

Now we know that Nintendo are getting Future Publishing to publish their all-new official magazine, and Future Publishing also happen to publish NGC, does this tell us anything about the legitimacy of NGC's claims regarding the Rev controller? Maybe NGC is soon to become ONM? I personally feel they stumbled across something they shouldn't have, and Nintendo tried to hush it up, without denying it. Oh, and there's this over at Gamesopt... http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24321585 hmm...