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[Duckhuntdog]

Well, I thought about what Reggie said in his G4 interview. Something about a controller that could be used for all the Nintendo systems. I have come to the conclusion that yes, it is indeed a controller with a touchscreen on it.

Now before you all go nuts, I don't think that the entire controller will be touchscreen. No, only parts of it. Namely, the buttons.

The controller will still have two analog sticks and a d-pad, and a start button and triggers, but that is where it ends. The A, B, X,Y and whatever buttons will be implemented via touchscreen like the DS. You would see icons of buttons and you would just touch that area and... well, it would do whatever was mapped to that button.

Think of it for a second, completely customizable buttons layouts that the player can make. Or button layouts that developers can create for optimium control and ease of use. Just playing a NES game, only the famed A and B buttons appear. Capcom working on a Street Fighter game? They can place 6 buttons on the touchscreen. Don't like jab being the left most button, re-map jab to ANY button you want.

Don't like the default button set up on Soul Calibur 4, make your own.


Huh? Huh? Whaddya think?

 

[ImNotLikeThem]

no touch screens. nothing that "complex", and its been said several times over already, no touch screens. or speculation. no speculation, cue BuddyC in 5...

 

[Mejilan]

The problem with this idea is, without a physical button, how will you know exactly WHERE on the screen you're at. After all, you can't be looking every few seconds to see if you're properly "centered" over the controller.

 

[Firest0rm]

This idea has been brought up before, but it would suck IMO. I want to feel the buttons in order to know where they are and only with a button do you really feel like your pressing the button.

 

[kitchenmotors]

No! I like being able to feel the buttons.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

The buttons would have haptic feedback.

 

[Amir0x]

Well, I thought about what Reggie said in his G4 interview. Something about a controller that could be used for all the Nintendo systems. I have come to the conclusion that yes, it is indeed a controller with a touchscreen on it.

Now before you all go nuts, I don't think that the entire controller will be touchscreen. No, only parts of it. Namely, the buttons.

The controller will still have two analog sticks and a d-pad, and a start button and triggers, but that is where it ends. The A, B, X,Y and whatever buttons will be implemented via touchscreen like the DS. You would see icons of buttons and you would just touch that area and... well, it would do whatever was mapped to that button.

Think of it for a second, completely customizable buttons layouts that the player can make. Or button layouts that developers can create for optimium control and ease of use. Just playing a NES game, only the famed A and B buttons appear. Capcom working on a Street Fighter game? They can place 6 buttons on the touchscreen. Don't like jab being the left most button, re-map jab to ANY button you want.

Don't like the default button set up on Soul Calibur 4, make your own.


Huh? Huh? Whaddya think?

It's a bad idea for a number of reasons. First, as mentioned in this thread, "touchscreen" can never replace the actual feedback of a button. It just can't. Secondly, would it be several small touchscreens? Because then you can just implement in-game controller configurations and achieve the same effect. Or would it be one large one for all the face buttons. If that's the case, again... no. "Multi-area" touch technology is, well, it's annoying and unwieldy. By which I mean if you had to press, say, two points on the screen at the same time it'd be very difficult to be even close to as accurate as regular ol' buttons. And what's the point if you can't remap the D-Pad/analog, two of the central parts of the controller?

Just a dumb idea all around.

 

[rastex]

Holy crap, I just came up with an amazing idea, thanks!

 

[Scalemail Ted]

This was the aspect of the DS' touchscreen that I thought was most innovative.

Its also the reason i believe Spiderman DS and the Sub demo are the most pracitcal applications of a touchscreen to enhance pre-existing forms of gameplay. (i.e. customizable controls tailored made for each specific game)

no comment on the Rev speculation though

 

[AndoCalrissian]

How about a translucent touchpad with clickable areas and OLED so they can label the buttons.

 

[evil ways]

It sucks. I'm not a big fan of touch screen technology, as I prefer to have something to actually touch, especially on something like a gaming controller that I will be pressing and mashing repeatedly.

 

[Lathentar]

Please tell me what low cost touchscreen technology allows you to press in more than one place at a time?

 

[CO_Andy]

I'm sure everyone has thought about that already.

Personally, I'd like to see the next evolution of the analog stick/dpad.

Oh, and don't forget about the gyros

 

[Tiktaalik]

They'll sell something that can work with all systems all right. I figure the cheapest and easiest way of doing this is simply to sell every damn controller. They'll have an NES controller, a SNES controller and an N64 controller, and they'll all work with the revolution. Easy.

 

[AlphaSnake]

It'll be a controller that shape shifts from an NES, to SNES, to N64, to a GameCube and then to a Revolution controller.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I expect it to be small and ordinary looking, comfortable with exactly 1 whizbang feature (GYRO?) and generally feel like awesome in your hands.

Actually, that's not what I expect, thats what I want.

 

[Datawhore]

The problem with this design is that gamers would have to relearn the ergonomics of the controlls for every single game, making learning how to play new games more difficult than it already is. This would be very anti-Nintendo IMHO.

 

[olimario]

That would suck. Buttons > Touch Screen.
Gyro, on the other hand...

 

[Ecrofirt]

You spent a whole afternoon, and THIS is all you could come up with?

 

[sammy]

has nobody cought onto the fact that the revolutions' (prototype?) top hinged open to reveal 4 GameCube controler inputs??? --- There's your link to 'traditional' games...

whatever the Rev wireless controler is, it could still be mega mega different and outside of what 3rd-parties could offer --- those cube controlers can still cram in what 360 and PS3 wanna do.

 

[DrGAKMAN]

Okay...I'd like to say first that I was a big proponant of a screen or touchscreen controller. However I don't think that's what Nintendo is going for. The Revolutionary idea(s) behind the interface are NEW to gaming afterall...slapping on a touchscreen wouldn't be new AND would really take away from the NDS platform.

Now, taken into consideration Reggie said what he said I still don't think that implies or hints at a touchscreen. Maybe Reggie was NOT trying to give a hint about the controller and instead just making up a PR excuse as to why it wasn't shown. I mean, think about what he said. He almost made it to be that Nintendo (due to controller issues) had to go back to the controller drawing board to come up with a controller that could play NES, SNES, N64 & GCN games. I'm sorry, but think about that...that's stupid. The NES pad had two buttons & a dirrectional pad...that wouldn't be hard to simulate on a modern controller at all, likewise with the SNES pad...the N64 controls may be a bit tricky, but they could easily be mapped to the current GCN controller so where's this "problem" Reggie speaks of?

I'll tell you, there isn't a problem with mapping past controls into a new controller. It was JUST rhetoric used as an excuse not to show the controller now.

 

[Slurpy]

has nobody cought onto the fact that the revolutions' (prototype?) top hinged open to reveal 4 GameCube controler inputs??? --- There's your link to 'traditional' games...

whatever the Rev wireless controler is, it could still be mega mega different and outside of what 3rd-parties could offer --- those cube controlers can still cram in what 360 and PS3 wanna do.

True. The cube controllers would still serve perfectly as traditional controllers for next gen games. They dont need a redesign. It gives Nintendo the flexibility to create something truly new control wise, and I really hope that they do. Wavebird does not need a redesign- IMO it is almost functionally and ergonomically perfect.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

You spent a whole afternoon, and THIS is all you could come up with?

I am teh suck.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Holy crap, how many times has this been brought up. IWATA SAID THERE WOULD BE NO TOUCHSCREEN.

 

[Neo_ZX]

Maybe it will be like that keyboard that you can place keys anywhere you want on a solid piece. Then you could have templates to hold the buttons in a particular order for each game.

 

[turtle553]

What could be so revolutionary that MS or Sony couldn't copy the idea just using a USB port. Is Nintendo just shooting themselves in the foot focusing on the controller when I think anyone will be able to replicate it.

 

[sammy]

whatever it is it will be something that is able to compete with the dynamic that a mouse offers --- since this is the problem that current consoles lack, and it excludes them from many genres (fps, rts, menu navigation, etc.)
gyration control is the best move in that direction considering, that if coupled with an already dynamic controller, it could offer much much more than a mouse setup... and be just as intuitive.

if Nintendo can back their new 'mouse style' control with an impressive online FPS, then Halo will just be "that game with archaic duel-analog control"

A touch-screen offers a great alternative to mouse style control (considering that's what a mouse was created to emulate in the first place) --- but, as far as I know, there isn't a poly-tactile touch-screen in existence to the masses.

gyration-controls is just the perfect blend between mouse-dynamic on your TV and the versatility of buttons

 

[John Harker]

Holy crap, how many times has this been brought up. IWATA SAID THERE WOULD BE NO TOUCHSCREEN.

Iwata also said that dev kits had been given out around GDC, and then Miyamoto just said no dev kits have been released yet.

But then Miyamoto guarnteed at the end of last year that Mario 128 would be for GameCube and now he is saying it is strictly Revolution, and Reggie swore Mario would be shown at E3, and it wasn't even mentioned.

Is Nintendo's PR all screwed up lately, or should we start losing trust in Nintendo's words?

 

[blackadde]

Flippable controller? Different face buttons based on orientation, plus a gyroscope to tell the system how you're holding it. I don't know how you'd work out the ergonomics though.

 

[LowTecky]

A big touch screen would not work, because it probably cant recognize more than one button press at a time. There would also be sensitivity problems, since your hand would rest on it when you dont want to touch it. This could be fixed by making a bunch of touch screens, but then why not just use buttons. I think the controller has a very universal and fundimental layout, probably similar to the ps2's. It probably has some sort of gyration senser built in. Maybe a scroll wheel or trackpad like a laptop?

 

[sc0la]

*pulls hair out*

 

[Ninja Scooter]

if they really are going to use a touchscreen for the buttons, they better leave a port for me to plug in the wavebird for all my GC/N64/SNES/NES gaming. Touchscreen buttons is a stupid idea.

 

[Slurpy]

if they really are going to use a touchscreen for the buttons, they better leave a port for me to plug in the wavebird for all my GC/N64/SNES/NES gaming. Touchscreen buttons is a stupid idea.

Whar part of this picture did you miss?

 

[Tellaerin]

That would suck. Buttons > Touch Screen.
Gyro, on the other hand...

...sucks. Who wants to have to constantly worry about holding the controller level in order to keep your character from falling to their doom? Most people don't sit stiffly in place when playing games. They'll move around in their seat, lean forward when the action gets intense, etc. If you were trying to play a game with a tilt-sensitive controller, that incidental motion could well result in unwanted consequences in-game. Imagine: The action heats up, you lean forward in your seat... and the controller, sensing that you've tilted it forward, launches your character off a cliff, where he promptly plummets to his death. That doesn't sound like fun to me. Neither does being forced to sit rigidly in a chair like a paralysis victim while I play, for fear of accidentally tilting the controller at the wrong time. No, I can see an occasional tilt-sensitive novelty game being fun, but it's hardly something I'd want to see become the heart of Nintendo's next-gen controller.

 

[John Harker]

My biggest concern with that picture is that it doesn't look like the wireless receivers for Wavebirds can FIT in that casing. The lid is too close to the controller ports for the tall receiver to fit.

Unless the wireless Rev controllers use the same signal that the system can pick up wireless GC Wavebirds, but is that possible?

Must have Wavebird compatibility!

 

[Tarazet]

Well, I thought about what Reggie said in his G4 interview. Something about a controller that could be used for all the Nintendo systems. I have come to the conclusion that yes, it is indeed a controller with a touchscreen on it.

Now before you all go nuts, I don't think that the entire controller will be touchscreen. No, only parts of it. Namely, the buttons.

The controller will still have two analog sticks and a d-pad, and a start button and triggers, but that is where it ends. The A, B, X,Y and whatever buttons will be implemented via touchscreen like the DS. You would see icons of buttons and you would just touch that area and... well, it would do whatever was mapped to that button.

Think of it for a second, completely customizable buttons layouts that the player can make. Or button layouts that developers can create for optimium control and ease of use. Just playing a NES game, only the famed A and B buttons appear. Capcom working on a Street Fighter game? They can place 6 buttons on the touchscreen. Don't like jab being the left most button, re-map jab to ANY button you want.

Don't like the default button set up on Soul Calibur 4, make your own.


Huh? Huh? Whaddya think?

I'd break it in 5 seconds or less.

 

[Mr_Furious]

It'll be a modular controller where you can swap various components to match that of every previous standard Nintendo controller ever made. The Revolution component(s) will be in addition to them.

 

[APF]

...sucks. Who wants to have to constantly worry about holding the controller level in order to keep your character from falling to their doom? Most people don't sit stiffly in place when playing games. They'll move around in their seat, lean forward when the action gets intense, etc. If you were trying to play a game with a tilt-sensitive controller, that incidental motion could well result in unwanted consequences in-game. Imagine: The action heats up, you lean forward in your seat... and the controller, sensing that you've tilted it forward, launches your character off a cliff, where he promptly plummets to his death. That doesn't sound like fun to me. Neither does being forced to sit rigidly in a chair like a paralysis victim while I play, for fear of accidentally tilting the controller at the wrong time. No, I can see an occasional tilt-sensitive novelty game being fun, but it's hardly something I'd want to see become the heart of Nintendo's next-gen controller.

Not to start at the assumption that they are going to go with this, but do you think Nintendo would add gyro/tilt capacity as the "revolution" to their controller--a revolution supposedly accessible and intuitive to non-gamers--without addressing obvious usability concerns? Perhaps more importantly, wouldn't such concerns be dependent upon what this control mechanism was actually controlling? For example, your worries would be gone if it were mapped to camera functions, don't you think?

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Whar part of this picture did you miss?

the part where they said it was a prototype.

 

[sammy]

...sucks. Who wants to have to constantly worry about holding the controller level in order to keep your character from falling to their doom?

Go play 'WarioWare: Twisted' and tell me how you like the gyro recalubrating itself to your position after every mini-game.

 

[Ristamar]

It'll be a controller that shape shifts from an NES, to SNES, to N64, to a GameCube and then to a Revolution controller.

I was trying to envision such a thing last week. Doesn't seem feasible without detachable parts, and who would want to deal with that crap.

 

[Rhindle]

Interesting news bit today:

Be Immersed in TouchSense

By David Radd -- News Writer

Published 2:52 PM CDT, May 24, 2005

New tech allows for tactile touchscreens

Immersion Corporation announced today that it is premiering "TouchSense" for touchscreens at the upcoming SID Symposium. This new technology will allow for tactile cues in a touchscreen, allowing for the physical simulation of pushing a button or depressing a switch. Something like this technology may be used in the Nintendo Revolution controllers, as they are oft rumored to have touchscreen capabilities.

"TouchSense technology allows the user's sense of touch to join sight and sound for a more multisensory and engaging experience, one that can enhance performance, productivity, safety, or fun," said Dean Chang, Immersion CTO. "Touchscreen manufacturers and integrators can use this vibro-tactile, or haptic, technology to provide a more satisfying user experience for applications from automotive and industrial controls to point of sale, kiosk, and gaming."

For more information, please visit immersion.com/touchscreen/.

Note that this is the same Immersion Corporation that sued Sony and Microsoft for violating their rumble pack patent.

 

[Ristamar]

My biggest concern with that picture is that it doesn't look like the wireless receivers for Wavebirds can FIT in that casing. The lid is too close to the controller ports for the tall receiver to fit.

Unless the wireless Rev controllers use the same signal that the system can pick up wireless GC Wavebirds, but is that possible?

Must have Wavebird compatibility!

They would fit just fine. Look at the positioning of the controller ports again.

 

[Amir0x]

Interesting news bit today:

Note that this is the same Immersion Corporation that sued Sony and Microsoft for violating their rumble pack patent.

Hey, that IS interesting. The technology actually sounds feasible, albeit not exactly cheap for a controller.

Create and combine touch sensations

Rich touch sensations can be created by combining individual effects of varying frequency, magnitude, and duration. That means that touchscreens can be used for many more types of applications by providing a far greater range of response:

• Graphical buttons can provide the familiar up and down forces of physical buttons
• Menu items can supply a pulse sensation when lightly touched and a confirming push-back response when pressed
• A rocker switch can exhibit increasing or decreasing vibrations corresponding to motor or fan speed, magnitude, or other parameter
• Enter, Next, and other major and minor functions can supply a consistent feel throughout an application
• Scrolling displays can provide a stop sensation when the first or last items have been reached
• Switch controls can exhibit a pop effect
• Levers can offer a click response for each possible setting

Expert integration and support

Historically, our partners have been successful because we can assist with product configuration and prototyping and support them from integration through manufacturing. Our services include:

• Turn-key Engineering including technical and design assistance for incorporating our touch-enabling technology into products at a reasonable cost and in a shortened time frame (Amir0x's Note: I wonder what "reasonable" is.)

Hm, that would...fill in a lot of holes in the puzzles, based on the description.

However, still don't know if it's a multi-touch technology.

 

[Suikoguy]

Well folks, we have just stumbled upon nintendo next controller.

 

[jetjevons]

Has anyone discussed the notion a physically changeable controller. Kind of an assembly kit of parts that you can plug together in different combinations to create the N64 controller, SNES, GC etc? and a bunch of new variations? Just a thought.

edit. Ah, just saw this was discussed a bit further up the thread.

 

[SickBoy]

I'm sure everyone has thought about that already.

Personally, I'd like to see the next evolution of the analog stick/dpad.

Oh, and don't forget about the gyros

In a controller???

Freak.

 

[DJ_Tet]

wtf?

A screen that can provide the "push" of a button?

I don't know about that...damn I must be getting old :lol

 

[DJ_Tet]

Has anyone discussed the notion a physically changeable controller. Kind of an assembly kit of parts that you can plug together in different combinations to create the N64 controller, SNES, GC etc? and a bunch of new variations? Just a thought.

edit. Ah, just saw this was discussed a bit further up the thread.

The only problem I can think of in a modular controller like that is that it has more contacts to get corroded, and those contacts would be exposed from time to time. Mind you I've never used one or held one, and Nintendo does make quality stuff, but I just don't think that's the best choice for a controller. Perhaps I'm biased against third party crap.

 

[RunWhiteBoyRun]

Jesus.. the controllers gonna cost more than the system if some of this was true