Nintendo Planning Single-Handed Revolution

Nintendo surprised the industry at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show by unveiling a one-handed game controller you can wave like a sword and click like a remote.

At the 2005 Tokyo Game World show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata surprised the gaming industry by revealing details of its forthcoming "Revolution" gaming console, including a new, unconventional one-handed game controller aimed to expand the appeal of Nintendo’s systems and draw in new gamers intimidated by the complexity of modern console systems.

The new controller resembles a TV remote, but includes motion sensors which enable players to control a game by pointing, waving, and swinging the controller. The controller responds to both quick and broad motion as well as slow, precise actions: one video Nintendo showed during its demonstration showed a player holding the controller like a pen or marker. The remote’s interface is sufficiently different and intuitive that Nintendo claims it significantly changes the gaming experience. "The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today," said Iwata. Users can wave the remote like a sword, point like a baton, turn and twist like a handle, point and gesture in ways they’ve never experienced before.

In addition to sensing depth, motion, position, and targeting, a key feature of the new controller is expandability: a "nunchuck"-style analog unit will offer serious features for hard-core gamers, while developers can use (or not use) as many of the controller’s features as they like. Nintendo says the new controller can also be used to play games from NES, Super NES, Nintendo 64, and GameCube systems without requiring any changes to the games.

Nintendo says it plans to ship the Revolution console in 2006. No pricing information is currently available.