E3 2005: Revolution revealed! @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 17, 2005

News: Once again, USA Today has the scoop.

A year ago, USA Today unveiled the DS to the world before anyone at E3 got to see it. This year, they've pulled another Nintendo rabbit out of their hat with the Revolution.

This is the Revolution. As Nintendo has already said the system will be three DVD cases high and only slightly longer. Games will be made using standard size DVD discs and as we also already know, GameCube backwards compatibility is confirmed. Surprisingly, the system will also double as a DVD player.

Like the other consoles, the Revolution will be able to be placed flat or on it's side. The Revolution will also be completely wireless with "no visible knobs, buttons or ports for joysticks."

Nintendo is also jumping on the online bandwagon in a big way with "a broadband matchmaking service similar to Xbox Live" and best of all, it's going to be free.

Hearing the cries of some fans about the Classic NES Series, Nintendo is also planning a download service where gamers will be able to download nearly every Nintendo published title. Even GameCube games like Super Mario Sunshine are said to be included in this offer. It hasn't been determined yet whether this will be free or cost a fee.

Nintendo is also being conservative with their estimates of the Revolution's power, saying it will only be two to three times more powerful than the Cube. Conversely, Microsoft is bragging about a 10-13 times jump in power and Sony believes the PS3 is 35 times more powerful than the PS2. The Revolution is planned for a 2006 and may be the last console released.

"It's not all about having 'turbo power,' " Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan says. "It's about what you do with it."

Says Kaplan: "We've built Revolution around the concept of 'all-access gaming,' " a term Nintendo uses to mean the system is easily adapted to by both gamers and designers. "We're about sticking to the soul of gaming."

We'll more about the Revolution, including what the controllers look like, at today's press conference.

source: USA Today