At E3, Nintendo unveils its next-generation Revolution console, slated to go head-to-head with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 in 2006.
Facing an uphill battle against competitors with deep pockets, the grandfather of gaming consoles - Nintendo - today for the first time showed its next-generation Nintendo console to the world. To draw on Nintendo's 20 years of history in the business, the new console will not only deliver brand new games, but also enable users to play past hits from legendary consoles including the NES, SNES and N64 courtesy of its emulation compatibilities.
Whilst the prototype of the Revolution shown at the E3 show in Los Angeles is already as small - or smaller than Microsoft's
Xbox 360, Nintendo executives said the console is expected to shrink further in the size by the time it hits shelves. It will be available in a variety of colours, and can either be mounted vertically in a silver cradle or in the old-fashion horizontal orientation.
The height of three DVD cases stacked together, the console relies on a self-loading media bay which plays both 12-centimeter optical discs new as of the Revolution, as well as Nintendo GameCube discs. Bright readers will from this conclude that the Revolution also plays GameCube titles natively, which is quite correct. In addition, the console will also have downloadable access to '20 years of fan-favourite titles' originally released for the Nintendo 64, SNES and NES consoles, the latter two of which are widely credited with spurring the initial popularity of console gaming.
Furthermore, owners will have the ability to connect a DVD reader accessory to play movies and other DVD content, whilst further memory expansion relies on the SD memory card format for which the Revolution hosts an integrated reader. This comes in addition to the 512 MB of internal flash memory of the unit, which also boasts two USB 2.0 ports, built-in Wi-Fi and wireless controllers.
Similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live! service, Nintendo said users of the Revolution will be able to connect to a worldwide network for online play, with the experience being powered by a main processor co-developed with IBM under the code name 'Broadway' and a graphics chip co-developed with ATI code named 'Hollywood'.
Due out in 2006, Nintendo did not reveal further details concerning the expected availability or pricing of the Revolution, nor which markets in which it will be available first.
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