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up up down down left right left right a b a b wtf

Nintendo’s controller for their next-generation console, the Revolution, appears to be a remote control. With an analog stick on a dangly spleen.

While I am glad that the last thirty years of innovation has led to the inclusion of a power button on the controller (why was this hard?) I’m having a hard time getting excited about controlling games with a TV remote and analog spleen. Only one analog controller? The GameCube controller was such a great design, too. What the hell, Nintendo?

The GameSpot article on the controller is here.

Edit: Apparently the controller also has some sort of spatial awareness thing going on, so you can control the game by moving
and tilting and rotating the controller in space, too. Sounds like we get to rediscover gorilla arm.

Comments 6

  1. roy wrote:

    Apparently, you can turn it sideways for an NES-like controller.

    I agree with you on the gorilla arm thing.

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 11:16 am
  2. Rich wrote:

    Apparently, you can turn it sideways for an NES-like controller.

    Yay, it’s 1989! I worry that that makes the analog stick even more of an afterthought.

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 11:30 am
  3. roy wrote:

    Hey, don’t knock the NES.

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 11:56 am
  4. fweebles wrote:

    I can’t tell if “bizarre” or “useless” is the more important descriptor here. (They’re both true, I would guess, just which one is more true.)

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 12:54 pm
  5. netfrost wrote:

    heh makes me think of the old intellivision controllers

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 2:39 pm
  6. gottasneeze wrote:

    That’s just strange. I’d constantly feel like I was battling with my tv clicker to get it to change channels or something, in that once I got into the game, you can bet that thing would be in one very aggressive hand with me yelling ‘come on! No, I pressed right!!’.

    Posted 16 Sep 2005 at 4:50 pm