Over the months, everything from Gyroscopics to Touch screens to Yaw control have been touted possible 'additional features' added to a basic controller design. But what would the basic design be?
Now while anyone can speculate, on the boards and blogs of the internet (where else?) some energy seems to have centred on two particular design templates, with both groups claiming to have insider information backing it up.
The two possibilities can be grouped as such:
1) It looks very much like a WaveBird.
Here's someone's picture of an alleged prototype:
Blurry....why are they always blurry?
And here's a claim made by a blogger, who says he works in marketing for a major developer:
"That's because it looks just like a WaveBird, except that the GameCube face button scheme with the big A, small B, and X & Y kidney shaped buttons has been switched out for four small round buttons in a cross configuration, i.e. the traditional SNES/PlayStation/Xbox setup. I believe the button colour scheme used on the Revolution prototype is as follows: X (top) button = indigo, Y button = yellow, A button = green, B button = red."
Of course, this picture doesn't match the description above. Could they be from different points in the development process? Or could both be just made up? We'll go with option B. Nonetheless, it's a plausible concept that the core design of the controller will be based on the Wavebird.
2) It is flat, maybe with a six button face layout.
The other theory is that the core controller design harks back to the SNES pad. It has light up buttons to help the user know which button does what, and some claim it will have six face buttons - that would make fighting fans happy!
A forum artist's impression of design group 2
Another plausible concept - and the picture doesn't hurt. It could be a good move for Nintendo to awaken memories of their last universally praised pad. As good and revolutionaly as the N64 and Gamecube controllers have been, many people have misunderstood how to hold and use them, and have gone away with a bad taste in their mouths (erm...hands?).
Still, there's no proof other then annonymous 'employees' of unnamed companies.
So who do we go to for real information? Shigeru Miyamoto is the only one talking who really knows. We'll leave you with a collection of his most recent comments:
Simplicity is key:
"The idea that somebody might look at the Revolution controller and think, 'Oh, this is too much for me' is something that I would really regret. That is something I would love to avoid if I can."
Miyamoto continues"The controllers for this generation do not look fun to use. You don't look at any of the controllers and think, 'Wow, I want to play [with] this.' You look at these controllers and think, 'Oh my God, it looks so difficult.' That scares people away.
"Actually, at Nintendo, we're not even sure which is better. Is the + control pad the better way to, go or is the analog stick the better way to go? I haven't really been able to decide which is best."
About the Gamecube's controller:
"Using the analog and the L and R shoulder buttons was maybe a little hard for the younger players. We were not able to use that functionality very well in games either. On this next one, we're really looking at solving some of those problems.
"With the GameCube, we originally thought we'd be able to use the functionality of the L and R buttons to create some really unique things. In the end we just made basic games and didn't really utilize the full potential, but with the Revolution we're hoping to do is utilize the interface to create more interesting and unique games."
Miyamoto explains that he is simply referring to using the shoulder buttons. "We're looking at utilizing the functionality of the Revolution and its user interface to create really unique gaming experiences."
Goals for the new controller:
"What we really want to do is create something that's not frightening to the user that is usable for a Zelda-type game. We're going to have to figure out a way to marry both those ideas."
Miyamoto claims Nintendo has created such a controller. Asked about why they are keeping it under wraps he says, "Graphic chips are one thing. Those are hard to imitate. But if we showed our controller, we'd be revealing way too much. It's very easy to copy. We really want to present our interface, the controller, with software as a package."
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