Well, I'm sorta glad Ninty is taking a different approach. If the revolutionary features are all that and the titles focus more on raw fun instead of raw polygons, we won't have Yet Another Playstation. It may not be the top seller, but it might be one heck of a 2nd purchase.
As for the secret feature, I'm led to believe it's all in the controller. From all rumours I gathered around, seems it will:
- Feature motion/spatial sensors on it, allowing the controller's movement to be mapped onto the game. You could play a racing game by turning the controller like a wheel, or play a Tennis game by actually moving your hand while holding the controller as example.
- A large protion of the controller's surface (if not all of it) will be pressure and heat (?) sensitive. It will have at least one analog stick, but it is uncertain if it will have physical buttoms, or if the buttoms will be merely outlined on the surface. < this is the huge mystery
- It might be possible to know how exactly the player is holding the controller, and maybe even get pulse readings.
- The controllers will have a rubber, maybe soft surface (makes sense if the whole thing is gonna be pressure sensitive).
- They'll be wireless and have built-in microphones.
It's certain it is wireless, and it 90% certain it has gyrocope capabilities, the rest is pure speculation, but it could lead into interesting possibilities if true.
If most of above is actually true, it's no wonder why Nintendo is keeping quiet about it. A controller layout, no matter how crazy it is, is easy to copy while creatively getting around patent issues. The X360 is almost here, but the PS3 won't be until next year. Sony would have more than enough time to incorporate most of the Revolution's features on their controllers if they wanted to.
It sounds wiser of Nintendo to do the exact opossite: let the competitors brag and spill all their beans way before their launch date, and take the time to make the necessary adjustements. While I find it highly unlikely Nintendo will build a rig as powerfull as the X360 or the PS3 (they're very smart when it comes to manufacturing costs), they'll probably use this time to try to up their specs as much as economically interesting, since the competitors already set their specs into stone.
