This past Thursday at the Game Developer's conference, Nintendo released some more info about "Revolution" but in general still remains rather vague about specific technical details on their next machine. One of the major features revealed is that it will be backwards compatible with the GameCube similar to how the GameBoy Advance is compatible with games produced for the previous versions of the unit. This is one thing Nintendo had always neglected however for their cartridge based consoles like the SNES, and subsequently released Nintendo 64. It was third party and after-market companies that made units like the Tri-star 64 and the Super 8, essentially unauthorized hardware emulators that mimicked the functions of the previous Nintendo console. The Sony Playstation 2 was actually the first console to ever be backward compatible with a previous version of the unit. Nintendo has seen wide appear to the GameBoy's backward compatibility factor which kept sales of otherwise obsolete technology from completely drying up. This is a major influence in Nintendo's decision to do the same with Revolution.

"We are good learners from history," said Fils-Aime. "Backwards compatibility helped with the Game Boy. It helped with the DS. And it certainly has helped out competition." (Obviously referring to the successful and seamless transition from the PSX(One) to the PS2)

It was also disclosed that Revolution would be Wi-Fi enabled so that it would be possible for the unit to connect to the internet from a home network and public Wi-Fi networks. As well, Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, said the company has decided not to launch concurrently with Microsoft's Xbox sucessor, which is expected this year. "We think that Microsoft's decision to move early in this next cycle is a mistake, and it doesn't make sense for us to follow," he said in an interview following the keynote.

In the keynote speech President Satoru Iwata commented, "The next generation is a place where the best idea, not the biggest budget will win," Indeed, he is correct considering that the next generation is at or near the level of photorealism. It's the creativity of the developers that will determine if a game succeeds or fails in the next five years. We (as an industry) are getting smaller in how we define progress," he said. "Making games look photorealistic is not the only way to define success. ... Some day, our games won't look any better. What do we do then?" He continued to admonish the industry by commenting, "When is the last time we invented a new genre," he asked. "Our race tracks, our bosses, our heroes are all starting to look alike. ... We spend more time and money chasing the same players, but who are we leaving behind? Are we making games only for ourselves?" I couldn't agree more.

Nintendo will unveil more details about Revolution in May at E3, the video game industry's annual trade show. However, Fils-Aime said, it's too early to expect the company to discuss launch prices or dates. Nor will it reveal all of its plans with Revolution. "This year's E3 is not Revolution's coming out party," he said.

Iwata also addressed future plans for the Nintendo DS, which was a hot seller during the holiday season, but has seen sales fall sharply this year. (To date, the company has shipped 4 million DS units to the U.S. and Japan.)

Nintendo plans to offer free wi-fi communications to DS owners in coming months. Developers will receive necessary software development kits allowing them to begin programming wi-fi enabled games starting in May.

Basically, with wifi DS gaming, users will be able to connect to local wireless hotspots at no charge, said Iwata. Using that internet connection, the player will be able to challenge or play cooperatively with players around the world. One of the first games that will take advantage of this is the DS version of "Animal Crossing," which has been a hit for the GameCube.

Though Iwata did not discuss future plans for the Game Boy, Fils-Aime said despite recent analyst reports he "wouldn't expect" any sort of new Game Boy system to go on sale this year.

"We look at the GBA SP and believe it's still a sexy, strong device," he said. "We think the SP has some more time before its successor comes out."

THE ODYSSEY OF HYRULE