This Isn't Your Basic Joystick
With New Nintendo Game Controller,
Players Can Get Moving
Imagine a videogame where you drop a virtual fishing line into a lake. Your hand grips the pole, and you can move to where the fish are biting. When you feel a tug, a jerk on the pole brings in the catch.
This is what it's like playing with Nintendo Co.'s new game controller, which senses a player's actual movement and position in space. The device -- a key piece of the company's highly anticipated next-generation game machine -- represents Nintendo's bid to liberate gaming from the conventional keypad as it works to go in a different direction from its giant rivals, Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp.
The new controller is being introduced today at a Tokyo game industry convention. The complete console, Nintendo Revolution, is scheduled to go on sale in 2006, company officials say.
With its next-generation system, Nintendo looks to take gaming in a different direction than its rivals.
Revolution's shiny, plastic controller is about the size and shape of a candy bar, with a few buttons on top and a trigger-like button on the bottom. During a game, the player holds it in one hand like a remote control, then moves through the game by bending the wrist and sweeping the arm. It is wireless, so no cords get in the way of the gesturing. The controller comes with an extension called the Nunchuck that gives players a small, thumb-controlled joystick to hold in the other hand for use in certain games.
In a demonstration of the controller, some games required pushing buttons for moves such as jumping or shooting, while others, like the fishing game, relied solely on hand and arm movements. In one game, players held the controller as if it were a paper airplane, tilting it this way and that to maneuver an on-screen craft.
The device, which works by communicating with small sensors that sit under or on top of the television, gives gaming a kind of kinetic energy the company hopes will appeal to both seasoned gamers and people who have never played videogames. "Gaming has been whittled down to a group of core users," says Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's top game developer and the industry legend who created the popular Mario Bros. and the Zelda fantasy series. "We've tried to make this something that even your mother can enjoy."
It is also a sign of the determination of the game maker, based in Kyoto, to distinguish itself from competitors that are readying their own next-generation machines for release over the coming year. Both Sony, with PlayStation 3, and Microsoft, with Xbox 360, are expected to emphasize lifelike graphics and complex virtual environments as selling points for their new machines. Nintendo's Mr. Miyamoto, however, says that with the Revolution, his company is playing down complexity and focusing on the sheer joy of play.
"You'll be able to do things with this that you've never done in games before," Mr. Miyamoto says. "It's a completely new experience."
Nintendo is battling an image that its machines and games are mainly for children -- even as they increasingly want more grown-up games. At the same time, Sony and Microsoft have grander visions. Their machines, in addition to playing games, are meant to serve as home entertainment hubs, for watching movies movies, playing music and chatting online.
Still, Nintendo remains one of the most profitable videogame companies in the world. In the last fiscal year, it had an operating profit margin of around 22%, and about $7.4 billion in cash, making it one of Japan's most cash-rich companies. That compares with an operating profit margin of around 6% for Sony's videogame business, and an operating loss for Microsoft's Xbox game business in the quarter ended June 30.
Nintendo is still the hands-down leader in the hand-held gaming business, with its popular Game Boy. Yet the company has been flagging in the console business. Nintendo's GameCube last year was scrambling to keep up with Microsoft's Xbox in world-wide sales. Sony has sold 90 million PlayStation 2 machines world-wide, compared with 40 million for the rival consoles combined.
Nintendo has yet to introduce new games specifically for Revolution. Mr. Miyamoto says possibilities include games in which players hold two controllers, using one as a sword and one as a shield, or games in which players fly by flapping their arms like a bird.
任天堂新型游戏手柄让人动起来
想像一下这个电子游戏，把一根虚拟钓线抛进湖中，双手握住钓竿，把饵挪到鱼儿常去觅食的地方，一感到有鱼在咬钩，就猛地提竿，一条大鱼就这样收入囊中了。
就是任天堂公司(Nintendo Co.)新推出的游戏手柄将给我们带来的全新体验，它可以感受到玩家在空间中的真实动作和位置。这个手柄是任天堂公司备受瞩目的下一代游戏机的关键部分，标志著该公司立志颠覆传统键盘式游戏控制器的决心，以差异化竞争与强劲的对手索尼(Sony Corp.)和微软(Microsoft Corp.)相抗衡的胆识。
这款新型手柄于2005年9月16日在东京电玩展上首次公开。据任天堂公司管理层称，作为其主体的任天堂新款游戏控制器Nintendo Revolution计划于2006年发售。
Revolution的闪光塑料手柄和一条巧克力棒的形状和大小差不多，顶部有几个按键，背面还有一个类似扳机的按键。在游戏中，玩家象用遥控器一样把它握在一只手中，通过转动手腕和挥动胳膊来进行游戏。手柄是无线的，在操作时没有线路的纠缠，另外还可扩充一个叫Nunchuck的小型摇杆作为副手柄，玩家用另一只手的大拇指就可控制，用于一些特定的游戏。
新手柄的演示操作中，有些游戏需要按键以做出跳跃或射击等动作；而其他一些，如钓鱼游戏，只需手和胳膊的动作；还有一款游戏，玩家象玩纸飞机一样拿著手柄，不时做出倾斜的动作，来操控游戏中的飞机。
手柄发出的无线讯号被放置在电视机上方或下方的感应器所接收，任天堂公司希望这种全新的游戏方式既能吸引核心玩家的兴趣，也能让从未玩过电子游戏的人一见锺情。“游戏的受众群正在不断萎缩，仅局限于一部分核心玩家，”任天堂首席游戏制作人、热门游戏“马里奥兄弟”(Mario Bros.)和“塞尔达”(Zelda)传奇系列之父、游戏界的传奇人物宫本茂(Shigeru Miyamoto)说，“我们正在尝试一种新的游戏方式，即使已经做了母亲的人也可以享受此中乐趣。”
新手柄的推出也显示任天堂这家位于京都的游戏老店要与竞争对手走不同道路的决心。索尼和微软的下一代游戏机PlayStation 3和Xbox360都将于明年上市，这两款游戏机都将逼真的画面效果和复杂的虚拟世界作为卖点。然而，宫本茂表示，通过任天堂的Revolution，公司追求的重点是提升游戏的乐趣，而非复杂的技术。
“你可以用新手柄来做一些以往玩游戏做不到的事情，”宫本茂说道，“这是一种全新的体验。”
在市场需求偏向大龄化游戏的趋势中，任天堂正在努力打破自己的游戏机和游戏过于儿童化的形象。与此同时，索尼和微软的眼光似乎更加深远，他们的游戏机不但能玩游戏，也能作为家庭娱乐中心，比如看电影，听音乐和上网聊天。
不过，任天堂仍是全球最盈利的电视游戏厂商之一。在上一个财年，任天堂的营运利润率在22%左右，持有约74亿美元现金，是全日本现金流最充足的公司之一。与其相对的是，截止到2005年6月30日的第二季度中，索尼游戏部门的营运利润率仅为6%左右，而微软的Xbox游戏部门还在亏损。
任天堂仍然是掌上游戏市场的龙头老大，其Game Boy系列产品经久不衰。不过，公司的游戏控制器业务日渐衰退，GameCube 2004年的全球销售只能和微软的Xbox一较高下。索尼PlayStation 2售出了9,000万台，而其竞争对手售出的游戏机全部加起来也不过4000万台。
任天堂还未公布专为Revolution制作的新游戏，宫本茂表示，可能会有这样的游戏，玩家拿著主手柄和副手柄，一个当剑一个当盾；或象小鸟一样上下挥动手臂，操控游戏进程。
