Saturday, September 17, 2005

At Thursday’s keynote presentation of the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata unveiled the controller design for the company’s new Nintendo Revolution console. Resembling a television remote, the controller uses two sensors placed near the user’s television to triangulate its position in three-dimensional space. This will allow players to control actions and movements in video games by moving the device through the air.

The remote control design is said to target new players who are unfamiliar with traditional video game controllers.

A supplementary peripheral has also been shown, consisting of a separate plastic grip that is designed to be held in the player’s second hand. It provides an analog stick and two trigger buttons, and connects to the bottom of the main controller with a simple cord. Additionally, Nintendo has suggested that the main controller will be able to slide inside a “shell” that will allow it to function like a conventional video game controller.

The Revolution is expected to be released next year.