At the Nintendo E3 Conference unveiling the Revolution, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata answered the question of backward compatibility in style. He said he wanted the Revolution to be a "virtual console" and as such the Nintendo Revolution will be able to download 20 years of Nintendo content - virtually every Nintendo console game ever created will be playable on the Revolution, from the GameCube right back to the original NES.
Iwata also teased the audience by saying that the Revolution's controllers would be wireless and "very unique", but declined to show one or give further details.
The other main points in Iwata's presentation were:
* Revolution is planned for next year
* Revolution will be about the size of a stack of three DVD cases, and will stand vertically or sit horizontally
* Big franchises will be coming to Revolution; Smash Brothers is due for release at the same time as the Revolution launch, new versions of Mario and Zelda are already underway and Square Enix will produce a version of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the console
* Stating "There is no mystery to the Revolution's core technology", Iwata pointed out the emphasis Nintendo's competitors put on graphics and horsepower in their consoles, and said graphics will be very impressive in Revolution games, but also said the Revolution's advances will be in areas that don't have a direct impact on gameplay
* Revolution will be compatible with the recently announced Nintendo Wireless Service
* Revolution will "attract casual gamers better than anyone" through consumer friendly content, control and interface. Nintendo intend to also take care of the "core gamers" with new titles, and also to attract consumers completely new to gaming
* Revolution will be game-developer friendly - "this is a console where the big idea can prevail over big budgets"
Watch the Nintendo conference here
Related:
Nintendo press release
Images of the Nintendo Revolution
Nintendo's Revolution will have to wait
Nintendo finally hit back in next-gen console war
GameBoy Micro Unveiled
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