And then there were three: Nintendo shows its hand

Nintendo last night unveiled its contender for the heavyweight clash of the games console – called Nintendo Revolution. Surprisingly, very few specifics of the Revolution internals were disclosed – there will be wi-fi networking, wireless controllers, two USB 2.0 ports, and DS memory card slots but no details of the processor and graphics chips upon which the machine is based other than that the microprocessor will be an IBM developed with Toshiba. Like the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Revolution will be backwards compatible with previous game systems though the unlike Sony and Microsoft, the Revolution will be able to play Nintendo games from the last two decades. The company was also clear to point out that unlike its competitors, it does not seek to be the centrepiece of the loungeroom.

The Revolution is the successor to the Nintendo GameCube that finished a distant third in a field of three in the current generation of game consoles and the company’s future is dependent on the success of the machine. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold nearly 2 billion video games and more than 336 million hardware units globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario and Donkey Kong and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid, Zelda and Pokemon. Nintendo appears set to continue to target a younger audience than its competitors and the Revolution looks set to have a lower price point too.

It’s now clear that Microsoft will be the first to market with the Xbox 360 arriving this year in time for the Christmas sales bonanza – exactly the same head start that gave the Sony Playstation 2 winning momentum in the current generation. The Playsatation 3 will debut in the stores in 12 months time with a price expected to be below that of the Xbox 360 and Nintendo's new Revolution is expected to arrive in mid-2006 too.

"We will show the world what a next-gen system can be. Revolution marries the strongest heritage of innovation to the future of gaming," says Nintendo President Satoru Iwata. "With backward compatibility and the 'virtual console' concept, the stylish, compact body provides maximum gaming power. It will not only take home entertainment into another dimension by expanding the definition of video games, but it also will give you access to the great history of gaming."

Some of the system features include:

• The compact design, approximately the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together. A variety of prototype colors are being showcased during E3. It will come with a silver stand that makes the system a welcome, artistic component of any multimedia setup, whether it's displayed vertically or horizontally.

• Backward compatibility: The new console plays all games from the current Nintendo GameCube generation. But there's more…

• The console also will have downloadable access to 20 years of fan-favorite titles originally released for Nintendo 64, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and even the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

• Easy expansion: A bay for an SD memory card will let players expand the internal flash memory.

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