Nintendo steals Xbox thunder
2005-09-16 14:54
Japan - Nintendo trumped its rivals at the start of an industry show here on Friday by revealing a one-handed remote controller that stole attention from Microsoft's new Xbox games machine, which was demonstrated in public for the first time.
The device, which looks like a television remote control and is fitted with motion sensors, created the biggest buzz at the opening of the three-day Tokyo Game Show which is expected to attract 150 000 people.
Video-game aficionados, industry executives and glamorous models gathered in this suburb of the Japanese capital were given a demonstration of the controller for Nintendo's next-generation Revolution machine.
By waving it around frenetically or gently swishing it through the air, players can kick, punch, jump or steer their way through the on-screen action, though not yet - the Revolution and its software are still under development.
The controller, which was showcased in bright red, lime green, black, silver or white, can also be fitted with a joystick-type add-on. Several players can compete against each other simultaneously.
"The feeling is so natural and real, as soon as players use the controller, their minds will spin with the possibilities of how this will change gaming as we know it today," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who presented the new gadget to the show.
Nintendo dominates the market for handheld game machines with its Game Boy, which has sold 66.79 million worldwide, but Sony's PlayStation leads the market for home game consoles, with Microsoft snapping at its heels.
Playstation3 behind glass cases
While prototypes of the next-generation PlayStation3 were on display in glass cases, video game fans were unable to test the new product as it is still being developed.
Instead they had to settle for images from PlayStation3 games shown on a big screen at the show, which opens to the public on Saturday.
Visitors can however see Microsoft's new Xbox 360 in action for the first time, three months before it hits the shelves in North America on November 22, in Europe on December 2 and in Japan on December 10.
Neither the PlayStation3 nor the Revolution is expected to go on sale until next year, giving Microsoft the head-start that it failed to achieve with its first Xbox, which came out in 2001 a whole year after the PlayStation2.
"It's an exciting time for Microsoft here in Japan," said Robert Bach, who heads the Xbox division.
The new Xbox "is the first next-generation console and the most powerful in terms of graphics", he said.
Partly because it was late to the game, and partly because it never mustered enough games titles, the Xbox division has lost Microsoft more than one billion dollars a year since 2001.
But this time round, the software titan has partnered up with all the industry's leading games developers - including Electronic Arts, Activision and Ubisoft - and plans to develop games specifically for Japan.