Nintendo Revolution Specs

[mwgiii]

Further proving Nintendo is going a totally different direction than Microsoft & Sony (for better or worse):

More Revolution Specs Uncovered


Developers come forward to reveal new performance details on Nintendo's next-generation console.
by Matt Casamassina


December 6, 2005 - Just yesterday IGN Revolution launched with technical details on Nintendo's next-generation console, codenamed Revolution. And today more development sources have come forward with both clarification and even more tech specs. The latest news begins to paint a clearer picture of Nintendo's aim with its next platform.

We cannot stress this enough: Revolution is not being positioned as a competitor to either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Nintendo has instead chosen to design a console that will be very affordable for consumers. For that very reason, say developers in the know, the Big N has opted out of filling the system with a massive supply of expensive RAM.

In yesterday's article, we wrote that Revolution would include 128MBs of RAM, or possibly less. Developers have clarified the makeup based on officially released Nintendo documentation. Revolution will build on GameCube's configuration of 24MBs 1T-SRAM and 16MBs D-RAM (40MBs) by adding an addition 64MBs of 1T-SRAM. The result is a supply of memory in Revolution that totals 104MBs. That number does not consider either the 512MBs of allegedly accessible (but hardly ideal) Flash RAM or the Hollywood GPU's on-board memory, said to be 3MBs by sources.

Revolution's Broadway CPU, developed by IBM, is an extension of the Gekko CPU in GameCube, according to official Nintendo documentation passed to us by software houses. The Hollywood GPU, meanwhile, is believed to be an extension of the Flipper GPU in GameCube. Since developers have not gone hands-on with the GPU, they can only go on Nintendo documentation, which is limited.


Exact clock rates were not disclosed, but one development source we spoke to had this to say of the Revolution CPU and GPU: "Basically, take a GameCube, double the clock rate of the CPU and GPU and you're done."


We presented that description to another informed studio, which clarified that the clock rates may even fall short of doubling those on GameCube.


"The CPU is the same as Gekko with one and a half to two times the performance and improved caching," said a source. "Our guys experimented with it and think they'll be able to get about twice the performance as GameCube."


"It's a gamble for the Big N," said another source. "It's not about horsepower for them -- it's about innovation and gameplay."

We've also been able to unearth firm details on the storage capacity for Revolution discs. Recent rumors suggesting that the discs can hold 12GBs of data are false. In fact, Revolution discs can store 4.7GBs of data on a single layer or 8.5GBs when double-layered on a single-side. This is a massive jump from the 1.5GB capacity of GameCube discs and more than enough storage capacity for any non-high-definition game.

Readers discouraged by Revolution's seeming lack of horsepower when compared to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 should remember that Nintendo is not interested in competing in the high-definition gaming arena, and as a standard-definition console, Revolution is more than capable. Capcom's Resident Evil 4 remains one of the most gorgeous games this generation and it ran on GameCube, a console at least half as powerful according to developer reports.

Software houses we spoke with also waxed on the immediate advantage to Nintendo's approach with Revolution, which is, of course, system price. Every developer was in agreement that Revolution should launch with a price tag of $149 or lower. Some speculated that based on the tech, a $99 price point would not be out of the question.


Stay tuned for more as it develops.



http://revolution.ign.com/articles/673/673799p1.html

 

[korsjs]

good article.

 

[BobMurdoch]

The death of Nintendo is imminent. They may still own the kiddie market with Mario Party 36, but they just lost the hardcore gamers (who might have had secondary gaming units to play Rogue Squadron or Metroid Prime).

 

[korsjs]

i am going to pick up the new nintendo.

 

[Stargazer]

The low pricepoint in itself will help them sell a bit more systems. I think they are doing this as people are trying to save more money in this day and age with the increase in gasoline and energy costs. They are doing a different strategy by doing this and it may work for them. Also by having a cheaper price they will feel as if they do not have to compete as much but have it as a second gaming system in people's homes. People may want something a little different instead of a couple of new games. If they can include a game at that price that may have some that will get it. If it will have access to all the games that was on the previous systems on the past like I thought I heard, then that would really help that gaming system sell. Heck I may have to get one myself if they do that.

 

[jollygrunt]

For that pricepoint, I'm interested. I'm looking forward to see what their launch day game list looks like.

 

[mwgiii]

Another article including developer quotes:

Revolution to be "2.5 times more powerful than Cube"

Rob Fahey 17:07 07/12/2005
Nintendo's next-gen system won't match power of rivals, focuses firmly on innovation Developers speaking to GamesIndustry.biz this week have commented that the the Revolution console, hardware kits for which began shipping to third parties recently, is shaping up to be around 2.5 times more powerful than GameCube.
Up until the past week or so, developers close enough to Nintendo's inner circle to have seen any Revolution hardware were working with development kits that were simply GameCube kits with mock-ups of the "wand" controller attached - a clear signal, if any were required, that the system is more about innovative control than about the hardware specs.

Now, however, Nintendo has spoken to developers in more depth about its hardware plans for the new system - and has begun shipping more advanced development kits to selected third-parties, featuring early versions of some of the chips which will appear in the final console.

An article published by US website IGN this morning revealed some details of the console, and several developers today have spoken to GamesIndustry.biz to help fill in the gaps.

The picture we're building up of the final console is as follows; the Cube will be powered by the IBM CPU codenamed Broadway, which is very similar to the Gekko CPU used in the GameCube, but runs at around twice the clock speed and offers potentially two to three times the overall performance, and the ATI graphics chip codenamed Hollywood.

While Broadway is well-understood by developers, the ATI part remains "a bit of a black box", according to one senior developer we spoke to. "We have theoretical throughput figures and stats from Nintendo, but nobody's seen the hardware yet - we're just treating it like it's a faster version of the GameCube GPU, at the moment."

How much faster exactly it will be remains to be seen, but the chip - which "seems to be an evolution of the Radeon range" according to our source - will probably mirror the CPU by running at around twice to three times the speed of the existing part.

In terms of RAM, the system is well-known to boast 512MB of Flash RAM which can be used to store save games and downloaded content, but this will not be accessible to developers, we were told. What they'll have available is 96MB of main memory, built on the same 1T-SRAM architecture as the Cube, and "a few megs here and there for other stuff" - such as 3MB of on-board memory on the graphics chip, which will be used for a frame buffer. "That's plenty, since the Revolution isn't supporting HDTV," one developer added.

As for the storage media the Revolution will use, "they're pretty much standard DVDs," we were told, with capacity similar to current PS2 and Xbox discs. "The only clever thing about the drive, really, is that you can put the little Cube discs into it despite being a slot-loading drive - I think that's the first time you've been able to do that with a slot loader."

In other words, what Nintendo is planning to ship is a system which is no more than around twice to three times as powerful as the current generation GameCube - indeed, more than one developer who has access to the hardware specs suggested "about 2.5 times the power" as the benchmark for the new system.

Although this makes the Revolution significantly less powerful than the PS3 or Xbox 360, developers we spoke to were upbeat about the machine.

"You can basically treat it like a current generation machine," one told us. "The time it'll take to ramp up to developing on this is basically nil - we can just work on a PC or maybe an Xbox, and then improve the quality of our assets when we move to the Revolution. Or even work on a Cube, in fact. The libraries are very similar."

"We could do a game for this in a few months," commented another developer. "Developing games is going to be easy, the challenge is going to be using the controller properly."
The approach mirrors Nintendo's strategy with the DS, which is far less powerful than its rival the PlayStation Portable but offers an innovative interface which has been a hit with gamers and has had major success in the mass market.

Crucially, the low specification will also allow Nintendo to score a victory in terms of pricing; speculation is already rife that the Revolution could enter the marketplace at $149 or even lower, suggesting a sub-GBP 100 price point at a time when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 still retail for three times that price.

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=13482

 

[mwgiii]

Since the Revolution will not have High Def graphics but will output 480p and be 2 to 3 times the power of the GameCube, some think the Revolution's graphics will compare very favorably to the 360 & PS3 on non-HDTVs.

Here are a couple of screen caps of the best looking GameCube games. 2 to 3 times these are not to bad.

 

[Stargazer]

From looking at the pictures I see square blotches and so forth and I think it could use every bit of the 2.5 times the power and extra memory to get better graphics. That may be just what it needs to make the pictures more fluid (less blocky).

 

[Purogamer]

It's not going to smooth things out next gen, things will look different. Xbox 360 games have a totally different look to them. I consider it "arcade" looking on 360 because everything is so crisp and clean, like arcade screens are.

It's almost like nintendo is saying "hey, we can't compete, but we're going to release a new console anyways", because honestly they could keep making games for gamecube if they really wanted to base their success on gameplay experience. They could make the new controller work on gamecube if they wanted. Everyone already emulates mario 3, we don't need to spend 149 to do it...

BTW, someone tell nintendo that the cheapest way to upgrade performance is usually the memory. I'm not buying that it's expensive, I think they just don't have room inside the case they like to fit more RAM. The should add more space to the case and stick some more ram in there. RAM is too important to be skimpy with it...

 

[Bunkhouse]

Still captures always look worse then playing the games.
"Readers discouraged by Revolution's seeming lack of horsepower when compared to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 should remember that Nintendo is not interested in competing in the high-definition gaming arena, and as a standard-definition console, Revolution is more than capable. Capcom's Resident Evil 4 remains one of the most gorgeous games this generation and it ran on GameCube, a console at least half as powerful according to developer reports."
Nintendo always downplays their specs and end up quite competitive. 1T-SRAM is very fast so maybe it will do. I know i was upset with Gamecubes specs, but it turned out decent graphics wise. Wait for Nintendo to release some offical specs all you spec savy people out there, & remember High Definition has 6 times better picture then SD, which could mean only 1/6 th of the graphics capability is needed compared to PS3 & 360. I don't plan of getting an HDTV for at least a few years so i see no point of buying a PS3 or 360 untill after then (at which point they will be much cheaper) If the Revolution is about $150 then i can easily see myself grabbing one.
Those who make fun of Mario Party aught to give that game a try. While i do alot of gaming on the PC (UT2k4, Battlefield 2, Half-Life 2 ect..) Nintendo has a way of hooking me on their fun and uniques games. Plus their Party games are amazingly fun to play especially when you have another couple over.

 

[korsjs]

nintendo does have some fun games and the feature that will alow you to play all the NES games has me sold.

 

[jbcheshire]

Yeah, the cheaper price will allow a lot of gamers to get either the 360 or the ps3, and the revolution...instead of having to choose between getting only one of the three systems available, we can get the revolution AND another hdtv compatible system.. maybe a good thing after all if you think about it..

 

[korsjs]

i agree, nintendo wants to be the second system. it looks like it might work.

 

[Stargazer]

Nintendo probably figures that most still do not have an HD television therefore their system will look just as good as the 360 or PS3 would on a screen. A LOT of people look at price.

 

[Purogamer]

How is nintendo going to rise to #2 while being under-powered and a year later than the current #2?

Nintendo should release Revolution winter of 2006. If it has the typical shelf life of a system, doesn't that go beyond the FCC's alleged timetable for everything being in HD? If that ever happens, and considering all the HD-Lite hating going on in other parts of the forum, it's safe to say that 2-3 years into revolutions life it could be VERY far behind the ps3 and 360 unless it's the most revolutionary piece of hardware ever made. Not even just from a graphics perspective, but what you can do online and with the extra cpu cycles and such.

 

[jbcheshire]

We aren't necessarily saying #2. We are saying that they may be looking more to be the second (3rd generation) system gamers will own...

 

[vinnyv07]

Nintendo will be number one for kids who love Mario and all those Pokemon games. MArio Dance Revolution is very difficult to get right now....which is for the gamecube. Although the games that Nintendo is putting out does not attract the hard core gamer.....it does attract a certain age group. Bottom line is that Nintendo will sell a ton of units because of Zelda...Mario...and other games that kids love.....oh...and the price....very good price. It's almost like an add on system. Just because you have PS3 or XBOX360 doesn't mean you won't buy Nintendo's new system if its 100 bucks. Hell.....you can't buy much for 100 bucks these days.

 

[rtt2]

At work I read a report that Microsoft could have the 360 base unit down to a price point of $150 within a years time. This presents a challenge for sony but also for Nintendo.

 

[korsjs]

At work I read a report that Microsoft could have the 360 base unit down to a price point of $150 within a years time. This presents a challenge for sony but also for Nintendo.

that has been their plan all along. lower price right before ps3 comes out.