Rev to get simultaneous launch

By Ellie Gibson Published 26 October, 2005

Iwata himself says so.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has revealed that a simultaneous global launch is planned for the Revolution, confirming that the console will not launch before March 2006.

Speaking to Nikkei Business, Iwata said: "I can only say that it's coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year."

"We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it's possible."

Iwata did not offer any specific sales targets for the Revolution, but did state that it was imperative that the number of consoles sold was higher than the number of GameCubes sold - a figure which currently stands at 18.76 million.

"[Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube," Iwata said.

He went on to talk about the Revolution's innovative new "freestyle" controller, revealed at the Tokyo Game Show last month. Perhaps suprisingly, Iwata revealed that former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi had no involvement whatsoever with the controller's development.

Iwata confirmed that the controller makes use of a variety of new technologies, although he declined to give details, and that it can be used with any type of television or digital projector.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (44) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • djchump #1 6 years ago

    /dances with childish glee.. which worryingly turns into "capering"

  • symmetry #2 6 years ago

    Nintendo > Sony

  • JHuxley #3 6 years ago

    If only Sony would follow suit...

  • Tonka #4 6 years ago

    I really like this global launch trend

  • Wrobel #5 6 years ago

    worldwide release as much as it's possible

    Everywhere but europe then

  • Razz #6 6 years ago

    /pre-orders 18.8 million Rev's
    Edited by 1 at 26/10/05 @ 10:08

  • laur #7 6 years ago

    Well I'll be buying one, and I didn't get a Gamecube.

  • thegamesthething #8 6 years ago

    @wrobel - well lets take them at their word and hope for the best - nintys usual delay in euro release is about 150 years, they should be able to improve on that

  • sickpuppysoftware #9 6 years ago

    Does his comment mean the gamecube was a complete failure?

  • spazmo #10 6 years ago

    No, he means that if the Rev fails to outsell the GC, then they have failed to appeal to the non-gamers that they are targetting.

  • Blerk #11 6 years ago

    Worldwide launches == good. I like this trend.

    Now do the same for software, you bastards! >-(

    /shakes fist

  • tengu #12 6 years ago

    \o/

    Now if only that 'controller' didn't look annoying to use :\

  • ralphwolfenstein #13 6 years ago

    "I wish they would announce that stupid wand controller was a practical joke or something

    you're dead inside

  • Tonka #14 6 years ago

    Everything that I've read about the controller sugests that it should be really user friendly. Personally I'm really curious and anxious to get my hands on it. But I will most probably back my Revolution up with a more traditional console

  • sir_tripod #15 6 years ago

    @Tengu and FluffyTucker

    Have you tried the controller? Before you put it down (or "big it up";) try it first. You might be surprised.

    I'm looking forward to the Revolution. I think they're going to go launch in June. People will have had time to save up after buying a Xbox360 and/or PS3.

    Please let them not forget about us eurpeans!

  • InfiniteFury #16 6 years ago

    Slightly off-topic but re: the whole "going after people who don't play games"

    How many of those people do you think will pay £45.00 for a game they don't know they'll like, in a genre they're unfamiliar with, in a hobby they've previously avoided?

    I'm looking forward to seeing how they get round that one. Is it the retro games downloads?

    For all I know, someone out there at EuroTapestry is feverishly discussing the new plans to revolutionise stitchwork but I'm buggered if I'm going to shell out £50 to try it. It's for old woman just like games are for geeks remember.
    Edited by 3 at 26/10/05 @ 10:41

  • jiveguy #17 6 years ago

    At least they won't have to worry about stock levels, being nintendo and all. ;)

  • thegamesthething #18 6 years ago

    EuroTapestry is hopelessly biased against the M$ TapestryBox, you should read ITN (Internet Tapestry News) instead, though they do tend to say that all tapestry is just brilliant

  • smelly #19 6 years ago

    "Does his comment mean the gamecube was a complete failure?"

    Nah, it still made a profit (unlike the other 2). And still sold about as many as the xbox did.

    He means that if it doesnt sell more than that, it'd be considered a failure. In much the same way as i'd reacon micro$oft want to sell considerably more 360's than xboxes otherwise that'd be considered a failure. Mind you, to do that, they'd have to do something slightly more than releasing pc ports and endless fps/racing games imho.

    But back to nintendo, for them to do that, they need the marketting they had back in the 80's/early 90s to even stand the slightest hope of doing it. At the moment (in europe at least) the last few years marketting has almost been like they've given up! And to appeal to the average uk chav, you need to market your product well and make it a "cool" thing to have. Just having a good product will never work in this country or even amerika (for further proof, look at our music/movie scene).

  • thegamesthething #20 6 years ago

    @sir_tripod tbh if they launch the rev in june i think people will have time to save up BEFORE buying a PS3

  • kaosridder #21 6 years ago

    well what really matters is games, and if the rev does not significantly improve the lineup compared to the cube im not gonna buy it. I was pretty dissappointed in the lack of quality games for the cube. Not enough of them compared to xbox & ps2. Improve on that Nin and I will eventually try out your magic wand (hmmm somehow that doesnt sound right)

  • Xerx3s #22 6 years ago

    I would like the black one plz. Tyvm:)

    Anyway, world wide launch eh? How original ^_^

  • theidiotsarewinning #23 6 years ago

    nowt wrong with mario sunshine my lad

  • kangarootoo #24 6 years ago

    @InfiniteFury

    "How many of those people do you think will pay £45.00 for a game they don't know they'll like, in a genre they're unfamiliar with, in a hobby they've previously avoided? "

    I think it is more a "slowly slowly, catchy monkey" kind of thing. I don't think any new console is likely to bring in someone overnight who has never touched a video game.

    But for people who liked arcade games as a kid, played a couple of PS1 games at a friend's house once, sort of thought about getting a console after seeing "that fishing game" etc. For those people something like the Rev may be different enough ti finally grab them.

    As for the RRP of £45, that sort of stuff is never to be believed. I'll wait till I see what retailers actually sell them for.

  • theidiotsarewinning #25 6 years ago

    even the jazzed up retro mario theme!?

  • drumbaby #26 6 years ago

    meh

  • cuniculus #27 6 years ago

    Paper Mario 2, now that was a decent Mario game on the GC. Just waiting for a rainy weekend to start playing it again - so much to do, so little time.

    /contemplates quitting job, visits iresign.com again

  • Ulgen #28 6 years ago

    @InfiniteFury:
    My wife's trying to play Zelda Wind Waker these days, and often her brain overheats in the middle of something and she forgets which button to use to do what, usually accompanied by comments like "Why is it so complicated?" and "There's so many buttons". It's almost like she wants to throw the controller out the window.

    THESE people are the target for the Revolution controller. Those who want to play, but find today's controllers intimidating. I remember reading this when they showed the controller the first time, and thought "Come on, it just a couple of sticks and some buttons. How hard can it be?". But now I realise the genious of it. My father was watching me playing Burnout Revenge the other day, commenting that he'd never be able to play that. Do you believe I could convince him to try? Or try any other game, for that matter? But give him the Rev controller and some fun minigames, and I'd have him hooked.

    On the other end, there was this norwegian Microsoft dude commenting the imminent Xbox 360 launch in Norway, saying that "games will now be accessible to everyone, with close-to-reality graphics and a machine that'll be useful at home." Do you think my wife would rather play a game on Xbox 360 than Zelda, due to the 360's close-to-reality graphics? Or my dad, would he think: "OMG, that looks very realistic. I want to play that". IMHO that MS dude is way off...

    This is where Nintendo will prevail. For hardcore gamers on the other hand... Well, we'll see... ;-)

  • Tonka #29 6 years ago

    The ukulele melody in the red coin hunt at Monte Village is my absolut favourite in VG music.

  • kangarootoo #30 6 years ago

    @Ulgen

    Spot on. M$ have to say stuff about attracting non gamers, because everyone acknowledges that the games market needs to expand and they have to appear knowledgeable about these things, but I don't think they have any bullets in that particular gun.

    Now I'm an XB fan and will likely get an XB360 after the first price cut, but I think Nintendo have shown both M$ and Sony how to really do things when it comes to attracting the casual gamer.

  • Kami #31 6 years ago

    @ kaosridder:

    Yes, because we all know the Gamecube has a crap lineup of games, what with Resident Evil 4, metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2, Zelda: Wind Waker and forthcoming Twilight Princess, Harvest Moon, the Resident Evil remake and Resident Evil 0, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Baten Kaitos, Paper Mario 2, Pikmin and Pikmin 2, Tales of Symphonia, Luigi's Mansion, Super Smash Bros Melee, Soul Calibur 2 with added Link, F-Zero - not to mention Batallion Wars and Fire Emblem on their way...

    ... yes, I see your point about the Gamecube being a waste of space, thank you for enlightening the world with your logic and reason...

  • Blerk #32 6 years ago

    Super Smash Bros Melee is crap, though. :-)

  • absolutezero #33 6 years ago

    About the Cube not having any games, I think its more along the lines of gamers want a large pile of games, not to play through them just ot hav ethe large pile is enough.

    No one really finishes games anymore, so they need a never ending stream of new IP to replace the old ones they've gotten bored of after a day.

    This is where the Cube failed, it released high quality full games over a long period of time and as such people complained, wheres the FIFA update that I will play for a week and then forget about until the next one is released?

  • 786Beast #34 6 years ago

    another global launch, well done nintendo :D

  • sir_tripod #35 6 years ago

    I agree with Kami. The Gamecube has maybe 100+ games and 6 "quality" titles. The PS2 and XBOX have 100s of games, EACH. They only have a similar number of must-own games.

    Kangarootoo put about the slow, slowly approach. It's it definately. There will be many wives, girlfriends and parents of gamers who will see gamers playing the games and will become interested - if only from watching the games being played. Nintendo will be planning games which are designed with these peripheral players in mind. Can you imagine the scene...

    "Here you are, love. I've bought new game for you. You said that you wanted a game that you would be able to play so I got you this: 'Super Housewife 2'. Look... See this controller? It's a vacuum cleaner. It's an iron. It's a washing up brush. It's a mop. It's also a frying pan. See? I do think of you!"

    *WHACK*

    "Wow, a rolling pin as well! Nice one Nintend-WHACK-ooowwwwww!!!"

  • Spiral #36 6 years ago

    About the Cube not having any games, I think its more along the lines of gamers want a large pile of games, not to play through them just ot hav ethe large pile is enough.

    No one really finishes games anymore, so they need a never ending stream of new IP to replace the old ones they've gotten bored of after a day.

    I've finished every game I've bought for the cube this gen andI think there aren't enough of them. I haven't bought a game for it in over a year, wheras in the same time period I've bought 5~6 PS2 and XBox titles each and finished them all. And I've never bought a Fifa game in my life.

  • absolutezero #37 6 years ago

    Spiral, do you play the small amount of multiformat games on your Cube or on another Xbox? Do you import?

    Im still getting new games for the Cube and then I go back and pick up games that I may have missed befor hand.

  • Psi #38 6 years ago

    im worried about this announcment, ninty aint exactly been the best at marketing and i think marketing would suffer as this is the first world wide launch for a home system they've done. fingers crossed they get out the blocks okay.

    the snes was the last magic ninty home system and that had a summer launch in uk. by xmas came round the software titles were there to support it, hope the same happens this time

  • smelly #39 6 years ago

    "I was pretty dissappointed in the lack of quality games for the cube."

    Now if you'd said "lack of games" i'd agree with you. But "lack of quality games"!?!?

    Yer shitting me?!? And no, im not about to make a huge list to prove my point.. but seriously, have a thunk about what you've written.. :-)

  • Xephon70 #40 6 years ago

    ""[Revolution] would be a complete failure if we didn't sell more units than the Nintendo GameCube," Iwata said."

    Oh dear, sound like famous last words anyone?

    I really hope Nintendo do the business this time around in the west-but they won't just need a nifty controller, software sells hardware, it's that simple.

  • smelly #41 6 years ago

    "software sells hardware, it's that simple. "

    You're right.. but it seems that quality doesnt come into it.. jsut quantity.

    So if nintendo do what the others do and get everyone to pipe out endless drivel, at the expense of quality, that means it'll sell loads.. the chavs will love it.

  • #42 6 years ago

    Worked for the Gameboy.

    Lots of good-excellent 1st/2nd party stuff, some good-middling 3rd party stuff and the rest (of which there are loads) generic rubbish and ports.

  • Ulgen #43 6 years ago

    "No one really finishes games anymore, so they need a never ending stream of new IP to replace the old ones they've gotten bored of after a day."

    Yeah. I feel kinda busted on that remark. I have about three times as many Xbox games as GameCube games on my shelf, but still I spend an equal amount of time on both platforms. The longevity on the GameCube games are bettter, but I don't think Nintendo earns so much money on it... :)

  • Azu87 #44 6 years ago

    *sigh* I'm a bit annoyed of these "Nintendo never does anything for Europe". If you want GBM, you could have it two months after Japan, is that such a long time to wait. The DS was released four months after the US, which was the fastest released (handheld) console ever (Micro won that now, and Xbox360 will win that title later). Revolution will probably be launched everywhere almost at the same time, maybe weeks may pass before Revolution will see Europe but not months.