Rumor: Nintendo's New Console Will Make You Feel

John Funk

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Dec 20, 2005
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Rumor: Nintendo's New Console Will Make You Feel

A new rumor about Nintendo's Project Cafe refers to it as "Nintendo Feel," and claims that its controller possesses a special touch screen with the ability to simulate textures.

There are rumors a-plenty about Nintendo's successor to the wildly popular Wii - tentatively code-named Project Cafe [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/tag/project+cafe] - but so far, said rumors have some common threads. Two of said common threads are present first and foremost: Project Cafe will be a more graphically-advanced, HD-capable system, and its controller will feature a touchscreen similar to that on the DS or iOS devices.

Swedish site posted on gaming forum NeoGAF [http://loading.se/news.php?pub_id=15144], the new console - referred to as Nintendo Feel - will be formally unveiled on June 7th at E3.

Loading.se's source claims that with the Feel, Nintendo "wants to change the way we play - again." With the Wii, says the source, Nintendo proved that the controller was every bit as important to a game as its graphics, and will be carrying this philosophy into its next console. "The revolutionary aspect will once again be found in the controller itself."

Most sources seem to agree that Project Cafe's controller will have a touchscreen, leading to comparisons with Apple's iPad or even Nintendo's own GBA/GameCube experiment with games like Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. The source says that the Feel will bring yet another dimension to the forefront - touch (hence the name).

The Feel's touchscreen will take advantage of newly-developed haptic technology [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_technology] in order to simulate "the experience of touching different objects shown on screen," says the source. A player running his finger across the screen will "clearly feel the difference between soft, smooth or rugged textures." While other electronics companies are researching this technology too - Apple and Toshiba among them - the source says this is a natural progression of the technologies used in both the wildly popular DS and wildly popular Wii.

The aforementioned Toshiba has actually demonstrated this technology in public [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXITjLurof0], by the way, so it isn't just a pipe dream - far-fetched though it might sound.

The source says that work has been progressing on the Feel for years now, with Nintendo trying to create a console with a core concept as simple to understand as the Wii's motion control - for core gamers and newcomers alike. "You have to try Nintendo Feel to really understand," claims the source, "[but] the idea itself is very easy to sell, no matter if you are aiming for hardcore players or the wider audience that was first introduced to games through DS, Wii or Kinect."

As Loading.se points out, being able to feel the fur on your Nintendogs could be potentially mindblowing, as could drawing a symbol in "sand" with your finger in a Zelda game. This is also a convergence of many of Nintendo's different philosophies - you have the force feedback introduced by the N64's Rumble Pak, the touch/movement espoused by the DS and Wii, and the connectivity of the GBA/GameCube connection.

The source also claims that Nintendo's bizarre Vitality Sensor [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/101515-Nintendo-E3-Wrong-Place-to-Show-Vitality-Sensor] will be making a reappearance at E3, but it will be for the Feel, not the Wii.

Well, that's quite a bit of information, isn't it? The NeoGAF poster who translated it notes that Loading.se is a "very reliable" news source, and as I'm unfortunately not as well-read on Swedish gaming news as I'd like, I'll have to take his word on it. If there is any deceit, it would likely be on the source giving Loading.se the information rather than on the outlet.

Of course, This is, a rumor and should be treated as such. Nobody should take this as gospel truth, and everybody should take it with a grain of salt - but it's an interesting rumor all the same. Even if Nintendo isn't actually doing this, the rise of haptic technology means that somebody probably will.

This might explain how Nintendo is planning on dealing with one of the primary criticisms of the screen-in-the-controller setup: How will you know what you're touching on the controller when you're looking up at your TV screen? This could be Nintendo's solution.

It's also worth noting that the article does not claim that Nintendo Feel will be the final name, and one can only hope that "Feel" is to this new console as "Revolution" was to the Wii. Because really, that name is silly.

(NeoGAF [http://loading.se/news.php?pub_id=15144])

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Mr. Omega

ANTI-LIFE JUSTIFIES MY HATE!
Jul 1, 2010
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Copy-Paste time!

This sounds a little suspicious. But for the sake of arguement, I'll assume it's true.
There isn't much practical use on this alone. Sure, it's cool, and is getting us one step closer to a holodeck, but by itself, it just seems unneeded. Still, kudos for Nintendo if this is true. Everyone laughed when the DS came out... and now every mobile device uses a touch screen. Time will tell if this goes the way of the DS or the Wii...

now edited with updated info: Adding the vitality sensor along with this can lead to some interesting ideas. This could work, and even if not, it has a control style that can accommodate tyipcal games this gen (and likely next gen) if you ignore all the fancy stuff. So even if this doesn't work, it the system itself can still do well.
 

gigastar

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Sep 13, 2010
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Nintendo needs to replace the guy who comes up with names for thier consoles. Else we will be hearing 'Feel it up' for years to come.

Anyway this haptic tech sounds nice in theory. It would be more of a challenge with less of the annoyance to rely on a third sense in gaming. As compared to motion controls, at least.
 

SomethingUnrelated

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Aug 29, 2009
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That sounds pretty impressive. Considering that one of the major flaws with motion controls is the lack of feedback, this is a step in the right direction.
 

manythings

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They didn't change they way I played, I tried it and it sucked balls so I went back to what I did before.

Also I hope touchscreens go out of fashion, they get fucking disgusting after five minutes of use.
 

lostzombies.com

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Apr 26, 2010
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Hmmm, honestly I got burnt with the novelty factor of the Wii. I don't think I will be doing it again if Nintendo are going in the same direction. I want to play video games, not gimmicky novelty games that will be gathering dust in a week.

I was interested when Nintendo said their new console would be competing with Sony and Microsoft for the traditional gaming market. If the news article is true then I forsee a similar games lineup of supersmashbrothers, zelda and mario etc but this time instead of the motion controls its another lame novelty control system.
 

scyther250

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Jun 7, 2010
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Why do they insist on making consoles, and the games on them, revolve around their ridiculous gimmicks? I just want to play my Metroid and Zelda and Kirby with normal analog sticks and buttons. You know, controls that work perfectly.
 

mireko

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Sep 23, 2010
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The Feel's touchscreen will take advantage of newly-developed haptic technology in order to simulate "the experience of touching different objects shown on screen," says the source.
At this point, making a joke would be way too easy.

[sub]Now make it region free and we'll talk, Nintendo![/sub]
 

Wicky_42

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Sep 15, 2008
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It's also worth noting that the article does not claim that Nintendo Feel will be the final name, and one can only hope that "Feel" is to this new console as "Revolution" was to the Wii. Because really, that name is silly.
... lol, I see what did there :]

It would be nice if they could use the haptic touch tech to allow you to feel buttons and other points of interaction - would certainly make for an interesting piece of tech. Not convinced that devs have the imagination to make AAA-standard use of it, though I'm sure shovel-ware-ers will have no problem making 5 or 6 minigames for it and pile a million skins on them to fill up the shelf space :]
 

Defense

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Oct 20, 2010
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And here I thought glasses-less 3D was their stupidest gimmick. Nintendo never ceases to amaze me.
 

Worgen

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Whatever, just wash your hands.
well they did a great job with the 3ds, street fighter 4 looks fantastic with the 3d so Im curious as hell about this
 

PunkRex

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Feb 19, 2010
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Will they be able to properly simulate giant, monster, turtle, dragon skin?

Still they also seem to be saying that they wont be using motion control soooooooo... well actually I dont care either way.
 

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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Defense said:
And here I thought glasses-less 3D was their stupidest gimmick. Nintendo never ceases to amaze me.
If you seriously can't think of uses for true haptic feedback, that's kind of stunning.
 

Snake Plissken

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Jul 30, 2010
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It's official. Everyone at Nintendo needs to retire and find less stupid shit to do with their time...
 

PureIrony

Slightly Sarcastic At All Times
Aug 12, 2010
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Hmmm. A site I've never heard of claiming an outlandish rumor on a console we've heard next to nothing about citing a source they won't clarify.

Yeah, I'm guessing they're just making shit up.