Nintendo starts latest revolution

Nintendo raised some eyebrows recently when it announced a new console that won’t just be a faster, better GameCube.

Code-named “Revolution,” the new machine is supposed to break new ground in the way people play games, rather than just add better graphics and more speed to today’s game designs.

The company has been emphasizing new and different gadgets like that lately, including the forthcoming Nintendo DS (for Dual Screen), which it showed at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo. That handheld device has two screens instead of one, allowing gamers to look at menus and maps without interrupting gameplay.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata wouldn’t give details, the Associated Press reported, but he did say a prototype will be shown next year.

The announcement ends rampant speculation that Nintendo would back away from the hardware business, where it is No. 3 in the market, and concentrate on its own first-party games and handheld equipment, which have a terrific reputation for quality and sell well.

But Nintendo’s facing some strong competition from Sony, whose PSP (for PlayStation Portable) handheld device will threaten the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo’s big money maker, when the PSP hits the market here early next year.

Forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical about whether this new vision for console play will keep Nintendo competitive as Sony prepares to release the PS3 and Microsoft works on Xbox Next.

Finally, console game patches

Now that the PlayStation 2 has a hard drive available – and of course the Xbox had one all along – we’re starting to see something new in console gaming: patches.

It used to be that if a game shipped with a bug, PC buyers could download a tiny piece of software called a patch to update the game and get rid of the problem. Console buyers, though, were stuck with the product unless it was dire enough to prompt a recall of the game, an extraordinarily rare occurrence. (I’m still waiting for the recalls on “Batman: Dark Tomorrow” and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness,” for example. The glitches in those two games made them nearly unplayable, but they’re still sitting on store shelves.)

Yet now that millions of console gamers are jumping online and have hard drives to store files, game makers are starting to slip patches to them as well. For instance, when “Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow” had a few bugs in online play for Xbox earlier this year, it was almost immediately patched.

Get a grip, gamers

I had a chance this week to try out a new product for console gamers: GlovesPlay’s controller covers, which slide over the pointy parts of your Xbox or PlayStation 2 controller and are held on with an elastic strap that loops around the controller cable.

They look dorky as all get-out, but I was surprised by how comfortable they turned out to be. The outside has a soft sueded finish and there’s padding built in, which felt pretty cushy.

The fit was good on the PS2 model I tried, though it’s not made for aftermarket controllers – the Pelican Predator’s lower L2 and R2 buttons didn’t fit, and it wouldn’t work at all on controllers that less resemble Sony’s original model.

Still, at about $10, this is a great accessory for people who have sweaty palms – you know who you are – or just want their hard plastic controller to feel a little more comfortable. It’ll go on sale later this summer at www.glovesplay.com.