Revolution

[Crash]

March 10, 2005 - Nintendo president Satoru Iwata delivered his keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Thursday. The company head outlined the publisher's philosophies in regard to its next-generation console, which is codenamed Revolution. Iwata once more reiterated that while cutting edge graphics and audio are to be expected, Nintendo hopes to deliver a new gaming dynamic that will enhance the way players enjoy its software.

However, Iwata also announced Nintendo's two major hardware partners for Revolution, both previously rumored to be working on the console and both industry stand-outs. IBM is deep in development with the CPU that will provide the processing power of the machine. The chip is codenamed "Broadway," according to Nintendo. Meanwhile, ATI, which developed the GameCube's graphics chip, is underway with GPU for Revolution. The chip is codenamed "Hollywood," according to Nintendo.

"We're excited to be developing the graphics chip set for Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with Nintendo," explained Dave Orton, ATI Technologies' president and chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds. ATI is proud to support Nintendo's innovative contributions to gaming."


Nintendo president Satoru Iwata

Iwata also announced that Revolution would feature backward compatibility with GameCube, which means that consumers will be able to play GCN software on the next console.

In addition, the Nintendo president said that Revolution would be Wi-Fi compatible out of the box. The revelation goes hand-in-hand with the company's newly announced DS online network, which enables owners of the handheld to connect to the Internet wirelessly and play against each other.

Finally, Iwata introduced a brand new trailer for the anticipated GameCube title The Legend of Zelda. Naturally, onlookers were blown away.

"This is Nintendo's plan: make our existing game world better," Iwata said. "For us, this is a passion. This is a mission of adventure," Iwata explained.

The Nintendo head promised more details on Revolution and the DS wireless network at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2005, which kicks off this May in Los Angeles.

IGN's DS sister site has full details on all the Nintendo DS related announcements made Thursday. For those, readers should click here.