Revolution technical specs to remain under wraps

Nintendo of Europe marketing director Jim Merrick has revealed that the company may never release a list of technical specifications for the next-generation Revolution console.

In an interview with Dutch magazine [N]Gamer, Merrick is quoted as saying: âRegarding the specifications, we will probably never âreleaseâ this information as we feel that it is largely irrelevant."

"While some of our competitors enjoy comparing specifications, it has little or nothing to do with how satisfied the consumers will be with the system and the games once they are released," he went on.

"I know people are hungry for information on Revolution and we respect and appreciate that, but we donât want to contribute to the cloud of meaningless information that surrounds the next generation systems.â

Merrick said that the development of Revolution instalments in the Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime and Smash Brothers series is "progressing well", and reaffirmed that not all games will use the "freehand" style remote controller alone - there's also the "classic-style expansion controller."

âThis option is there for new games that will be created that are most suited to a traditional style of controller. We are not trying to say that the âtraditionalâ controller design is not valid, in fact Nintendo is responsible for most of the features that are found on todayâs traditional controllers," Merrick pointed out.

So what of Satoru Iwata's recent comments that Nintendo could follow in Microsoft's footsteps and opt for a simultaneous worldwide release of the Revolution?

In a separate interview with Spanish website MeriStation, Merrick played down the idea of a same-day launch, saying: "What we can guarantee is that the Revolution will be sent in the same four-month period anywhere in the world."

He confirmed that Nintendo does not plan to release any footage of the Revolution's games before the end of the year, and no screenshots until the games are in a playable state - since the company wants the emphasis to be on fun gameplay rather than graphical power.

As for when that will be - Merrick told this website back in May that he'd be "very disappointed" if there weren't playable Revolution games at E3 2006.

Finally, Merrick talked briefly about the Revolution's multiplayer features. He confirmed that the Revolution will use game sharing technology like the DS, so players will be able to face off with an opponent on another console using just one copy of the game.

Merrick offered no further hints as to when the Revolution will launch. Iwata has previously stated that it will get a release "during 2006, but after the current fiscal year."