Topic: Further meaning to enhanced graphics.

[bmfrosty]

This one depends on HD becoming an option for the Rev.  I know this may not happen, so if you're going to reply indicating that fallacy in my premise, don't bother.

We already know that the Rev will be a few times as powerful as the GCN.  We also know that it supports the GCN's API, and can assume that it supports it's instruction set.  Assuming this, it should be possible, with little work to make current GCN games work at HD resolutions.  In fact they could be sold as downloadable executeables.  So here's the idea.  Nintendo wants to squeeze a few more yen out of Twilight Princess.  So you pop your copy of TP into the Rev, and instead of booting directly to the game, it checks to see if there is an HD update for the game.  It checks against it's database that it periodically updates online.  If there is one, it offers for sell a copy to you for $5.  What you end up getting is a recompiled executeable that supports widescreen and HD resolutions along with updated 2d textures (like menu items and such) and updates for textures that are used very commonly in the game.  This should take 1 programmer and 1 artist about 1 month to produce, for maybe $15000 in production costs (salaries + other resources).  They recoup their losses after 3000 sales.

Additionally they could release these on store shelves as "Revolution Enhanced' versions.

Other things that could be done would be enhanced controls for some games like monkeyball and RE4.

[MarioAllStar]

An additonal executable and entire texture/model set would take up quite a bit of space. That said, there are two storage mechanisms--the internal flash memory and memory cards. Assuming that both the flash memory and memory cards both will be low in storage space, which they probably will be, I can see them filling up very quickly.

Unless you meant that it would download each time into RAM, which is also limited, but that would alienate those without Internet access.

[Rancid Planet]

Quote
Originally posted by: bmfrosty
We already know that the Rev will be a few times as powerful as the GCN.

You know, I remember reading one of Matt's "I know TEH EVEREETHING about the Rev pieces over at IGN where he made mention that the article that Perrin Kaplin was quoted in saying "The Rev will be 2-3 times as powerful as the GCN" was taken down after a short time and that the cause was misinterpretations. Whatever that means. Anyway Matt (can't believe I'm citing him as a reference) used that as a counter argument to that point. He was of the opinion that nothing had "officially" been said about how powerful the Rev was going to be.

I should look for that link...

[PaLaDiN]

I'm pretty sure it wasn't just Matt, and Nintendo did retract that statement.

[bmfrosty]

Quote
Originally posted by: MarioAllStar
An additonal executable and entire texture/model set would take up quite a bit of space. That said, there are two storage mechanisms--the internal flash memory and memory cards. Assuming that both the flash memory and memory cards both will be low in storage space, which they probably will be, I can see them filling up very quickly.

Unless you meant that it would download each time into RAM, which is also limited, but that would alienate those without Internet access.

Let me clarify.  The game would still be required to be in the drive.  It would use the assets on the original disc in addition to updated 2d graphics (menus etc) and possibly updated textures for a few of the more frequently seen models.  I'm thinking maybe 16 megs worth of space, compressed if possible.

[pudu]

I think this could work if they wanted to do it.  What I would expect is, like you said, a download that would somehow allow for higher resolution display and an update for the HUD and menus on screen to make them look good at the higher resolution.  The other stuff like better textures doesn't seem very feasible and would take up a lot of space and probably be too much of a pain to bother with.  I think/hope that there will be ways for the Rev. to automatically enhance GCN graphics (I think there is another thread about this somewhere on these forums about this).  What I'm talking about here are improved anti aliasing, texture filters, etc.