Steven Thomas:

I would also like to thank IGN for taking the time to write such a well-written editorial, this is an example of why I started reading IGN nearly 4 years ago when I picked up my N64.

In regards to the development kit issue, I find it unfortunate that "dev kits" have only began to ship this month. However, I do not feel that this is necessarily something to get all gloomy about. The important question to ask, which no one has asked yet, is "Just what does this really mean to a developer?" I mean, how much work can actually get done without them? The good news is, and this is another confirmation of this rumor, is that the development environment is OpenGL ... similar to the benefits of Direct-X in that it is a standard environment. I wonder, if it is entirely possible to get a game to the point of 75% - 90% completion by using OpenGL and the supposed emulation materials that are already out there. If that is the case, then all of the terror associated with development kits only beginning to ship may be null and void. A case in point is a well known developer that I am aware of, who not too long ago released a rather kick-ass demo movie of a "next-gen" game stated to me that they had only received their PS2 kits a couple of weeks ago, and they were very buggy. This was only very shortly before the PS2 was released, so it seems that Nintendo is not the only ones who seem to have taken their time with getting dev kits out.

So, please remember that.

In regards to the mini-DVD idea ... in a lot of ways, I like it very much. The one tid-bit of information that stands out in my mind the most regarding the format is that it is supposedly going to utilize caddies of some kind. I can't tell you enough just how thrilled I am that Nintendo was smart enough to go with a caddy system. It's not surprising that they did ... after all, Nintendo knows full well the benefits the cartridge had in regards to ease of use and relative indestructibility, yet there was still some slight fear that Nintendo would follow suit with everyone else and opt to use raw discs. Of course, a caddy itself is also one added layer of protection that Nintendo has against piracy, so I think it is a good decision for at reason, as well. About the size ... my only fear about it would be just in regards to the marketing battle that a lower capacity is going to cause Nintendo again. Personally, I don't care. It should be more than enough for all but the most gluttonous of all developers out there like Square.

One thing to consider regarding the mini-DVD format, is that it may actually result in faster access times than it's full sized brothers. This is a phenomenon that is generally true of all disk systems ... the smaller the disk, the quicker the access times. This was found out to be true years ago in the hard drive industry, and DVD's should be no exception. This could potentially assist Nintendo in not only combating piracy, but also take some time off of load times. One down side is that while access times increase, sometimes sequential data transfer rates decrease, but this can be combated with a faster spinning drive. Plus, maybe you can stick the case in your pocket, which would be kind of cool.

About the controller ... ah, yes. This is the one tid-bit of information that I want to see more than anything else. I take what IGN has shown us with a very small grain of salt. The key thing to consider is that one of the big reasons that the N64 controller was so "innovative" was it's ergonomic design. Even as a left-handed person, I can make that controller do back-flips while playing any game. All complex button combos, are fluid and seamless. That, to me, speaks volumes about it's excellent design. As a left-handed person, it is not every day that you find a device that works just as well for you, if not better, than for the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, this is not something can can even be close to being conveyed properly from a "police-sketch" of the Dolphin controller. So, I have news for you out there .. what you see in these pictures probably isn't even close to being what the actual controller will look like, or more importantly, feel like.

Aside from the aesthetics though, it seems that Nintendo has put nearly everything in the Dolphin controller that I wanted them to do. Built-in rumble capabilities (a no brainer), and better analog support. Although I am a bit surprised at the "camera-stick" idea, as it seems to be a modified extension of the Dual Shock controller, it is important to know how this function is used more than anything else, and and easy it will be used. I was kind of hoping more for a dual-analog trigger design much like the Dreamcast controller has more than anything else, but I think as long as the "camera-stick" could be used for other purposes, I will be content.

But nothing of what we have seen has been "innovative", so there obviously must be more to it than this. A lot more. Otherwise I doubt Nintendo would have had Mr.. Miyamoto spending his time on the controller, as nearly anyone could have come up with most of what we have seen in these pictures so far. Sure, the 3xC is weird in example #1, and sure the positioning of the "camera-stick" in example #2 is cool, but there is nothing else there other than that. There have been rumors and talk of built in microphones and headphone jacks, so where is that? Perhaps Nintendo has not shown this feature to any second or third party developer yet because they don't want to, and they want to make sure that Nintendo proper is first out of the gate to use this feature. Also lacking in these descriptions are any talk of any sort of controller expansion ports, whether it be for a memory card (maybe its not necessary), or for connecting a GBA or GBC as a VMU. Again, maybe this will be done in another way. And where is the Z-trigger?? Did someone forget that? No, the "triggers" in example #1 hardly take the place of those, as the more likely take the place of the shoulder buttons instead. Judging from what these pictures indicate, I would have to agree with some of my peers and state that I find that there are features in both that should be incorporated in to one controller. But, then again .. if they left it the same as the N64 controller, that would be OK by me, too.

Mike Hrusecky:

I probably don't share the same feelings as some of our other reporters when I say that I wasn't moved by the latest IGN report regarding the Dolphin. I felt that had high expectations due to the piece's promotion as being "all they knew" about the console. What we know is that we don't know too darn much!

What we can gather from the article in a nutshell is that *some* developers have development kits, possible 1-2 gig caddied mini disc media, 10 million polys/sec, and... err, the system uses controllers. There aren't any particularly solid details on the controllers to really grab a hold of and digest, other than that the Dolphin uses them, so there isn't much to be said about them at this point.

If this is "all we know" then it isn't very much. The details provided aren't new, though nobody said they would be. For some reason or another, I wasn't taken back by the information given. The 1,400 word IGN essay says a lot, but says little at the same time.

As a gamer and Nintendo fan, I am looking forward to Spaceworld in a big way. I believe Nintendo will reveal more -- many more -- solid details about the system then. A number of additional technological possibilities have been alluded to here before, including on-caddy memory, wireless networking, and others. It will be great, and rewarding, to see if those features follow through and come to fruition. (This old N64HQ dog still has his "super-secret-CIA- tight-ass-kicking-lip-locked- deep-throat-sources" too.)