Hello to Project Café, Nintendo’s Next-Generation Console
Nintendo is on the verge of announcing their next-generation console which looks to be something that will knock the socks off more traditional gamers and reclaim portions of that market that defected to Microsoft and Sony after the launch of the casual-centric Wii.
The console’s development nickname is Project Cafe, and a number of rumors have surfaced over the past week about what the console will be like.
Confirmed (supposedly) is an integrated touchscreen in the controller itself. The earlier speculation that the controller would be some sort of tablet seems to have been squashed with numerous sources confirming that the controller will feature two analog sticks, at least two triggers and a 6-inch touchscreen in the center of the frame. A new rumor is that the screen will have HD resolution although the fact that Nintendo has always made money on their hardware makes it seem unlikely that a controller would have such expensive components.
Also confirmed (supposedly) is that gamers will be able to stream entire games from the console onto the controller so the gamer can take their games with them on the go.
Concept mockup of the Project Cafe controller
Sources have reported that the console will be significantly more powerful than both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 (which simply means to me that when Microsoft and Sony introduce their next machines they will be even more powerful than Nintendo’s), and that the company has already started showing the machine to third-party developers so they have well over a year to design and implement compelling software for a potentially huge hardware launch.
Nintendo seems very much focused on winning back the trust of a lot of gamers who felt burned by the lack of support with the Wii for many of the fans who supported the company through the years. While I still enjoy the Wii quite a bit and feel that the new experiences offered by the system have been a refreshing change in the console world, I’m also excited at the prospect of a heavier duty device that will finally allow gamers to play those legendary Nintendo franchises in truly HD glory.
Time to start saving up…