I’m sure most of us remember the first time we watched the Wii Remote’s introductory video in which it rose from milky-whiteness and promised us so much more than just “waggle”, but what about before Nintendo ever graced us with those first images? I think we all remember that time because that was the wonderful period of creativeness which birthed great home made controller concepts such as the one above.

One of the very first big things that 4 Color Rebellion became popular for was our collection/link dump of all the fan made Revolution Controller mock-ups (Which can still be found, though in a horrible state of disrepair, here). This was a fantastic time to be a Nintendo junky because with each concept idea, no matter how terrible it was, there was still intrigue. I mean, none of us actually knew what the controller looked like so maybe any of these wacky concepts could really be it.

So, like looking at embarrassing childhood videos of ourselves, let’s take one last look back at what we both guessed and jested was Nintendo’s “Revolution”…

First off we’ve got this not too shabby lookin’ controller that’s got this touch screen thing going on. It seems as though a whole lot of people equated futuristic controller functionality to the implementation of some sort of touch screen input device because a vast number of the mock-ups created portrayed this sort of feature in one way or another. Even though it may have become sort of a cliche’ and there was no way that it would’ve worked particularly well, I was actually really hoping that a touch sensitive face would be a part of the controller in some manner. If nothing else, it would’ve looked really cool. Ah well, maybe it’s something best saved for the DS and its future installments.

Haha, this one will always be what I think of first when I hear/see the words “Revolution Controller”. This captures everything that these mock-ups were about: amateur quality, high concept, and being radical with a capital ‘R’. You gotta admit, putting a sphere inside of a cube is pretty much the epitome of futuristic and then putting yet another sphere between the ripped out controls of an airplane cockpit is pretty ingenious too. Nevermind the fact that the controller only has two buttons which you must apparently awkwardly push with your thumbs, but it is also tethered down by what looks to be a two foot cord. You see, this is a smart move because when you’re closer to the screen you can look at all the graphix that you paid for.

EGM’s take on the Revolution controller was also pretty fun. Granted, it’s not quite as cheaply humorous as some of the home made stuff, but it’s got its own merits. The idea of modular buttons is soo awesome and yet soo impractical(i.e. Perfect). And then there’s the built in E-Reader which would make you look as cool as Yu-Gi-Oh whenever you played a video game. That alone would’ve warranted a purchase. Throw on a pinky-sized mic and a mini SLR and not only have you got the best “Revolution” in gaming, but probably the only device you’d need to survive stranded on a island.


clicky-clicky for video

Ah, the Nintendo On. What the hell was this thing exactly? It was like a bucket full of future that would wirelessly transmit awesome directly into your head. I remember watching the video of this thing right before one of my classes and I couldn’t concentrate at all for the rest of the day. Was it real? Was it fake? If it was real, did I think it was awesome or did I think the idea was impractically stupid? So many questions flew around my young, dumb head before I realized that it couldn’t be real. The goggles, the augmented reality, the liability of such a device, this thing was pure scifi. Still, of all the concepts of what Nintendo’s Revolution could be, this was by far the most fleshed out and convincing. Kudos to you Mr. hoax maker(just don’t do it again).

These were just a few of the many concepts people dreamt that Nintendo was hiding in its secret fun lab. I’m sure that many of your favorite controller concepts didn’t make the cut so check out the mock-up page and leave a comment telling us what your favorite one is(mine’s number 98). Who knows, maybe before long we’ll start seeing “leaked blueprints” of Nintendo’s next console/controller.

4CR’s Revolution Controller Mock-Up Archive

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