Hollywood Nintendo revealed its Revolution video game system Tuesday, completing the unveiling of the Big Three next generation console systems.

Sony, which leads the video game console business, presented its new PlayStation 3 system Monday, and Microsoft introduced its new Xbox 360, which is to be available in stores for the holidays, last week.

Nintendo's GameCube is in third place with 18.8% of the console market, according to the NPD Group, a marketing research firm. Sony's PlayStation 2 enjoys a commanding lead with 56.3% of the market, and Microsoft's Xbox has a 24.8% share.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the new Revolution will be available sometime next year.

The announcement came a day before the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the largest computer and video game trade show in North America, which runs through Friday in Los Angeles.

"You want a revolution? I have one," he said, holding a shiny black box triumphantly before hundreds of journalists, analysts and other guests. "Revolution is by far the smallest console we've ever made."

Iwata said the final version of the Revolution will be about the size of three standard DVD cases stacked together. In addition to playing next-generation Revolution games, the new platform will be backward compatible and play older titles from the GameCube.

It also will be able to download games from Nintendo's golden era, including the Nintendo 64, the Super NES System and the original Nintendo Entertainment System.

"The machine is just a tool," Iwata said. "The experience is the software."

The system includes 512 megabytes of internal memory, wireless controllers, two USB ports for connecting peripherals and built-in wireless Internet access. Games will come on new 12-centimeter optical discs, but the Revolution also will be able to play DVDs and other content using a small attachment.

Iwata said the Revolution's graphics would be powered by a new processing chip developed with IBM called Broadway, and a new graphics chipset from graphics hardware maker ATI called Hollywood.

"When you turn on Revolution and see the graphics, you will say, Wow,' " he said.

Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo, downplayed some of the technical specifications of the systems that will compete with the Revolution, including the processing power and widescreen presentation of games on the PlayStation 3.

"If you're ready to move beyond numbers . . . you've come to the right place," Fils-Aime said. "Our Revolution is preparing to storm the gates."

Fils-Aime and other Nintendo executives said their new gaming system will offer a new way of playing games, but they didn't elaborate.

"The key isn't what you'll be playing, but how you will be playing," Iwata said, noting that it will be in "very unique ways we will share with you later."

Iwata said Revolution games will include content from Nintendo's most popular franchises, including titles from the "Mario," "Zelda," "Donkey Kong" and "Metroid" series.

Console competition

With the Nintendo announcement, the jockeying for the next- generation console market boils down to this:

-- Of the three brands, the new Xbox is coming to the market first, in time for the holidays.

-- The new PlayStation will be twice as powerful as its current model, the PlayStation 2, and the most powerful of the three consoles.

-- Nintendo's advantage apparently will lie in its vague promise of a new approach to gaming.

-- No prices have been set for the new machines.

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Copyright 2005 Journal Sentinel Inc. Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media
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