You say you want a Revolution...

Nintendo's hiding something. They usually do. The gaming titan likes to keep secrets, usually until whatever they have working on is done and ready to be shipped. They held back the design of their N64 controller out of fear Sony would copy aspects of it (and depending who you talk to, they did). Nintendo held back on bits of information on the last Mario platform title, fearing some studio would develop a knock-off and get it out before Nintendo shipped Super Mario Sunshine. Following the gaming industry in my spare time, I've learned Nintendo bluffs and conceals with a Jedi mastery.

And it continues with their upcoming console, titled "Revolution." Very little was mentioned about the console at May E3 event, a Mecca for gamers who come every spring to kneel down and pray at the altar of electronic distraction. Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo's rivals, showed off their new consoles, albeit mostly laced with pre-rendered game footage and puffery about things in the future (read: pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, or the fact there are no games done for the consoles, and you won't be able to play anything right now. Just buy it, monkeys). Nintendo skipped most the next-gen circus, which broke a lot of gamers' hearts, instead opting to talk about handheld gaming, hundreds of free wi-fi spots for the Nintendo DS users in America, and footage from the upcoming Zelda title.

What Nintendo didn't show in great detail was Revolution, although we did see what it might look like. As for the nom de plume, it's also maddeningly vague. Revolution has been attributed to Nintendo's jump to online gaming, as well as the company's announcement that it'll make hundreds of games from its archive available for download (read: a game version of Apple's Music Store). There's been murmurs that the true revolutionary aspect of the system will be the controller, which has yet to be unveiled (maybe we'll know at Spaceworld in September, or not). The fact is, unless you work in the inner sanctum on Nintendo, no one knows what's going on, but it's still a fun parlor game to play.

Re-reading coverage of E3, the gaming critics who attended the shin-dig came away making confused noises. Yes, the next-gen games did look pretty, but nothing really wowed them. The PS3 and Xbox 360 were spiffy but there wasn't anything playable to them. It was all a demo. Will Wright's non-console title "Spore" picked up Game of the Show kudos because it was so different. Everything else? Seen it. Played it. Bought the action figure. And therein lies the problem.

Escalating gaming budgets are pushing titles into the tens of millions in cost, making only the sure bets for upcoming games something with a number after its title. In other words, sequels just for Hollywood anymore. Add to that the rapid development time between sequels. Jax and Daxter 3 looks a lot like J&D2 because of the short time between the titles meant a polish job instead of innovation. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow looks like the first Splinter Cell, and both feel like the new Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory because it's more or less the same damn engine dynamic with a prettier paint job. The only thing that separates Mario Party 5 from MP6 is the latter's inclusion of a microphone. And if the sequel tsunami doesn't overwhelm you, then there's the knock-offs. Dead to Rights channeling Max Payne. True Crime is running in Grand Theft Auto's shadow. Gran Turismo and Forza are splitting hairs on being the top racing sim. Pick any FPS and you are killing aliens, monsters or terrorists. Unless its WWII, then it's all Nazis, all the time.

It's all going to lead somewhere. Titles with similar looks and feels, being priced at a more wallet-gouging $60 for next-gen. Gamers are going to have to fork out hundreds (Xbox 360 and PS3 are guesstimated to run anywhere from $375-$470) for new consoles and at least the console price in games to justify the purchase. Yes, the graphics are going to be pretty next-gen, but that'll take you so far if everything looks and plays the same. I have this instinct that if the next-gen is still mired in the FPS/sports/Japan RPG/thug ghetto, then a lot of gamers are going to be unhappy. Early 80s unhappy. I don't believe there's going to be a crash, but stagnation that'll wipe out the few remaining small studios. Only so many developers can exist who can spend millions for supertitles like Madden or GTA or Halo. Innovation will get scrapped for a sure payday with a sequel. Quirk is shelved, charm is downsized into a new explosion effect. Kiss a new Rez or Beyond Good and Evil goodbye.

So, here's what I hope Nintendo has up its sleeve.

When the Revolution ships in 2006, it'll come with (packed in the box, since Rev looks like it'll lack a hard drive) instructions for a Nintendo development kit. Gamers can hook up to a virtual workstation to build games through 8-, 16- or 32-bit engines that will be saturated with development tools and tips to create simple, smart titles that can be as limited as a FPS or open-ended like a puzzle title. Valve does this. The makers of the Half-Life franchise allow folks to get engines to create new environments for games. Granted, the challenge will be to develop a user interface that wouldn't rely on a keyboard, but a console controller mention of input, akin to the way to build maps in the Timesplitters series on the console and share them with fellow gamers.

Or, wait a minute.

If the Revolution does have a USB port, why can't gamers simply use a flash device as Nintendo looks to be doing for memory, to take the engine to their computer and develop that way, armed with the speed of a keyboard and mouse to design a game. The drawback here is the creation of a ROM emulator to test the work. Otherwise, it's download, go to PC, build, compile, walk back to Rev, test game, go back to PC, and so on.

But back to the garge gaming experiment. There's a real chance for community building here. Gamers who make and compile a game can upload to a special server at Nintendo, other gamers volunteer to do peer review through testing. Feedback is given. The game is either discarded or revamped or moved on to general playability. These titles will be free for download, with Nintendo playing gatekeeper to make sure there's no outright piracy or spread of homebrewed malware.

Or imagine a "Gamer Idol" with players and Nintendo evaluating games, broken up into genre and bit level. The top winner gets a cash prize plus a shot at a job at Nintendo. This would be (and I'm sorry in advance) a true revolution, with a console asking players to invent and share games. And it would be a blessed step up from not only the inane microtransaction model pimped by Xbox 360, but signal the end of dominance of the Madden/Halo/GTA clone wars out there. What would you rather play, another generic FPS that cost $60 or a game you and your buddy made? Think it can't work? Read up about Richard Garriott, who created the Ultima empire by tinkering around with an Apple II. The history of gaming is filled with one-man armies who experimented around until they struck gold.

If Nintendo is smart, they'd include something like this down the pipe. It's an ideal seed project to look for new ideas in gaming, even new programmers to give the industry a shot in the arm. I remember an interview with a game designer years ago where he says he gives his students engines for 8-bit games because if you can make a fun low-graphic game, then you have the imagination suited for a larger arena that's unburdened by graphic limitations. There's acres of ideas waiting to be cultivated out there. Instead of waiting for yet another sequel, why not bring to life the idea in your head? Why not create something that could alter the way people see games? You might be the next Will Wright. Or Shigeru Miyamoto. There's no reason anymore why people can't cobble together a fun little title. Sony tried homebrew gaming with the PS1, but failed due to costs, but that and the technological requirement for making simple games is rapidly decreasing. It's simple interface and easy access that are the next walls that need to come down.

And then, you just might see a Revolution happen.