The NEXUS Project: It is a set of three different tools that will form an incredible home entertaiment project. 1) Controller: The controller is meant to work with PCs with USB 2.0 interfaces. The controller is truly original and we hope sets a new standard. It is ergonomic and easy to use. It has the following features: a) 4 Buttons b) 2 Shoulder Buttons c) Two Analog Sticks d) One Cross Shaped button e) One TouchPad f) A Gyroscope With those original features it will provide incredible fun. In it's inners it will pack a ARM7 CPU to process the info of the controller and send it to the PC. A special SDK will be distributed that will provide developers the necesary tools to make the controller's specific features to work with their games. The only thing we ask from developers is to include the Nexus logo in their game or game box. Our efforts will also make it possible for the controller to work with already established PC Games. The TouchPad can also work as a small drawing tablet and could be used as a mouse pointer. To save costs it will not have a rumbling feature nor wireless. A wireless version could be released later on. ETA: Summer 2006 Estimated Price Point: $60 or LESS. 2) Nexus Console: A small, quiet and affordable console is what will describe the Nexus Console best. The point of the console is to allow free and royalty-free development on the console. While the technical specs are yet to be revealed there is some basic informaton a it: a) CPU: Dual ARM7s, each at 60MHz OR a SH-4 CPU Core at 200MHZ + b) 8 to 16MBS of System RAM c) 2 USB 2.0 Ports d) Card Reader: For SD/XD/SmartMedia cards. e) Ethernet Chipset: Online Gaming. With those specs the system is a 2D monster and can pull out decent 3D graphics. In fact, 9.1 million polygons is the max output for the SH-4 core. The Nexus Controller WILL NOT be included with the Nexus Console. In it's place a smaller version of the Nexus controller, without Gyros or Touchpad will be included. The Console will work with the Nexus Controller, and games on it that want to use the Nexus Controller can be made. Game data will be transfered to a Flash Card. Free games can be transfered to the Nexus Console through USB 2.0 port, or the user can write to Flash Cards on his PC. Commercial games will have a different file extension and use special features still in development that will assure security to the commercial developer. The console can decode MP3s and OGGs for high quality music and also can work as a JPEG viewer. While not yet confirmed, it could decode MPEG files and through the XVID codec decode AVI XVID files. ETA: Winter 2006 Estimated Price Point: $60-75 Target Audience: 15 year+. Gamers who want an alternative. 3) Nexus SDK: A very important piece, this will allow developers to work with the Nexus Console features. It deserves to note that this SDK is different from the Nexus Controller SDK. This will allow easy creation of games for the Nexus and a Easy Mode in the SDK will allow people with great ideas to develop 2D games easily for the Nexus. The SDK would be released months before the console so games can already be developed for it. The SDK would be free to access to anyone. A optional emulator will allow the testing of games before release. This Emulator will NOT be given out to every single developer. Developers that can show proof they are working on a game will receive a modified SDK with the emulator built in. These will have a special key. For using the modified SDK YOU NEED A INTERNET CONNECTION. Every few minutes the SDK will contact our servers to check if the key is usable. If by any means it cannot be connected the SDK saves your work and automatically stops and closes everything until it can check if it can connect. If it does connect the SDK becomes usable again. If the modified SDK with the Emulator gets leaked, the pinging it must do to our servers would detect if various IPs are using the same key. If it does, EVERY PC with the same key will be blocked and notified to us. When we note this we will invesigate and ban the key from the server, and no SDK with that key will ever work again. Road Map: December 13 2005: Planning began December 23 2005: Help Wanted December 27 2005: First Console Concept Revealed December 30 2005: Reveal the Logo and Controller Concept Q1 2006: Begin Engineering and look for Sponsorship. Open the website. Reveal the Controller to the masses and get a manufacturing deal. Q2 2006: Release the Controller along the Controller SDK. Reveal the Nexus Console to the masses. Q3-Q4 2006: Release the SDK early on. Release the Nexus Console. Current Team Members: Bryan aka Nexus_Console: Team Leader and Co-Founder Relix: Lead Developer and Co-Founder. Website making. Marcus: System Developer. Myth: External Design of Console and Controller. Website making. Cloud: External Design of Console, Controller and Logo. OS Programmer. Minor Engineering. SDK Development. Edwin: Engineer. Juan: Minor Engineering. Signed Developers: 1) Fallen Studios. 2) Cyrain Studio = Unnamed 3D RPG. Budget: 1) $5,500. $750 already used for development kits on the console, ranging from blank motherboards to sample CPUs. 2) Looking for sponsorship to get more budget! --- The Marketing Plan will be revealed in Q1 2006.---- We are looking for: Programmers to program for the SDK. Hardware Engineers: Develop the inner working of the system WE NEED HELP HERE! Support from you developers out there! - - - - - - - We just want support and your feedback! Post opinions or thoughts. Of course we are always open to flames (expecting them...) as this is a forum, and such ideas as this will always be FLAMED. As uphill as it look, with help we can make it work. [Edited by - Nexus_Console on December 27, 2005 3:35:49 PM]

The problem with indie consoles is buy-in. Right now I can make a PC game and distribute it to millions of people who already own the hardware to play it. I wouldn't bother creating a game that could only be played by a handful of indie developers.

Wow

You try to compete against Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo? Those guys, "I assume", probably spend millions of dollars in research and developemnt for their consoles. Good luck. Others have tried but failed miserably.

Quote:
What about the capital? Well, in fact we have NONE. We are doing this from the scratch to begin with. I only have skills with business honestly. I am just someone with a vision, who feels something he must follow. And so I am doing that!

...

We are a team of barely 3 people with no experience whatsoever in this! In fact, we intend to pass control over the group to someone with experience with this kind of stuff. We just want to open the path for free developing to a console! We have absolutely no capital or budget. Technically we are doing this.. how should I say it.. BLIND.

You got to re-read that a couple of times, like seriously.

It will be hard to sell a console if it is not able to compete in term of capabilities with the current market. Also, by the time you will make 1 step forward, your big money competitors will have made 10.

Just my opinion.

@ Sneftel: I understand your point perfectly. But we are actually going to try and attract actual gamers instead of developers. I posted this here just to spark development on the console, but for end-user we are planning on making a website that explains everything and try to gain media exposure. I am very sure indie developers can make better games than commercial developers. With all the originality indie developers have maybe Nexus would have an edge in the exclusive and original department that could spark interest from end-user and media alike.

@ Alpha_ProgDes: I perfectly understand your point as well =P. The truth is Dreamcast is very well dead, though it was the best system of all the current ones. I loved it! As for N-Gage... well I would consider it a limiting machine. The GP machines, which I know about, are very similar to this project, but instead are for handhelds. We are going to attract the console owner, not the handheld one. As for the X360, isn't that illegal o_0!

@Darkneon: You are VERY right. I should rephrase that. In no way we expect to compete against those companies. It would be stupid and useless. We are just trying to cover a niche market and attract gamers that don't usually play games. Or those who play games, enjoy new and original ones coming from the more original minds of Indie developers. We don't even expect to sell one million consoles (though it would be cool!).

Quote:Original post by Nexus_Console
@ Sneftel: I understand your point perfectly. But we are actually going to try and attract actual gamers instead of developers. I posted this here just to spark development on the console, but for end-user we are planning on making a website that explains everything and try to gain media exposure. I am very sure indie developers can make better games than commercial developers. With all the originality indie developers have maybe Nexus would have an edge in the exclusive and original department that could spark interest from end-user and media alike.

It's not enough to try to attract them. Let's say I'm a gamer and I have 100-200 bucks to spend. Why would I spend them on a console with so few professional-quality titles available, instead of on a mainstream console? It's the chicken and the egg problem: developers won't target it until after consumers buy it, and consumers won't buy it until after developers target it. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have the cred (and the money) to break this stalemate; you do not.

Snetfel, you point out the exact problem that exterminated Sega, and that is affecting Nintendo =).

Thing is, we are going to try and put the price as low as we can. In fact a profit from the console is unlikely (though we CANNOT sustain operating losses), possibly $1 per console sold?

The cheaper it is, the more accesible it will be to the gamer. Besides, Nexus is meant to be a secondary console. You paid $399 for your new Premium X-360. That's a lot of money. Same games, same old stuff, better graphics.

Then the user browses the internet, bored or something like that and stumbles upon Nexus. A $99.99 console with indie developers backing up AND OPEN SOURCE games as well. Many free games he can get for legal that developers or open source opeople make, commercial games indie developers worked on that could surpass those of his Xbox 360 and commercial developers, little to no cost on the games and he can possibly get awesome original games he will like and enjoy.

Nexus is supossed to be a SECONDARY machine, one with a cheap price. If we wanted to be a primary machine we would lose and barely sell anything against the competion. If you have any more point you want to discuss feel free to post it =).

@ Alpha_ProgDes: Well, the X360 Arcarde thing I did not know, don't own the console. As for the Revolution I had read of the rumor before, but knowing Nintendo and the fact that they didn't support an indie developer making a game called Raid over.. something, hopes fall down quick. And the Revo is the most original console I have ever seen, but sadly the indie developer might not be on their minds right now.

As for X360 games that's a certain surprise. Can games be sold through it? Can Open-Source games as well work on it? Also remember, the X360 carries a hefty price, plus the cost of Xbox Live and the obligation of Broadband. The costs rise up swiftly. To many users that would be a tad bit high, and besides the input of the X360 is the same we have seen for over 20 years. Not much originality can appear from that (in the form on how we play games I mean). The controller of the Nexus is supossed to be different, with gyros inside and a touchpad. In fact, if with the current hardware especifications we have and the controller with all those features the price exceeds the limit of 119$ then I will gladly work on taking the specs down to accomodate to that price.

Overal: Nexus is cheaper and could be even more fun. Also, I would like a very easy to use SDK to be made. One meant for novice developers with little to no programming knowledge, and an advanced mode featured in it for more PRO developers with more experience. There's an amount of people out there that have great ideas for games but know little to no coding, this could help them.

Quote:Nexus is meant to be a secondary console.

Consumers already have a secondary machine which is able to play indie games. It's called a PC. Its processing power--even at the low end--is light-years ahead of your proposed specs, and it already has broadband connectivity.