More Words With 1080up's Jeff Rivera
August 01, 2005
A little over a month ago I had the chance to ask Jeff Rivera of the 1080up movement some questions regarding his drive to convince Nintendo to add high definition support to the upcoming Nintendo Revolution console. Now that some time has passed I wondered just how the 1080up drive was progressing, so Jeff was kind enough to answer a few more questions. From the sound of things the movement may just be, well, moving.
How is the campaign going? Do you feel that 1080up is having an impact?
Things are going great. We are still receiving many visitors that are following the steps to make their voices heard. In the past month since we started, we've received countless appreciation letters from people all over the world for what we're doing. I've also noticed that forum users across several message boards are linking to 1080up.org in their signatures which puts a smile on all of our faces.
Have you heard from anybody at Nintendo regarding the 1080up movement?
Not directly, but our IP log shows they have taken notice. A close friend of mine (sorry I can't give out any more details than that) who is on the inside of one of Nintendo's technology partners informed me that Nintendo is now considering putting HD into the Revolution, and it is their toughest decision at this point. It would require asking a lot out of ATI right now because their original design didn't plan for HD support.
If you sift through Matt Cassamassina's mailbags over at IGN, you'll find him saying the same thing.
Third-party developers also have a stake in whether or not the Revolution supports HDTV. Have you made contact with any of them? Do you believe that third-party influence at this stage could change Nintendo's decision?
I believe the message is getting out to 3rd parties about what we're trying to do. We haven't contacted any 3rd parties, but we hope that they are pressuring Nintendo all the same. Mr. Takeuchi, of Capcom, recently released a statement about Resident Evil 5 saying, "This is something that can only be done with high definition visuals."
Now I don't know what he intends on doing about people who don't own HDTV sets yet, but at least we can see that they are very serious about the next-generation platforms having high-definition capabilities. We hope that statements like this reach Nintendo and cause them to re-evaluate their current stance on HD support. 3rd party support is vital to a strong library.
What is the next step in the 1080up movement? Where do you go from here?
The movement is sort of in a wait and see mode right now with Nintendo. But things are still alive and well. Where we go from here depends on the community and how strongly they feel about HD support as we do. As you can see, people are taking notice. As long as we can maintain a sustained interest, Nintendo will be able to see that HD support is a real desire of its fans, not just a fad or buzzword. I ask your readers who support us to not give up and keep those letters to Nintendo coming!
Jeff also sent along a list of companies who have been reading the 1080up website in addition to Nintendo. While this does not mean that these companies are going to take an official stand on the Revolution's lack of HD support, it is interesting to see which developers and publishers out there have employees that are interested in the cause.
- Activision
- Capcom
- Electronic Arts
- Gamespy
- IBM
- Koei
- Konami
- Lucasfilm
- Microsoft
- Namco
- Sony Computer Entertainment America
- Ubisoft