After Reginald Fils-Aime noted in an interview that Nintendo has shipped a thousand Revolution development kits — with controllers — to developers, IGN has posted details on the kits based on their interviews with developers.
Nintendo has, so far, shipped three versions of their development kit to third parties. The first version was, as IGN puts it, "a GameCube console with a wired Revolution controller attached". The second was a tweaked version of the first, and the third showed some performance improvements.
A fourth kit is rumored only to have been sent to "big-name publishers" and boasts hardware much closer to what developers are expecting of the Revolution. In preparation for E3 2006, folks that plan on showing software at the show should soon be getting their hands on yet another revision of the kit, reportedly with "90-95%" of the Revolution's final capacity. Completed kits are expected in June.
Developers seem unconcerned with the Revolution's lack of sheer power, as it were; most seem to be saying that even though they acknowledge that it's no Xbox 360, the possibilities of the controller trump the loss of power. Familiarity with GameCube development allows developers to get off the ground quickly, as the kits are very similar.
The kits are currently going for about $2,000, which is thousands of dollars cheaper than what a developer could expect to pay for a PSP kit, let alone a kit for a PS3 or an Xbox 360. Developers expect the Revolution to sell for no more than $200, and many don't think it's a far-fetched proposition that the system will launch at $150.
Revolution doesn't yet have its official name — Reggie says it's still a code name — but the console is slated for a launch this fall.