Nintendo held a media briefing for the Japanese press today, according to IGN.com. In this briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed more on the company's next-generation home console codenamed Revolution.
According to IGN's translation, Iwata says that from a technical standpoint all NES, Super NES and N64 games can work with the system. Despite this, Nintendo has not yet announced what titles will be available. Iwata said that pay downloads will be the standard for the service. However, there may also be several other methods used such as free limited time downloads or free complimentary downloads for purchasing new games.
The downloads will be stored in 512 megabytes of flash memory. If this space is filled, users can transfer downloads to an SD memory card or use a PC to manage files. Iwata reiterated that copy protection is in place. Iwata said the company chose flash memory over a hard disk because it is more durable, reliable and cheaper. The flash memory could also potentially be used to save game data, update the Revolution firmware, and download Revolution demos.
Iwata reiterated that Revolution will also be fully backwards-compatible with the GameCube -- this includes the Wave Bird controller, GCN memory cards, Mario Party microphone, Dance Dance dance pad, and Donkey Konga bongos.
There is more news to come regarding Revolution. Iwata mentioned three specific areas of the system that have yet to be revealed. This includes the controller, the console price and release date and the software lineup. Nintendo has forgone releasing these details for competitive reasons but intends to shed more light on them before year's end.