If you didn’t think Nintendo was “on to something” with the Wii and DS by now, Bill Gates is on the scene to push you over the edge.
During a unique discussion with Apple’s Steve Jobs, Gates was asked about the future of interactivity with game consoles, and had this to say:
“Imagine a game machine where you can just pick up a bat and swing it or the tennis racket,” said Gates, to which Mossberg noted that one exists, referencing Wii Sports.
“No, no, that’s not it,” said Gates, “you can’t pick up your tennis racket and swing it, [‘Oh, I see what you mean,’ said Mossberg] you can’t sit there with your friends and do those natural things. That’s a 3D positional device, this is video recognition, this is a camera seeing what’s going on … the camera will be ubiquitous.”
Bill was snappy with his follow-up to Mossberg’s follow-up, leading many to believe he was ready for the question. Leading me to believe his plan is like all of Microsoft’s other plans from the past 20 years: take a great idea, throw a bunch of money at it, copy it, and then call it your own. It works most of the time (Windows), but not always (Zune). In this case, I don’t see Nintendo’s current hold on innovation and ease of use being loosened by some glorified Eye Toy. If anyone’s going to advance the technology put forth in the Wii and DS, then it’s going to be Nintendo, in my opinion.