I shudder to think where video games would be today without Wii. There would still be games worth playing, but the focus on control, new ideas, and the realization of fresher experiences wouldn’t be as pronounced as they are now.
Like d-pads and analog sticks, motion control is now standard. Well, sort of. While Sony and Microsoft are expected to launch their motion controlling gadetry for PS3 and Xbox 360 next year, both products are add-on devices, not required devices like the Wii Remote is to the Wii. That will make it difficult for both Sony and Microsoft to rebrand their consoles that once scoffed at motion. Although often a portend of things to come, add-on products can never revolutionize an industry.
Nevertheless, I’m excited to see where these technologies go, especially as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft ready their next consoles, which will have evolved motion control pre-programmed into their DNA. Imagine the possibilities, especially with all three companies trying to outdo each other. Should be fun.
On a side note, no other medium evolves as radically as video games’just one of the reasons that makes them so exciting to be a part of. So what do you think next-generation motion control will be like? What do you hope to see?
I actually think we aren't going to see anything majoro from Sony or Microsoft past thier copy capt BS we are going to see next year. Neither of them will succeed based on the fact they aren't standard, they are going to be expensive (another SKU is coming?!) and I have yet to hear one person I know who owns a 360 or a PS3 be like, "OMG, can't wait to get Natal/or Sony's MC."
Nintendo next console is going to blow us away with something, but it will have to be simple. Every person is going to have to think they can use it. Might be something we where to keep track of our chest or head, but it's not going to be complicated.
And Nintendo, if they have any common sense, will have a huge hard drive and upgrade the graphics to the point where third parties can put their games on all 3 systems without having to down port. Had this problem not occured, PS3 and 360 would have been dead and buried by now.
^^^
Apparently there are some people who are excited for Natal (although I don't know why); most that like it won't pay as much as MS is probably going to make you pay.
HELLLOOOOOO MCFLYYYYYYY
what's funny is that my gamign experience is more enhanced by the (somewhat delayed) onset of the HD era. HD and surround sound gaming is far more important to me than new exciting controls.
Natal doesn't excite me. I don't own a wii. And most of the games I am looking forward to are just prettied up versions of stuff we've seen before- though I do think the prettier aspect does come with deeper gameplay.
I do like my Ds though. I just hope the next gen doesnt force me to waive my arms.
also *shudder* to think
i think natal looks awesome. dont think ill get it. infect thats what my mate all so, looks wicked. but not gonna get it. though dont no might change my mind when see how much it is and what game will be on it.
something i think when you experience youll love it- alai wii remote.
like even just pushing the menu looks fun.
the playstation thing on the other hand, combined with the eye toy could be awesome.
natal and the playstation wand both are better than the wii remote,
but the eye toy was and is awesome idea and innovation, but i dont think that has become a huge hit….?
and nothing else like it is around
so youd think everyone who has a playstation would have it?
dont no aha
You dont have a wii deepthought!? You must get one! Like right now! Or maybe in a little while. For the low low price of $199.99, you can enjoy great games like muramasa, deadspace extraction, metroid prime trilogy. And you can also expirence games like ninja bread man, chicken shoot and ultimate duck hunting 😀
Here's my observation:
Video games became big in the late 70s early 80s in arcades.
Console gaming systems helped bring the fun to your living room, but for over 15 years, the arcade experience trumped what the home systems could do.
Eventually the home experience was as good and then better than what was happening in the arcades, so arcade games became more like simulators. DDR or games that involved special physical controls not available at home offered something you didn't get on your PS2.
Nintendo busts out the Wiimote and now the home system is better than the arcade again.
I don't know that arcades will find a way to offer something the home systems don't now, but at the end of the day, it's the games that really matter. If the game is fun, addictive, and simple to control (regardless of pushing a button or swinging a wand), you'll get more people buying your product.
There will always be a grand epic for the "hardcore" gamer, but the new market is really the classic market .. the person who doesn't consider himself to be any sort of gamer but wants to have fun playing a video game from time to time. Pick-up-and-play is the way of the future, as it was in the past.
Not sure you can call it standard yet, it works on Wii, yes, but it's unproven for the rest of the industry, i.e. hardcore gamers. Microsoft have said that Natal will be mainly aimed at the casual market, they want Nintendos market.
The Wii is fun, but the hardcore side of me thinks it epicly failed, hence I bought my first non-Nintendo console this year, the PS3.
Motion control is fun, but should never be a standard.
yh i ended up buying an xbox, thinking to ask for a ps3 slim for xmas since the price is right now. =)
I don't know, Blake. Motion-control is not the reason Wii has been such a phenomenon. And that is a lesson MS and Sony are going to learn very soon.
Wii is not about motion-controls. Nintendo didn't set out to create a motion-controlled console. Wii is a solution to the problem of a shrinking market. Those of us who roam the internet may be fooled into thinking the videogame industry was healthier than ever, but that is simply not the case. Wii was created to lower the barrier of entry into videogames, expand the market and create more customers for Nintendo to sell to. Motion-control was an afterthought.
Motion-control was simply the method they went with. The DS is a similar example. Touchscreen/motion-control lowers the barrier that a complicated dual-axis controller presents to the non-gamer. It is not the method of control, but the simplicity. The method of control could be anything; holograms, brain waves, cameras, VR, Balance Board, as long as it was simple for the non-gamer to understand, and had interesting software to exploit it. This is the point that MS and Sony fail to realize.
I doubt MS or Sony will be ready to introduce new hardware and start from an installed base of ZERO again anytime soon. They will release their new motion-controls and blame the market when they don't sell. When Nintendo is ready, they will release a new machine that goes in an entirely new direction. Motion will be a part of it, I'm sure, but I expect something as completely outlandish as Wii seemed in 2006.
@rdaneel72
and the audience applauds… well at least I do.
Im applauding too 😀 im loving that i get to play wii with pepole that arent super core extreme gamers. The pepole i know that own HD systems dont even wana play with me because the wii is for babies and grandma.
Kudos to Nintendo to get the ball rolling.
All these technologies will ultimately converge and we'll end up with body / limb tracking combined with a 3D headset for a full immersive experience.
That's where we are headed. Personally, I can't wait…
The Wii was an experiment. It succeeded on a level even Nintendo never imagined.
I'm just curious, will the next console from Nintendo be ANOTHER experiment? Or will it be an evolution and a safer bet?
As long as Uncharted 3 is motion control free, I'll be happy. Hope both control methods thrive next gen.