Katamari Creator Critical of Revolution

Gamasutra has an article on Keita Takahashi's reaction to the Revolution controller. From the article: "Takahashi commented of the Revolution, which has drawn widespread praise for its underlying concepts from other Eastern and Western designers: 'I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games.' He continued: 'I see what [Nintendo is] trying to do, but they're putting such emphasis on the controller; 'Woah, this controller lets you do this!' and I'm thinking - are you messing with us?'"

Comments

What Evokes These Comments?

[eldavojohn]

Seriously, during an interview does anyone actually think before they speak? It's almost like any new interview must end/start with an encouragement to say anything at all offensive or shocking so that the interview will be read by a wider audience. And it's kind of disgusting.

"I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games."

A lot of the games that are released are cookie cutter games that are slaves to the limitations of the hardware. I welcome a new kind of controller. In fact, I would be tempted to say that you're narrow minded if you're not ready to try a completely new kind of controller.

He continued: "I see what [Nintendo is] trying to do, but they're putting such emphasis on the controller; 'Woah, this controller lets you do this!' and I'm thinking - are you messing with us?"

Takahashi, who has not yet announced his current post-Katamari game project or its platform, concluded on the subject of the Revolution: "So, there's nothing I really want to do with it right now."

I sincerely hope this was taken out of context or misquoted otherwise I would mod this article as flamebait.

It's new. It obviously has new capabilities. How about you use your imagination instead of your tongue?

Impact of controllers

[JediLow]

Controllers have always impacted the way people play games - the gamepad revolutionized games (all of those games we had on the original NES and since then aren't practical to play on paddles), the top triggers added to that (allowing for greater control in games), the analog stick greatly added (and became pretty much required for 3d games)... If you want to take another example - take the DDR games... would they be possible without their special controller?

paradoxical comment

[0biter]

i find it funny that he claims that "nintendo is making all about the controller" because what nintendo is trying to do is rather make the human/machine interface disappear. as it stands, current controllers are totally abstracted: "press A to do this; press B to do that". the player has to take the time to learn what really has no context, thus making it *all about the controller*. now with good software, you just roll the Revo controller to move front, back left and right, swing your sword or toss you fishing lure; the software is what has to understand the context of the humans natural movements. this makes the game more about the human and less about the controller.

Not deep enough?

[RyoShin]

I'm not really interested in it. I don't think a controller should have that much influence on the enjoyment of games.

The controller has everything to do with the enjoyment of games, because that's how you interact with them. If this statement was really true, we'd all be using controllers like the Colecocision and other such monstrocities from the early 1980s. Look, it has nine buttons AND A KNOB! What more could you possibly ask for? And it's a sturdy, small design, so it can easily be stored.

Can you make enjoyable games with the current controllers? Hell yeah. But the Revolution contoller is about immersion as much as it is about enjoyment. Instead of sending an instruction to your character to swing the sword (passive second person) you actually move your arm to swing the sword (active first person), which will make people much more interested if they actually play the game instead of watch it.

Let's say you like playing sports. Which would you rather do? Be the coach who sits in the box and tells the batter when to swing, or be the batter and decide when you want to swing?

Games will be made on the PS3, 360, and Revolution that are enjoyable. But games will only be made for the Revolution that are immersable, which just compounds the enjoyment.

The King of All Cosmos says...

[RobertB-DC]

Konichi-wa! Have you ever been to Tokyo?

We dropped the controller there. It just fell out of Our hands while We were playing. Just slipped right out.

We hope you can visit during the day's rolling. Like that's possible.

If We were designing the controller, We would have made it much bigger.

Wow a sony dev has no interest in Nintendo? SHOCK

[grapeape]

Keita Takahashi has never developed anything outside of PS2 and PSP titles so why is this a surprise? Whats next, an interview where Bungie declares it lack of desire to port halo to the ps3?

As for the controller, I believe Nintendo's goal isnt to focus on the controller but to make the controller something you dont have to think about. I really think they have the right idea and if its done well, it will revolutionize the game industry. Imagine an interface that has virtually no learning curve. People that have never gamed before will be attracted to it after learning its as easy as using a remote control. As a bonus, educators and parents groups will praise it because it not only encourages but requires physical activity. I really think the hardcore gaming community is really underestimating what Nintendo is bringing to the table.