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The Fall and Rise of Motion Control For Games
Eurogamer has a story about how the design of motion-control input devices has evolved over the years, ranging from the Nintendo Power Glove and Sega Activator up to modern devices like the Wii Remote and the upcoming projects by Sony and Microsoft. Now that the technology has caught up with the ideas, EA CEO John Riccitello said he expects motion-control gaming to rapidly expand, eventually occupying half the total games market. He said, "We almost invested to create a platform extension like that for some of the games we're working on. We're very pleased, frankly, that it showed up at Microsoft, because I'd rather them pay for that. They can leverage it better, and we can build software. But I felt the market wanted that technology and I'm glad it's coming."
not being all that useful. I'm sure glad the Wii controller is so much better.
I find it odd to hear EA talking about how motion controls will "someday" make up 50% of console gaming. Meanwhile the Wii has about 50% marketshare already according to stats put out by the big 3. Seems to me we are already at about 50%.
I'm sure it's great for party games and other casual things, but I can't imagine playing a first person shooter, or, God forbid a fighter. Can you imagine the conversations you'd overhear?
1st man : What's wrong with you?
2nd man : I'm knackered, I was playing Gears of War for an hour last night, I had to rearrange my living room to make adequate room for the cover spots.
1st man : Yeah, chainsawing is a bitch too
2nd man : Hey, where's Billy?
1st man : Didn't you hear? He was playing Street Fighter 4, did a screw pile driver and broke his Coccyx.
Summation 2
Does anyone else prefer just a standard controller?
Replace "motion controller" with "virtual reality" and see if you can remember reading this same article circa 1990.
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I want a kunfu game where my actions dodge or hit the enemies. And I don't want it to be cheesy where my moves are interpreted into a set move that could have been done with a joystick or keyboard. I want my punch's(or kick) velocity and hit placement to determine the damage dealt.
God spoke to me.
The Sixaxis, as utilized in the otherwise middling PS3 Super Smash Brothers clone Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic, does exactly what I'd hoped Nintendo would have done with SSB on the Wii.
The controls are generally as you would expect, but there are some wonderful little motion-based touches: Want to try pulling off a particularly big whack? You jolt the controller in the direction you're punching. Ground-pound area-of-effect attack? Jolt the controller downward as you punch.
Oh, and there's a "meditate" mode where you can float in the air, trading off becoming a sitting duck for some health regeneration -- you do this by flipping the controller upside down. Brilliant!
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O RLY?
I don't see a very practical use for all this motion control in turn-based strategy games - you know, the sort of games that work the mind rather than the reflexes. I suspect that increased availability of these devices and the technology will make FPS and "arcade" style games even more dominant than they already are. They will entice kids to "think with their hands" instead of their heads. It may be true that the majority are already inclined or predisposed to that, but it doesn't help shift the Bell Curve when Big Business panders to the median for the sake of profit rather than trying to help shift the median to the right a little.
You must realize that you are just taking numbers out of your ass.
Hey, its ok, Ive heard turds like Don Reisinger and Belmont (who works for PS3) say that the Wii isnt doing well about 18 months ago because 'the girlfriend' doesnt play it'.
That's really scientific research.
In our family, everyone uses the Wii.
And my wife actually has gotten off her ass and used the damn thing... maybe you should find a less lazy wife?
Most of the people that we know have Wii for one or two reasons:
1.Everyone in the family can play, even the non-gamer. (When granparents come over they always play taht Spielberg Jenga clone with the kids and the other grandad is thrileld that were buyin the new golf game)
2.Nintendo has the most non-killing games of any other console.
You may not like Big Brain, Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy, Blox, Tennis, PingPong and others but some people also dont want every game to be realistic games about killing.
Its a question of taste. I have some friends who think their youngs ones should play Smash Brothers brawl
while our toddler loves watching his olderst brothers play Diddy Kong and that big fat pink round ball character.
2 year olds love Mario as much as the 7 and 10 year olds..
Its like being gay and saying that you wouldnt bang Jessica Alba.
Yeah probably not buddy, but there is also many more who will.
I dont mean to say that my view is more correct but out of the dozen or more friends that have Wii, none have abandoned it so personal experience can not be extrapolated.
Oh yeah, all those people we know that have a Wii, all have kids under 12.
Coincidence?
I think not.
I don't see a very practical use for all this motion control in turn-based strategy games - you know, the sort of games that work the mind, but not the reflexes. They will entice kids to "think with their hands" in addition to their heads.
There. I fixed it for you.
But seriously, while I am disappointed the direction arcades, in general, have gone (all fps/racing/fighting; hardly any variation on themes), I don't think adding motion means that the games are going to be any more mindless. If you go from "A = Punch; B = Kick; C = Dodge" to "Thrust High = Punch; Thrust Low = Kick; Point up = Dodge", the game is just about as mindless, but it is at least more active.
Motion sensing opens up a whole new range of game possibilities. How much they suck is up to the people who make the games and the people who buy them.
I was playing a puzzle game on the Wii called Boom Blox. It's an idea similar to Jenga. You could have some something basic without motion sensing. But instead, you can have something with a rather impressive physics engine, such that understanding a thing or two about weight distribution and leverage can give you an edge. Here is a simple game where understanding and thought can give you a competitive edge.
As far as turn-based games go, I enjoy them a lot. There is nothing in a motion sensing controller that would prevent someone from making a turn-based game, and there are turn-based games for the current motion-sensing platforms.
As far as your subject, 'No use for TSB games'. There is still more possibilities with motion-sensing controls when it comes to giving your turns input. How much they make use of it depends on the developer and the game they are developing.
Does anyone else prefer just a standard controller?
The PS2 joystick is awesomely perfect.
PS3's R2/L2 are too far from the plastic, reducing response, it's heavier, and the sixaxis sometimes bothers when trying to play and sleep at the same time.
The XBox controller is a joke, it has SEGA like arrows, when you press right and it presses right+diagonals+up+down because of being physically connected, and playing Virtua Fighter is horribly difficult, even comparing to the PS2 joystick, and don't talk about the arcade version!
It also has the left analog in a hard position to reach, making one touch the arrows (at random).
The Wii controller is perfect for what it is for, Mario Galaxy, SSB, etc. But for action/RPG/FPS games is just dysfunctional.
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Riccitello pretending to have foresight and camouflaging the fact that EA is being reactionary here.
This is from the dude who's main idea is simply to pay top dollar for whatever was last year's hit.
Whatever.
In the fight between the three companies -The wii is well set up -Project natal certianly looks good -However I think that Sony's combination of the sixaxis eyetoy and wand will win over in the end.
Why do you think Sony will win? They just have a prototype now, with yet a lot of time to go until the product and software come out. Then Sony has an uphill battle to get the userbase to adopt motion controls (with no guarantee the userbase will be interested).
Nintendo already has the peripheral available at retail, some developed games launched and some waiting to be launched, a willing userbase, and a killer app to sell their motion controls with (Wii Sports Resort).
Anything could happen, but most likely Nintendo's WM+ will be much more successful than Natal or Sony's wand.
The AACS key is NOT 0xF606EEFD628B1CA427BEA93A9CA9773F
But I felt the market wanted that technology and I'm glad it's coming.
Stop astroturfing and "pretend" it's something we are all hyping for. I would be glad it's coming too but the fact is thousands of us already came. We saw, we came, we even put the Wii away and went back to the PC already. Leaving the Wii sit idly in the living room to entertain guests occasionally when we're out of the basement. But generally we got the idea, shall I say, virgin no more.
To beat the Wii remote, the giants needs something truly innovative, and not copying, tagging along, or improving chopsticks.
I found one on sale cheap. Tried it out. 8 infrared light beams that it would try to detect your hand or foot intercepting as a "high" or "low" event. Terribly useless. You couldn't play a game with it because trying to move your body to break light beams was so much slower than a handheld controller. Try to think about how fast you can move your thumb 1 cm compared to moving your your whole arm half a meter, let alone picking your foot up and moving it.
Suzie chapstick pushing that balance board thingie Waa-aay back when... then LIVE! with it's attempt to tie your actions on the video to ringing a bell /gong/drums etc et al...
"It's an imperfect world,screws fall out..."
Wii will win out in terms of sales this gen, but I think the tech sony is using may be the most cost effective in the long term. Natal's camera setup can't be cheep, and has an inherent tactile feedback issue. Nintendos is available now and works, but is costly as a setup, being $80 per player, for a full kit, and still isn't as capable. Sony's got the tactile response of Nintendo's, combined with the tracking/camera functions of MS.
It won't outsell the WM+, but I think it will hold it's own on the tech front. Sony's biggest issue with mo-cap controls in the past was generating a lot of games for it. If they really put muscle behind this one, they might have a winner on their hands in the long haul.
Still, I think it's kind of strange that Nintendo and Sony left accelerometers out of the DSi and PSP Go respectively... don't you?
On the other hand, DS has a touch screen which provide some (other) kind of natural gesture and point'n'click to the small screen configuration of a handheld screen.
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I'm very concerned about the implications physical interfaces will have on future geeks. If game controllers evolve to the point where the user is running, jumping, swinging their arms, etc... gamers will start to develop physical attributes not conducive to the geek culture. Take for instance the young and unawares teen who plays first person shooters for two hours per day. That amount of physical activity would leave the poor individual thin and buff. A person in that condition would NEVER fit in with a crowd of today's geeks. I say ban these devices before any harm can be done!
Having to work for a living is the root of all evil.
I think that because the eyetoy and ps3/wand combination will give users the most precise and easily controlable environment without limiting the experience. However I agree with you that nintendo has a definate advantage due to already being established in motion control.