When the Wii was first unveiled, and the Wiimote shortly thereafter, I was enticed with Nintendo’s promise of a revolution. Little did I know that that revolution would have little to do with me, the loyal lifelong gamer, and have more to do with the player who hadn’t picked up a controller in decades, or even those who never picked one up in their entire lives. This “revolution” brought back gaming to its roots but left little room for the hardcore class of gamers who had long since been grown custom to increased difficulty levels and shiny polygons. Sure, Wii Sports was fun, and so was Wii Fit, but a game like Red Steel left much to be desired for the older players who expected more from a game that was a part of this so-called revolution. Gamers agreed that even Zelda: The Twilight Princess was better experienced on the Gamecube than on the Wii, and since then there haven’t been many hardcore titles that have wow’d or even garnered well deserved attention from older players.
But now here we are in 2010, nearly 4 years since the start of the revolution, and the Wii has such a major lead over the competition that it’s hard to say that Nintendo hadn’t already won this generation’s console war right from the get go. Currently, the Wii has sold over 70 million systems worldwide, where as the 360 and PS3 haven’t even hit the 40 million mark individually, and that’s with Nintendo doing without big titles such Modern Warfare 2, Halo 3, and Uncharted 2. So it’s no wonder that both Sony and Microsoft are entering into the motion control business hoping to find the same success the Wii managed to have. Though what I’m curious to see is what will these new control schemes bring to the table that will become lasting standards, not just fads that are made to take advantage of what Nintendo has paved the road with.
Xbox 360’s Project Natal
Of the two new techs shown last year at E3 I can see Natal being the overall better product. I’m afraid I don’t see much potential when it comes to actually playing games, though Hideo Kojima and Keiji Inafune, creators of Metal Gear and Mega Man respectively, seem to be absolutely giddy over the possibilities Natal brings – and maybe that’s why I’m no developer. Yes, I saw the Ricochet demo and although it looks very fun I don’t see how that can translate into games that require much complexity – when it comes to that you’re going to need a controller of some sort to communicate things you can’t with only your body gestures. But speaking of gestures, what I feel Natal’s true strength is its ability to detect faces, movement, and even voice commands. That, I feel, is what will make Natal a lasting and permanent addition to not just the Xbox, but to all consoles, from this generation onward. Gestures will bring new ways to navigate through menus, and talking to your console will be a ordinary, everyday thing. We all remember the 80’s when people had a fascination for turning stuff on with their voice; people have been dying for the time when they can walk into a room, sit down and say, “Xbox On”.
Playstation Move
Ahh yes, the Wiimote’s older, more mature self. That’s all I see the Move being – just the evolution of the Wiimote. It’s everything Nintendo wanted their controller to be but couldn’t get on their first crack at it, but is this what gamers want? Here’s my issue with the Move: I don’t care. Yeah, I said it. I don’t care if SOCOM 4 can use motion controls, because when and if I do play it I’m going to use a normal controller… not the Move. Sony is simply saying that they have the hardcore motion titles that Nintendo Wii owners have been wanting – y’know, the ones with HD graphics and true 1:1 movement. But here’s the thing Sony, hardcore players don’t want motion controls in their games, period. So I don’t see how having this will make it that much more appealing to own a PS3. Sony doesn’t have anything much invested in the younger demographic (except LBP) since they spent a good portion of their last 3 years trying to show how big and bad they were, while Xbox has been steadily making improvements to make itself a family console (avatars, 1 vs. 100, channel interface). The PS3 is a lifeless machine with no soul, and the Move I’m afraid will not change this. Sony doesn’t have the synonymous name that Nintendo has when it comes to family gaming. And when it comes to making anything standard I can’t think of anything Sony is coming up with originally here. Move is not trying to move gaming forward; it’s only trying to improve on another company’s technology. And if that’s what Sony is after – trying to grab a hold of that older Wii market – then I think they’re a little too late seeing as Wii already has more than double the sales of their console even with their non-1:1 technology.
Predictions aside, however, I really can’t wait to see what this year’s E3 brings. Both Microsoft and Sony will be fighting for attendee’s attention, trying to showcase what the other ones can’t. But ultimately, what I think will make or break these new methods of gaming interaction will be their lasting impact. If Natal or Move can introduce features that become standard then I think we’ll see that all this experimenting with motion was not all for naught. In the near future perhaps we’ll be experiencing games in a whole new way all due to what we’ve been toying around with today. It reminds me a bit of that scene in Back to the Future 2 when Marty travels to the year 2015 and plays the Wild Gunman arcade and some kid tells him, “Oh you have to use your hands? That’s like a baby’s toy!” I can see this happening for real, maybe even in time for 2015; Whether it’s wireless motion controllers, a Natal-like camera, or even something completely different, I think we’ve come to a point where people are no longer satisfied with just having a plastic controller with a thousand buttons on it.
