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LFTE: Video Gaming Is On The Move (May 10)
May's letter is sure to ruffle some feathers, so I look forward to mass discussion (destruction?) in the comments.
I like to think that I’m right all the time, but I remember the times I was wrong a lot more. I could bore you with my poor predictions over the years, but you have better things to do with your time (like read about all the great games in this issue). I do want to mention, however, the name that is most commonly associated with my mistakes – Nintendo.
I literally laughed out loud at the Wii when I first heard what Nintendo had planned for its next console. The name, the design, the lack of HD – everything about the idea screamed that Nintendo had lost its marbles. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Nintendo Wii ended up changing video games forever, and, to some degree, dominating the market this generation. It’s made such an impact that Sony and Microsoft are releasing their own answers to the motion control-based innovator this year, almost four years after the Wii’s release.
I’ve played many games on the Wii, and while it does a fantastic job of making games more immersive through movement, I don’t believe it’s the future. Wii MotionPlus or not, the current technology fails to deliver the precision I’m looking for in my games. I can interact quickly by pointing or using other gestures, but the motion controller still lacks intuitiveness when navigating 3D game space. You move like a Frankenstein monster, not the master ninja gamers want to become.
This is why it feels to me more like a stopgap between the traditional analog controller and the controller of tomorrow. It makes me wonder why Microsoft and Sony are focusing so much energy trying to capture the magic and market that Nintendo is already dominating.
In fact, I would wager that Nintendo’s next interface will be less Wii-like in design. I don’t believe a wand and nunchuk are our future, nor is the controller-less Natal platform Microsoft is developing. I have a sneaking suspicion that Nintendo doesn’t believe that either, and is working on a new controller innovation for its next system. (This is when you need to refer back to the opening paragraphs about how I’m wrong about Nintendo…a lot.)
One thing is certain: the industry is convinced the connection between the gamer and the game is paramount, and will travel down any road to push games to the next level of interaction. I believe we are in the learning phases of bridging this gap in a more sophisticated way, and will look back on touchscreen interfaces, 3D glasses, and Wii remotes in the future and laugh at how silly we were. Until then, I’ll take a good standard issue controller any day of the week.
Enjoy the issue. Cheers.
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