Now With Motion Controls!

Since E3 has already passed and now the roar of both angry and happy fan boys and journalists everywhere has become only the sound of tears I figured it was a perfect time to discuss what seems to be the flavor of the week for this generation: Motion Controls. I can’t honestly say that I’m excited about these new ideas. Maybe my problem is that I grew up with a controller and as much as I want to love the idea of a new way to play games I just don’t see it being the way that I want to play my games. The fact is that they’re really going to have to try hard for my gaming dollars especially since my Wii is collecting more dust as each day passes and I grow a bit more cynical and my heart breaks a little more and now I’m depressing myself so let’s move on!

So, we’ll start with the little white box that is really the only option if you want to spike someone’s head with a yield sign and then go groom a dog with “real petting motions!”™. I’ve been a bit confused by Nintendo’s Wii Motion-Plus accessory and the reasoning behind it. If I remember correctly when the company was first touting this system around as the ultimate in entertainment they were showing off the responsiveness of the motion sensor and how accurately movement was tracked. The accessory, which supposedly allows for a true 1:1 tracking experience, is really only meant to appease to sports games and third-party titles since Nintendo has proven with titles like Metroid Prime and Mario Galaxy that proper use of the hardware is possible. The product just seems pointless this late in the game and honestly seems like something that should have been built into the system all along with how strongly their ad-campaign was for it in the first place. I also don’t see this being an accessory people will buy for all four of their controllers and I’m almost afraid that this technology will go the way of some of Nintendo’s other current ideas on improving your Wii experience where there will be very few games that use it correctly or even at all. On that note is there another game other than Animal Crossing utilizing the Wii Speak yet? No? Fantastic. It also makes a full controller (Wii remote, nunchuk, and now motion+ add-on) $80 so for a full set plus the system you’re looking at a more expensive console than the PS3 with an extra controller and an HDMI cable. Of course, all of the accessories that don’t come as a default are completely optional for both systems so that makes it a bit of a moot point.

Moving on down the line we come to Microsoft and its motion sensing little creation that is rumored to be due out next year – Project Natal. While this project seems like an interesting take on motion controls I feel like it could have such better promise outside of the entertainment world. The videos showing them moving through menu screens and the 360’s dashboard seem like the best use of the technology so far. Could you imagine class rooms, board rooms, and presentations with this technology available to use? That seems like a better way to use it then giving me a Burnout game where all I can do is move my foot up and down for forward and reverse and steer with an imaginary wheel. In comparison with the other motion projects it also looks a bit pricier: multiple webcams, independent processors, this thing seems like a console in itself (which may be fueling the fires on certain rumors that Microsoft is releasing an improved console). If I have to spend as much money as I do on the system in order to have motion controls, I’m really just not going to be interested and probably neither will casual gamers who aren’t looking to drop a couple hundred extra dollars on something for their system. Also, unlike the Wii and the Playstation 3’s ideas on game play Microsoft has chosen to completely remove the controller and instead allows you to be the controller yourself. This idea seems like it could cause problems if not for the hardware or software then for the players themselves. It’s going to be interesting to see the evolution of this piece and see just how well it will actually track you when a lot more is involved than just driving motions or swipes.

The last in line is Sony’s with the inventive name of “Sony Motion Controller” which, by the way, just screams innovation in the name alone. When I see this offering, which is comprised of two wands that work with the Playstation Eye, I can’t help but feel a little sad and anxious at the same time at the comic possibilities. I mean when I see the two wands I immediately picture the video of the kid with the light saber flailing about. The idea that it can re-pixel the wands to look like whatever it needs to on screen is an interesting idea but just doesn’t seem as horribly innovative since the Wii came out. I wish I could talk more about it and what it does but there really wasn’t much more to say. It seems like it will work as a kind of combination of both Nintendo and Microsoft’s ideas in a sense except that you’ll be on screen as the main character and instead of a wand in your hand it will be a gun or something else along those lines that further ruins a child’s chance to build their imagination. Also, I can’t wait to see the Japanese game offerings for their new “dating” simulations that they seem to enjoy so very much.

Actually, yeah, I can wait for that one because frankly it’s scary.