Console Gaming

[Randomologist]

I think Yahtzees' on to something about not getting the player physically involved. There are times where I would love to smash a heavy battle-axe into what used to be someone's face, but apart from the likelihood of me hitting the chandelier (again) or scaring the cat, I don't get an innate feeling of control. I am not the character, I am an entity controlling by proxy, with my character swinging wildly because I hit something, and getting his bollocks bitten off while I scrabble around for the controller that I dropped. Then again, I am somewhat clumsy IRL, I think I might have touched on that.

 

[MasterChief892039]

Although James Portnow is probably the person I respect most in this conversation, I find myself agreeing mostly with Yahtzee, at least in terms of opinion on motion controls. I've been gaming with controllers and buttons for some 13 years, it's a good system and it works. If I didn't like that experience, I obviously wouldn't have come back to gaming, nor would the other millions of gamers in the world.

That's not to say that I'm not open to innovation in console gaming, or that I don't think motion gaming has it's place (the sale figures don't lie), but I just don't see any reason to make the move from buttons to motion.

 

[oneshotfinchy]

Good stuff. On a slight tangent to the train of thought, does anybody else disagree with the "this is just the last generation in HD" notion? Wouldn't that made the PS2/Xbox/GC generation "just the PS1 generation but better looking"?

The PSWii60 generation has brought us a number of innovations, more fleshed out UIs, online market places, more meaningful and expanded online components and more processing power to tool around with (at least for the PS3/360).

The most the PS2 did was more processing power.

 

[jokulhaups]

I always suspected that one day The Escapist would just pile all their big name talents into one piece and let them have at it. Looking forward to seeing what sort of topics are to come.

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

Well damn, this came out of nowhere...

...and it made my day.

Throw Shamus into the mix and you might just destroy the universe. Whoever thought this one up deserves a medal.

 

[Mumorpuger]

Official suggestion: SKYPE THESE GUYS!

I'd pay money to see that. Coincidentally, I'm already paying money to see this hypothetical video in high-res.

 

[House_Vet]

Personally, I'm right with it up to the point where James and Yahtzee decided that sports are better when players are not physically exerting themselves... ummmm nah, sorry not to me. We all have a wonderful little switch that turns on our endogenous endorphins in response to exercise. Blood, sweat and tears are SATISFYING when rewarded, crushing when not, but the stakes make it better. And if that makes me a masochist so be it (I'm not really, for anyone who's wondering).

 

[Darth IB]

Whoever came up with this idea is a genius.
It was a great read, and I can't wait for the next instalment.

 

[(=Nemesis=)]

anc[is]Dear Escapist, what would you consider your best source of positive reinforcement? Because I want you to continue this behavior.

Spoiler: Possible Positive Reinforcement

Yeah, you know, oddly that doesn't really do much for me. So you might want to rethink your approach.

Bother! Now we'll never see another one! Cuurrrse youuuu Francis...!!

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

Yes! This is exactly what I wanted to see. I would have liked to hear more from James though. Hopefully this becomes a regular thing.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Existential uncertainty? I like it. XD

An interesting discussion here. Oddly enough, I'd have to side with Yahtzee on what makes a good motion-controlled game, but not nessesarily on his reasons for disliking it.

But whatever. I have my own crazy dreams, and they have nothing much to do with this conversation.

Still, makes for an interesting read regardless.

What, precisely would happen if you locked this lot in a room together anyway? XD

 

[SpaceMedarotterX]

Neural Interface woudl have to have an auto Log Out sequence, I mean that is something that kinda scares me for what it could lead to

 

[Skarlette]

This is amazing. I love that you guys have started an article that is an actual dialogue between different people about a topic. That it has James, MovieBob and Yahtzee as your starting lineup... definitely the crowd to get the masses interested. ^_^

I really hope you continue with this, and involve other members of the Escapist Staff and gaming/development community. I love the articles and insights you guys have into the gaming world, but dialogues between people are always more interesting and gives people the chance to hear different opinions and beliefs and respond in interactive ways.

Being on another continent, this is the closest thing I'll have to a gaming convention panel. Win! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Raven_Operative]

This article (and its coming series) are now officially more awesome than Chuck Norris on crack.

 

[Razhem]

Yathzee, though having a solid point is only looking at things as a gamer. The reason the Wii has been such a hit in the casual market is because a person that has never played a videogame, sees in the wii something that makes "sense". To hit the ball with the racket, you take a swing (and in a well done game, depending on how you move the racket you do a volley or a smash), though long time gamers can do this perfectly with 4 buttons, people that aren't used to them get confused and to an extent baffled by the concept of button configurations, it just isn't as obvious.

Or to put it bluntly, do people actually believe Apple is so successful because of it's products being high quality? Hell no, but what they are is accessible, incredibly so where pretty much anyone can grab one and make sense of one of their products. Basically, the game industry is a lot more than the usual closet gamers that have been powning since the late 80s early 90s and that is the big reason why motion gaming isn't a waste not should be discarded so easily.

On the other hand, yes, the ideal interface will be pure orders given by the mind since that type of input will make perfect sense for both gamers and non gamers and I will welcome it with awe and terror like our new robotic overlords.

 

[walsfeo]

Gesture controls are still in their infancy, and as the technology improves expect more. It'd be neat to use specific hand gestures to cast selected spells or perform more intricate actions, and I know that's in the future.

I hope the real future will be interactive 3d. Not the kind that requires a special TV or wonky glasses, but as I move my body the real perspective shifts on screen.


The best thing I ever enjoyed from the Wii was the separate controllers for two handed Mario Kart racing. Much better than the single controller, though the waggling isn't as important to me as all that.

 

[Vault101]

So....PC gaming is dying and console gaming is creativly bankrupt?....oh dear

 

[Shinx]

Holy nuts.
This is the greatest idea in all of space.
Epic idea, man, hope too see more.

 

[Frostbite3789]

I stopped reading at the "$60 roster update". Clearly Bob has never played an EA Sports NHL game in his entire life. Thanks for pigeon-holing me though!

 

[Zyphonee]

I saw the title and I almost cried. It's a dream team.


If we're gonna go into the viscerals of motion peripherics, I can almost assure they won't live long past this generation. It's Nintendo's market campaign; they don't intend for the Wii to have be a rebruttal to the other two massive consoles in the market at the moment; Nintendo's console is economic genius.


We would have to first take the economic position of games nowadays. In order to make what one would label as a AAA game, a lot of money must be involved in the project, now more than ever, to meet acceptable standards regarding audio and graphical fidelity; with that in mind, Nintendo did one of the most sneaky and genius moves any system has ever done, the offered a gimick that appeals to massive amounts of people, merely because of the fact that it's something new that no one had ever seen before, besides, it's price makes it efurthermore appealing to people who are buying their first "next-gen" console. The main problem with the Wii is that despite being very easy to market and sell, it doesn't have much long-term appeal. I know my Wii has been gathering dust, completely unused (No, don't even make a joke about it), and although it had the best numbers, only a third of the people who bought it still play it regularly; this obviously disencourages 3rd party development even more than the lack of processing power does.

The PS3 and Xbox's new periphericals are pretty much the same, only that it is most likely that they are relying on this sort of short-term appeal to convince players of buying the add-on. It's not something that they expect people to go crazy over, it'll die after a while, leaving nothing but a reminisce of embarrassing movements and a lot of money for it's developers.

Is it the future of gaming? Absolutely not, but is it a smart business operation? Extremely. Nintendo, being the first ones to do this, are already controlling most of the demographic and therefore will make the most profit, but it certainly won't be a loss for Sony and Microsoft.