Poll: Will Sony or Microsoft abandon gimmicks first?

[xPixelatedx]

We have two giants trying to paint themselves as semi-casual, a strategy that isn't working too well as most Move and Kinect games are considered the worse things these companies have ever produced. Obviously the start of the next gen will continue this trend as Microsoft has already confirmed the next Xbox is going to have Kinect built in, and we are all expecting to see Move/eyetoy/useless touchpad tomorrow. But here is an interesting question; how long will this last into the next gen? Between Microsoft and Sony, who will be the first to abandon this failed experiment? The reason why I am asking is because I think, even as of right now, they have only the world to gain. For either of these companies to go on stage at an E3 and say, "We are done with this silly business, our console will be home to only great and serious gaming". That would be received with cheers, wouldn't it? Suddenly one of them would look like the adult in the room when compared with their competitor, and they would gain popularity with this "mature" crowd they have changed every franchise to appeal to. The one who keeps going the course will appear arrogant and foolish, making their competition all the more appealing for not trying to shove useless crap down our throats.

So who is going to realize this first?

 

[Darks63]

It would be unlikely that either would drop the move gimmick for four reasons.

It would require them admitting they were wrong which is unlikely, That all the money used during development of the new consoles was wasted unlikely, they would take a hit from the fact that they advertised these features as a part of their consoles to stop supporting it after release would put a fair bit of egg on their faces, and finally they aren't gonna hand Nintendo a monopoly in the move market.

 

[mr141177]

Please add a neither option.
I'm rather firmly of the opinion that the business model that is being chased here is "We must have alllll the featuresss"

 

[lapan]

Funnily enough some of the actually decent move gimmick games are those they ported from the Wii:

House of the Dead Overkill and No More Heroes.

 

[Terramax]

None of them will.

All companies take a gamble on gimmicks, videogames or otherwise. Inventions wouldn't improve or diversify if they didn't.

What's concerning is when they force gimmicks onto us i.e. the Nintendo Wii.

Sure, the Kinect was a disaster, but at least 99% of games for the system didn't rely on you to own one. You could still play the majority of the games you played the way you wanted to without it.

 

[BrotherRool]

I'm definitely in the neither camp. Sony is the one thats more likely and the one that should do it, but given their habit of six-axis, Vita touchscreen etc I don't believe they actually will.

Microsoft feels more invested in the Kinect, they're bundling it with all the 360's they sell now and the tech is fairly impressive even if they haven't actually made a single game worth playing

 

[Maximum Bert]

Sony will imo and already have moved away from it relegating it to a side line while Microsoft have done the reverse and I am sure with Kinect built in they will be pushing harder than ever for games to use it even if they really dont need to.

I believe the touchscreen ideas are far less gimmicky than things like move, kinect and eyetoy at least its accurate for the most part and can actually be used to play games without knackering yourself out and looking like a retard oh and they dont need a huge space around you to use either.

Neither will announce they are abandoning it though especially Microsoft with them building it in Sony may quietly drop it I suppose but companies rarely admit that their idea was expensive gimmicky crap especially when they have already got people to buy it.

 

[Eddie the head]

Sony seams to be pushing it less. Witch is ironic given what I have heard about them.

 

[Strazdas]

Neither will drop it, because those gimmicks sell. like it or not, the average gamer likes them.

 

[Strelok]

who will be the first to abandon this failed experiment? The reason why I am asking is because I think, even as of right now, they have only the world to gain.

You need to have a neither option, cause you are asking which company will give up the cash cow first, and do you seriously see that happening? The casual crowd is where the money is at. Has Nintendo's repeated winning of the console "wars" not taught you anything? "Hardcore" or "Mature Adult" gamers as you seem to think they are, are not the console developers target demographic, and likely never will be.

For either of these companies to go on stage at an E3 and say, "We are done with this silly business, our console will be home to only great and serious gaming". That would be received with cheers, wouldn't it?

The first company to come out on stage and say something like that to their target demographic will also be the first company out of the console market.

Strange, makes me see even clearer the video game crash we are inevitably heading towards right now. What was most alarming is Nintendo's sales faulting on their new system. Having been around for the first crash, I can see some kind of developing pattern. For example, what changed even in our household in 1983-1984? Well we got our first PC, a Commodore 64. Suddenly the two gamers changed focus, my brother and I played on the computer rather than the consoles Atari 2600 and a Colecovision at the time. Parents were relieved as the TV could be used for what they believed it was intended for again, watching TV. The parallel now is the casual crowds focus is on mobility like phone and tablet gaming. Will be interesting to see how this pans out. Sorry was off on a bit of tangent there, but a good topic can do that, and it got me thinking.Will be interested to see how this pans out. See if my theory holds water, who knows its not 1983 anymore, could go a different direction.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I think Sony would quietly faze out Move before Microsoft does anything to retract Kinect. As OP said, it seems like the neXbox is going to integrate Kinect2.0 so it's unlikely to be removed at all. The Eye-toy and Move always seemed like an add-on kind of thing and since Sony products work well with Sony products (...I'm tired) I think it would be more likely that the PS4 would be able to use the current Move peripherals with next-gen games. The Move as an interface should be easy enough to integrate into a new system so there's less R&D for a new Move system. Given enough time and Sony will only be licensing E10 games for the thing until it's fazed out entirely.

 

[The_Scrivener]

I don't know who will do what but they're both morons for doing it at all. Sony's "Come to the market 8 years later" strategies drive me insane, a la, Playstation All-Stars. Stop with the uninspired knock-off crap.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Neither. Kinnect for Microsoft is a Gold Mine, and the PS4 is having a touch screen on it's controller, as well as a WiiU/Ipad type Controller. Point being, no one is giving up "Gimmicks". And heck, when did Touch Screens go back to being Gimmicks? Hasn't the DS, 3DS and the Ipod Series shown us you can do amazing things with Touch Screens that actually add to the experience?

 

[Sylveria]

Looks like the Wii-U is being the first to start to phase out the motion control gimmick. That said, I think Sony would be the first to drop it. From what we're hearing about the Xbox720, not only will the Kinect still be there, it will be improved and it will be a mandatory aspect of every game and program. Considering it barely works in its current state, they're going to need to do some drastic improvements to the device to make it worthwhile without shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Whitbane]

Looks like the Wii-U is being the first to start to phase out the motion control gimmick. That said, I think Sony would be the first to drop it. From what we're hearing about the Xbox720, not only will the Kinect still be there, it will be improved and it will be a mandatory aspect of every game and program. Considering it barely works in its current state, they're going to need to do some drastic improvements to the device to make it worthwhile without shooting themselves in the foot.

Meanwhile I'll be getting more friendly with PC gaming and Steam. Screw beta testing a crappy, broken product that only sells because they force it on us.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Neither are trying to adopt the casual gimmick-based approach wholeheartedly, that's what we have Nintendo for (zing), they just don't want potential customers to buy a Nintendo product because the option isn't there for Playstation or Xbox. So I don't think either will, as long as they are promoted elsewhere, but nor do I think they're both spiralling towards touch screens and motion controls integrated into every game and a controller that doubles as a sponge.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I doubt either will drop down the whole gimmick thing. But I would say Sony over Windows.

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

How does the very existence of the Kinect or the Playstation Move make the PS3 and 360 any less "serious" than they were when they first came out? You always have the option to, you know, not get the Kinect or Move. You only have a reason to complain if they make them an integral part of the way the console works, like the Wii. Otherwise you're just complaining about something that doesn't have to affect you if you don't want it to.

 

[barbzilla]

It won't ever happen from either company. The fact is almost 15% of the consoles they have sold are for home theater use as their primary function (will try to find the study when I get home and post it for the thread, but if someone has a chance before then please google it for me). While that isn't a lot, it is still a substantial amount of installed systems that pay for features (even if they don't pay for games). Of that market it is estimated about 1 in 5 will eventually try a game and like it, another 1 in 5 will try a game and not like it (I'm guessing the other 3/5 don't give a crap).

Hell I am basically only using my 360 as a Home Theater device. I use netflix, hulu plus, and xfinity on demand with my 360, and only play a game on it once or twice a month. I tend to do 90% or more of my gaming on my computer (mostly because I work from my computer and when I get board out comes the game folder).

 

[Druagamaniac]

not sure who will go first but they'll probably drop them a year or so after nintendo does (or in other words when hell freezes over)