The long-term impact of motion control
Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 12:19pm by Blake
If someone’s not complaining about Wii in the short term, they’re complaining about Wii in the long term. G4 on Wednesday ran a shallow piece about the effect that Wii, and to a larger extent, standing up to play games may have on future generations. A father of three wrote in, citing the tired “Wii is for kids, real gamers play 360/PS3″ elitist slant, but he jokingly shared something that I thought was pretty funny.
“In ten years I’m going to be telling my kids about the old days when all video games were played by sitting on the couch and pressing buttons. They are going to make fun of me and call me an old man.”
The telling part, though, is in the open question G4 poised to its readers to end the article: “Does that scare you?” Why the crap would standing up to play games scare anyone? Is the old guard really that obsolete now? Regardless, I just lost an epic five set match online last night, followed by a little Tiger 10, while standing up.
It was a blast.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
i seriously doubt all games will be played standing up. what advantage would that give you in mario kart? i think someone has too much time on their hands to worry about such little things. stop freaking out the wii isn’t the end of the world nor the downfall of video games, it’s 100% a plastic piece of fantastic.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Pough widdle hawd cwore gamerz. Did da widdle Wii hurt yo fweelings? Are u afwaid that dis iz the dweath of gaming?
What evuh r u gwonna do when Mykwosoft an Swony have moshun kontrols to?
June 19th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Yeah, eventually, we’ll move on from the dual thumbstick model. It’s inevitable, and it’s already begun. It’s simply no good. Unfortunately, prior to motion controls, it was the best console option available (and because of this, people have overcome the difficulties and gotten really good at using it). It’s normal for people who are very familiar with something to resist when it starts changing, but the guy is right, it’s often a symptom of getting old. We don’t want to have to relearn things we’ve begun to take for granted. It’s hard, especially when you are older.
That being said, I bought my wife EA Sports Active for a gift not long ago. She finally got around to trying it and really liked it. She begged me to try it to see what I thought. I enjoyed the hell out of Wii Fit, but ended up using it more as a game than a workout system, simply because the games were really fun and the exercises were very “dry” so I was apprehensive thinking this would be more of the same.
BOY WAS I WRONG!
I did the 30 day challenge, day 1 and set it to the highest intensity and not only was I drenched with sweat, but there were some exercises that were genuinely difficult. Keep in mind, I’m in great shape. I workout every day, mountain bike regularly and love to hike etc. I even ran a marathon. This thing really works. My only complaint is that the resistance band they give you is too light. My wife happened to have a heavier one, which I would probably use next time, but I’m really excited about this and I will absolutely introduce it into my daily exercise routine. You just can’t do that with dual thumbsticks. That’s why motion is the future, the potential is just so much greater for the overall utility of the system. I”m not saying we’ll completely eliminate the non-motion based controller, but I think it will slowly but surely become less and less important.
June 19th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Didn’t we used to stand up all the time to play games? In the arcades?
June 19th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Oh joy. People are complaining about the longterm effects of gravity on the standing homo sapien. Whatever shall we do.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
It was written by Patrick Klepek who’s about as run-of-the-mill enthusiast press as you can get. So . . .
June 19th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Jeff’s comment = WIN.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
>”Wii is for kids, real gamers play 360/PS3″<
Actually, the best “hardcore games” (which I’m assuming is what this guy is talking about) are, and always have been on the PC. 360/PS3 games don’t even come close to the amount of depth or graphical experience that a good PC game can give you. And if you like on-line play, again, no comparison – PC all the way.
So not only is this guys statement really dumb, it’s not even accurate.
As far as I’m concerned, real gamers play games to have fun. Whether that’s on the Wii, the 360, the DS, the PC or whatever. Games are meant to be fun. It’s really not all that hard to figure out. If a game is fun (sitting, standing, running, relaxing, etc…) than it’s a good game.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Who he hell cares what G4 thinks? They’re wildly out of touch with what gamers think. They used to be the network for games, but now they’re a bunch of bullshit for the “gamer lifestyle” that no one actually gives a rat’s ass about. Drifting? Do you really think that’s what we want, G4? Do you remember shows like Blister and (oh god yes) Portal? What happened to those?
June 19th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
“Didn’t we used to stand up all the time to play games? In the arcades?”
Brilliant observation, Jeff! The pointless distinction between casual and hardcore games is further muddied, and the gamersphere shutters!
June 19th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Does this guy forget that the Wii has the LARGEST selection of “classic” video games downloadable through an online service? Alien Soldier and Contra III for the VC are more “hardcore” than practically any other game on the market but because they have “outdated” graphics they aren’t hardcore according to this dude.
Nintendo has already taken the first few steps by creating motion control and calling the classic controller a “classic” controller. It’s old news. Sure some games still support it, but motion is the future like it or not. I still don’t think “classic” gaming will die, though. There’s too much money in it.
Heck, I bought and modded a 130 dollar Arcade stick and put it on the Wii. Some people on forums scoffed at me for not putting it on 360 or PS3. But the Wii simply has the most games that would use the ‘cade stick and the most fighters of any console this generation. The Wii is almost singlehandedly keeping classic games alive. It has a dedicated controller for them!
June 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
You know what though, the Wii has a good combination of stand-up/sit down gameplay. Some games are made to play standing up (golf, baseball, etc.). Some are meant to be played sitting down (Super Smash, Zelda, etc.). I think Nintendo realizes this and they also realize that you can’t expect gamers to jump from sitting down and playing to standing up and playing. It needs to be a smooth transition which is what Nintendo is doing with the Wii.
June 19th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I’m pretty sure G4 lost all gaming credibility years ago; its only remains (unfortunately) is X-Play, run by those two cretins…
June 19th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I don’t see why standing up to play some games is considered a bad thing by some. Lord forbid we get off of our almighty couches to actually move our bodies a bit.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
@ Andrew G.:
Shows you how fat and lazy us Americans are getting. Can’t even exercise for an excercise game. Now we’re complaining about standing up. Something we should be doing to get around.
When people start complaining about neccessary human routine, you know the Hulu aliens are rotting their brains.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I can understand the desire to sit down when playing a video game. Many people use video games to relax or chill after a hard day, and sitting down is a much more comfortable way to relax than is standing.
What I don’t understand is this hatred that so many so called “hard core” gamers have towards the Wii, and any game that is different than what they think a game really is. So there are some games that require you to stand up, or to physically get involved. If you don’t like that sort of thing, then don’t get it. But why attack those who actually might like it?
Is my standing up to play a game really making you that upset? Does the fact that I am running in place while playing Wii Fit really have the power to ruin someone else’s day?
There are quite a few games that I don’t like (see the DJ article for an example). Is it going to ruin my day if other people do like them, and play them a lot? I certainly hope not. I really don’t get the whole hatred thing that so many people have towards the Wii.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I don’t understand why it’s so horrible to play the Wii and consider it kiddy. Like Joshdad said, gamers ought to play any game that’s fun, regardless of whether it’s considered “hardcore”. So what if that game might be Super Mario Galaxy, just because it isn’t Gears of War or something, doesn’t make it any less of a great game.
Speaking of standing up, I doubt all games will be that way. I figure it’d be more like Back to the Future, and the whole “You actually have to use your hands? That’s a baby’s toy” rather than all standing up. I’m thinking it will all be virtual reality type games in the future myself.
June 20th, 2009 at 1:38 am
I grew up gaming on the N64. I enjoyed all the controller iterations since then. For some reason I’m not against motion controls though… is that odd? I was even a hardcore FPS gamer on the Xbox 360 for a few years. I think I came to the realization after playing Mario Kart that I never want to play a racing game with a regular controller again. It’s funny to see the hardcore community push back against this even though their consoles will get some form of motion control.
I still think Natal is a fancy version of the Eye Toy. It might be able to detect 3D space, but I’m still not sure where all the hype is coming from. You need some kind of force feedback letting you know you’ve connected with an object, which Natal lacks. I’ve played Eye Toy games before and a few camera games at a science museum and you really need force feedback. Even Sony’s product has flaws in it. It’ll be pretty accurate, but I’m not sure how it’ll behave in dimly lit rooms. Nintendo’s controller still seems like it’s the best for all situations.
@Used Cisco I bought EA Sports Active because I was getting bored of WiiFit. I figured it wouldn’t be that much of a challenge, but I agree that this game definitely makes you work. WiiFit is a walk in the park compared to this game. I was only on medium, I haven’t tried hard yet. I’m thinking of buying a stronger resistance band, it is pretty weak from what I’ve seen.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:06 am
This article is dumb, for all the good games that don’t use motion controller I end up standing anyway. I also get a good work out by punching things and throwing my wavebird and plenty of loud endless cursing, testing my lung capacity.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:16 am
REAL GAMERS PLAY THE WII!
June 20th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Reminds me of my dad when he used to play the rare game with me.
he tried tiger heli for NES a few times.
Motion controls werent standard back then but you could fool him into thinking so.
When he wanted the copter to move left, he would press left on the d-pad but would also move his hand left a little, or tip it left a little, forget which by now.
I know others used to get interactive in the same way, making motions that better connected them with the actions on the screen.
Annoyed me a but because i knew it wasnt necessary, but its how it is.
I love to see things continually advance in any field, and i dont know why anybody would want to stop seeing things advance. But then I like a challenge and trying out new experiences.
Besides, whats with this idea that all games in the future will be motion controlled. I think pushing that belief is proof these “journalists” are just trolling for hits.
Nintendo just upgraded their classic controller half way through Wii life, and implimented NES style control into basic Wiimore design.
They still make games today that do not use motion control, and continue to release games to VC and other online service that doesnt always need motion.
If anybody keeps classic gaming alive, it will be nintendo.
Maybe because its profitable, they have alot of old timers still in their company, they want to keep gamers of all types, and some games arent really best with it.
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:34 am
Infendo Comments Section: Bringing common sense back to the people one post at a time.
June 22nd, 2009 at 7:35 pm
You said it best Joshdad, the best “hardcore gaming” is on the PC. Before I got my Wii, I was a PC snob. I thought it was “stupid” and “childish” to buy a gaming console because there were so many great games on the PC and it offered many options for game controllers and had internet access and you know all of the rest… The reason I wanted a Wii was because of motion controls! Ha, take that you hardcores. The Wii offers a different gaming experience than the PC. I never knew that there were “hardcore” Xbox and Playstation gamers out there until I first read about it on this infendo blog. It seems silly to me.