Quote Originally Posted by ljkkjlcm9 View Post
considering both Sony and Microsoft are creating motion centered controls for their systems, you can hardly say it wasn't a step forward in gaming.
Don't see how "oh shiz we need to get on this bandwagon guize" = genuinely innovative, or revolutionary, step forward.

Quite simply motion control can't be more than a gimmick without sufficient feedback. Otherwise as I said elsewhere you'll swing your lightsaber at Vader, and he'll block in-game, but IRL you've just swung right past him. Even if the game can in a technical sense reconcile those two different positions without bugging, that's the end of your immersion. Remember the Sony demo for their new motion control? How does archery make sense without the tension of the bow pulling against you?

NATAL might be a useful tool for RTS games and the like. Beyond that I can see nothing which motion controls can do in a fashion superior to existing control systems. Nobody has come out with game changers in motion control. Nevermind that there's no ArtGod - there's not even a Virtua Cop. I've yet to see a single game which fundamentally justifies the existence of the Wii (That sounds more inquisitorial than I mean it to; the Wii has every right to exist and good for Nintendo for succeeding so well with it. Doesn't mean I see it as worthwhile.) in the way that Ape Escape instantly justified analogue sticks, or nevermind Virtua Cop, how Duck Hunt justified lightguns.

As for expanding the market, I'm a bit skeptical about that as a serious and longstanding achievement. Are soccer moms really going to keep buying Wii games and peripherals in current economic circumstances? Those of us who have been gaming for a long time and consider it a large part of who we are will prioritize gaming. We'll cut out other things before we cut out StarCraft II. Quite simply there was a loyal base which arguably Nintendo shouldn't have neglected (I know some argue they didn't but it does look like they have to me). And whilst the Wii's sales are impressive the PS2 was no slouch. The PS1 probably did more to popularize games than the Wii has; Wipeout was genuinely innovative and helped Sony market the system as a cool and necessary item not for kids but for employed adults. The size of the gaming market post-1994 has been much more thanks to Sony than to Nintendo, and whilst the PS3 has been relatively fail, I think Sony did a good deal more overall.