It’s last minute, because someone (namely me) forgot to hit the “publish” button, but our question of the week this episode is all about all the motion control shenanigans that went down last week at E3. What do you all think of what you’ve seen? Did Project Natal sell you? Did Sony’s Magic Wands cause a stirring in your pants? Or is Wii MotionPlus still good enough for you? Are you worried or excited about where all of this is going? Fire away in the comments below by 6:00 PM Pacific time tonight!
*I think that Project Natal looked the most complex, but the least fun.
*I think Sony’s wand looks the most silly, yet it looks the most fun.
*I think Wii MotionPlus is not going to be used in very many Wii games and will be a product for more of the “hardcore” audience.
Any control system that threatens to spill my beer is instant fail.
I have a great butt groove going in my recliner… Why would I want this again?
Natal definitely blows my mind and makes me feel all fuzzy inside…but really Future, next time send the damn time machine. Seriously now. I feel very uncertain about both Sony and Microsoft’s motion control plans albeit for different reasons. Natal seems like it would require an assload of money and time to develop anything more than carnival games. Sony’s tech seems both young and like the next-gen Wii (who gives a fuck about MotionPlus?), and the reason it strikes more of a chord with me than Natal at the moment is that it still makes use of a controller. I do not see how the complex controls of many gamers have become accustomed to would translate to a full range of body motions that work as precisely as a controller.
That said, the concept of Natal and the future it may bring totally gets the blood flowing to my nerd boner.
I’m in general agreement with Jim. Project Natal excites me because of it’s potential, but it creates worry that the controller will alotgether be phased out. When I’m geriatric, I’m going to appreciate twiddling thumbsticks instead of trying to kick ninjas with my weak bones.
Sony’s project looks interesting because it combines motion with controller and seems to work more intuitively than a Wii-mote, but it also feels so “me-too.”
Most people don’t care about Wii Motion Plus. I personally don’t want to buy another Nintendo peripheral… but it’ll sure as hell be cheaper than the (astronomical?) price MS will charge for Natal’s bleeding-edge tech.
I think Wii Motion Plus will sell the best, due to the already existing Wii user base and it’s bundling with games. It will be fun a year or 2 from now, once developers really have the chance to dig into it, but I think the benefits will be subtle.
Sony had some impressive tech as well, but I’d have taken a PS3 price drop over motion control. I’m going to buy a PS3 once they drop the price (so no MGS4 spoilers ’till then please), but until then they can go fuck themselves with their little flashlights. This is not about fan-boy crap for me, I love my PS2 just fine, and I really can’t wait to buy my PS3. I’m just honestly insulted by the arrogance of their price point, especially 3 years post release, and their new motion controls just don’t justify a $600 purchase any more than a Blu-Ray player does in my opinion.
Natal was the most interesting to me, but not so much for the motion controls alone, which will be a fun (when implemented properly) gimmick but nothing more in 90% of the games that use it. That is to say; I don’t think Natal has the precision needed to build an entire, serious (I hate the term “hardcore” today almost as much as I hated the term “alternative” in the early 90s) game around it, but then maybe I’m wrong…hold on, I stepped in something, let me check under my shoe…OOOPS, I broke my neck…..nope, I’m right.
What interests me so much about Natal are it’s other functions. The Lionhead demo was beautiful, not as a fully realized work of art, but as an example of what can be achieved with imagination using Natal. The (now cliche) Minority Report menu scrolling will be the most practical use of Natal in most games for a while (kind of like the simple but effective use of the second DS screen as a map or status menu). The things Natal can do, or will grow to do eventually, go well beyond motion control in games. I think Natal is going to change the way we interact with media in general.
Now the real revolution will come when the PC and Mac adopt motion controls over mouse use…changing the way we consume internet porn for all time.
I don’t see how any of these motion controllers is going to captivate the core audience.
people who play the Wii play it for its simplicity..
sure the wiimote is not accurate.. but do people care ?
no.. otherwise people would have stopped buying them long time ago.
I liked the idea of project natal..
but seeing that presentation.. it reminded me of that video of the first red steel game for the wii ( before the wii was released )
they also promised you the world but couldn’t deliver.
the Sony one seems to be somewhat simpler product than project natal but seems the most accurate of the 3…
but as with the project natal one it is still nothing more than a tech demo.
I myself am not sure about any of them… yea they may bring new people to playing video games that are afraid or unwilling to use a gamepad… but those are usually the same people that wouldn’t play most of the core games (we) core gamers play now… because it does not interest them..
same way perhaps most core gamers hardly or ever play any wii games.
I’m not against any of this motion controller stuff, but I don’t see a benefit from it. Why not just have context-sensitive areas in games? When you get within a certain distance of an object (say a door) then the controls change and the left and right stick control your left and right arm. It couldn’t be anywhere NEAR as hard as creating all this motion sensitive stuff.
Maybe that’s not the most exciting example, but I find games much more immersive when I’m controlling them from a first person perspective and using a traditional controller to manipulate the events on screen. When you start handing me wands or asking me to physically move around it draws me out of the game and makes it feel more like I’m in an arcade. If developers want to increase my involvement in their games then work on interesting ways to use the first person perspective.
*Nintendo was the first to make this available to the masses so therefore leaving the market for Microsoft and Sony alot smaller. However i do believe they that they should have brought Wii Motion Plus to the market a lot sooner. As the sony ‘wands’ are now in ‘competition’ with the Wii.
*Microsoft has been the most innovative and, Project Natal has the most potential for the future. Because of this i believe that they will be inline to be more successful than sony. but this may be due to the bigger install base.
*Sony’s ‘wands’ have appeared too late. they appear to be too much like the wiimote and nunchuk. the only thing they have in their favour is the power of the PS3 and the more advanced games they will be able to make.
The thing Sony had was basically the wiimote so I’m going to completely ignore it.
In my opinion motion control should replace a controller. They do some things better than a controller, but overall a controller is a much better all-purpose device. Something like Natal should be used to compliment the controller. As well Natal would not be a good way to control the games we play today. They just require a controller that you have in your hand. What Natal does do is open up consoles to completely new genres and game ideas. Imagine sitting on your couch and acting like you are actually Captain Kirk or Picard. That is every Trekkies dream, and outside of Natal there would be no way to do it for a relatively cheap price today.
It would also be a great tool for education. If some kid is stuck on a math problem there could be some Milo type program that he can go to which will help him work through the problem like it is a teacher. It could also be used for homeschool. The program could teach a whole class over Xbox Live, then still be there whenever you need help no matter what time of day.
I could go on and on, but I ‘m just going to leave it at that.
The biggest hurdle that motion controls must surmount is getting third party support to release games that A)Support both motion control AND standard controllers or B)are exclusively motion controlled while releasing a standard stick & button controlled game within the franchise.
Can you see a Killzone title in the future with motion control options only? Will that title be named “Killzone 3″ or will it be a spin-off? Substitute Killzone for a property like Gears of War or Halo for Microsoft’s camp.
Motions controls blow,
A controller, I throw,
I break my T.V.
playing with my Wii.
And I do it all over again.
I really enjoyed Sony’s tech demos for there motion controller. Microsoft’s technology looks impressive.
Also, it would be fun to see if an RTS game could be made implementing Microsft’s camera tech.
I think that motion control is interesting, but the closer gaming gets to real life the less interested I am going to be. I like to play Skate because I can’t skate in real life. I like to play golf video games because I am terrible at real golf. I don’t want my video game performance to depend on my ability to do the same motions as real skaters (new Tony Hawk) or golfers (Tiger Woods 10 for Wii). I look to video games for an escape from real life, not a reminder of how bad I am at it.
I’ll keep this short:
WiiMotion Plus – I don’t think the major buyers of the Wii are going to enjoy a one-to-one interaction with the Wii. For me, I don’t think I want it either. Games might end up just becoming too complex and wild to remain fun.
Sony Motion Controller – pretty much the Wii, but it is a magic wand. Or a sword. Or a stop sign.
Natal – could prove to be the most interesting, as long as they don’t try and just copy Wii games or shoehorn it onto existing games. Could be fun for party games or seeing your avatars feet. WAAH BAM.
I don’t have much hope for any of them, but would love to be pleasantly surprised.
Torn on the issue. So far, annoying. Much rather press buttons to act out inhuman endurance and accuracy with precision.
The other side, I feel they’re taking the baby steps towards fully realized virtual environments we’ll act out in.
Right now, rather niche (sports titles) and gimmicky.
What I want to see is an implementation of head tracking, alá Track IR or that hack with the Wii-mote/LED glasses. It’d be great for any game where people’s natural reaction is to lean over and try to look around the corner, the game could actually do it.
With Natal, specifically, I think they need to actually include some sort of token controller just for user feedback. Pantomime is interesting, and all, but for, say, a shooting game, have that object in your hand will be more immersive than simply pointing your finger at the screen. There’s no reason they couldn’t do Sony/Nintendo style tracking of the pointer/controller in addition to the stereoscopic tracking of the user.
Motion tracking the user and altering the view on the screen will be more immersive than any of the other techs on their own, we process motion information at a pretty deep level, and that makes for immediately recognizable feedback. (Though obviously it would look weird as hell to a third party observing from a different angle.)
I think Microsoft has gone a bit farther then we are ready to go, there is a comfort in holding something that is giving me feedback. I really don’t want to see myself on the screen doing something, and I’m pretty sure Mario/Kratos/or other favorite game character moving like me is going to not look very effective or deadly…. think bad ragdoll physics at all times.
Maybe a generation that has always had motion controls will be much more comfortable with it and take it forward but I just like a controller.
Obviously, Project Natal seems to be the most ambitious of the three but it seemed to suffer from the same input lag as the original Wii controller. Not in the Natal trailer, but during the actual tech demo from E3; that’s where you notice it. How much fun can you have playing, say, FIFA or something, when you have to start your kick a fraction of a second before you think you should? In fast-paced gameplay that could ruin your experience!
Sony’s dildo-controller-wand was impressive for its responsiveness and 1:1 tracking but your left holding what appears to be a Cylon fuckstick. I know, I know, they stressed that its just a prototype. In all seriousness, I think that Project Natal is the most “The Future is Now!”, but it would seem likely that we’d get some good, working PS3 titles with their motion controller first.
The only thing I know about Nintendo’s Motion Plus is that its supposed to have 1:1 tracking, which should have been a no-brainer from the get-go.
The best case scenario I can see for Natal is being console port of TrackIR that doesn’t need you to wear a sensor on your headphones.
TrackIR is currently available, looks really goddamn awesome in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ
Check that shit out, especially the part with flying the helicopter and tell me that doesn’t look like it’d make the play experience just so much better. It’s proven tech that’s already got plenty of consumer experience and support for modern real games (not minigame collections and creepy pedo simulators), and is on the superior games platform. How can Natal compete? :V
I don’t think motion control would catch on as a serious concept anytime soon.
Most games that aren’t based on minigame collections could easily be done with the response and consistency of a normal analog/digital controller.
When it comes to action games, in my opinion there is no better satisfaction than pressing A and seeing the character jump immediately, rather than relying on a detector that may be only 70-80% responsive to certain movements.
Metroid Prime 1 & 2 did well without motion, and Mario Galaxy could have just as easily been without motion controls.
Sony, and Microsoft did not show anything at their conferences that made me believe that I would enjoy playing God of War or Halo with motion rather than buttons.
As far as the motion controls it seems like a much more mainstream dream, rather than a gamers preferred mode of control. With the Wii everything seems to dissolve into a waggle, and with motion plus it seems like it will just be a bit more of a precise waggle. I can see decent application of the Wii motion control for sports games, like Tiger Woods, but overall there’s just not enough incentive for innovation on the platform with it, so I think the shovelware will continue.
Natal looks interesting for its social interaction capabilities, but it still seems like a novelty item, much like the Wii sitting in my TV console that hasn’t been turned on in over a year. It seems like something you invite people over, dance around like a giant midget penis and then your say goodnight, a few laughs, but that’s not where I derive my gaming satisfaction from. I honestly can’t think of a truly cool gaming based application of Natal, other than more sports. Golf using a real club or the Skate-esque demo in the Natal promo would be fun, but I wouldn’t want to play a driving game or an FPS with it. I don’t have the money to spend on another novelty item. Natal could be cool for showing your friends your balls or maybe them putting you in a dress, much like the Wii vitality sensor is good for holding your fat paynis.
The Sony Motion controller seems like it could at least do a decent fps with better graphics than the Wii, but I would take my mouse and keyboard over the silly pointing devices.
The most revolutionary move they could make is giving us a damned mouse and keyboard to use for playing, rather than investing in more future tech novelty garbage, that we honestly don’t need to play GAMES. It’s easy to see they all want a part of the Nintendo waggle market, but seriously…. god dammit…
IMAGINE playing a role playing game that recognizes your voice and facial expressions! Whenever you meet an ingame character; all you need to do is say what you want out loud and the NPC will respond… Isn’t that what Role Playing is supposed to be ? I’m sure Peter Molyneux is working on it with Milo…
Or It could just be simple tweaks like moving your hand above your head to throw a grenade in the next Halo: reach. Or just scrolling through your movie by saying ”SCROLL” and then waving your hand to the right or the left to scroll through the movie…
In short; Natal has a lot of capabilities and it is certainly the most ambitious project of the three. But will it work? I think it might to some extent. Just like the Wiimote only worked to some extent. Time will tell.
Am I the only one who likes being a fat slob when I’m playing games…?
Microsoft has a nice concept going on. Can’t wait to see the technological limitations of this thing and/or some great games that come with it.
Sony is going about it all wrong with it’s glowing dildos. Yeah proof of concept I know, but seriously. The dudes were waving lit up dicks.
I don’t give a shit about a heartbeat/vitality sensor. In fact I don’t give a shit about motion based controls anymore. I would be more excited if instead of proof of concepts they could show me some interesting games to go along with it.
To me, it was exciting to think of what they could do with these technologies. When they show me a game that might interest me in dropping the money on an add-on, then I might be interested. Until then…. fat lit up penis.
I think it’s all about motion capture( project natal). I want to be able to do full body taunts with project natal. Picking up the guy I just took down, shoving his head into my crotch. Fuck teabagging this is the next generation of griefing. I also think video’s will be getting big in this as well. Being able to act out Half life 2 using garry’s mod. The big thing has to be how far will the developers integrate natal. At first it will probably only be a few preset motions to do a few actions but hopefully it integrates through and provides full game accessibility.
I don’t think the Sony magic fairy want looked that innovative. Granted it looks better than the wii motion plus, it still just seems like nothing revolutionizing.
Lastly, wii motion plus. After trying red steel 2. I’m not really that impressed. Aside from that, I don’t think the soccer mom’s who bought the wii and the wii fit will be all that interested in the motion plus unless they bring some new type of fitness gimmick to the motion plus.
The only motion control scheme i am really skeptical of is project natal. Yes it is a cool and inovative technology but there are some things that make me a but unsure and a bit uneasy at the same time. Do you really think that the first thing you say you want to do after a long day of work is to get up in front of the tv and flail your arms and legs about like a fish on crack? even if i dont take that to the extreme would you feel like holding your arms out like your holding a streering wheel for long periods of time? also another thing thats been bothering me is that if microsoft puts alot of support into this motion control scheme does that mean they will be making more games for the casual and less for the core gamers. To be honest i cant see many serious and hardcore games using motion control over the controler, theres just to many things needed for a full experiance that motion control cant provide.
Motion controls, smotion controls. Nothing beats a lovely big shit.
Both the cynic and the optimist in me are watching Project Natal with great interest. I watched the demonstration on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night, and in a slightly less controlled environment than E3, it still seemed to work pretty well. While Wii Motion Plus and the Sony Motion Dildos are nudging the control space forward, Project Natal is ambitiously rethinking what a human-computer interface could be like. This is why I’m excited that Johnny Chung Lee is involved with Natal, and why I’m both intrigued by and trepidatious about it.
WFT, Jimmy Fallon’s show “less controlled”??? They were all wearing red jumpsuits!
hasnt then Natal been done before,as in the eyetoy,im still looking forward to it but once u think about it, its pretty much the same
Wii Motion Plus should have been there since day one. So that is it for me on that one.
Sony’s seems great, but since we haven’t seen anything else other then just that little room I don’t know about it. I was impressed by how accurate it seemed to be.
Natal I was the most impressed by, especially after seeing the video of it being shown on Jimmy Fallon. Burnout seem to run fine and play pretty well. It seems to have more bugs then the other two but that is to be expected.
I for one, am truly excited for the potential of Natal. People seem to be bent on the idea that it must replace the controller, but what about incorporating into games with the controller. As soon as I saw the tech demo with the creepy kid, I immediately thought about Heavy Rain. Imagine using Natal’s voice recognition and face tracking for the game. Getting characters to react to your emotions, even using small movements instead of the quick time controls on the controller.
For me, this is what I hope Natal is used for. Although I know that there must be 3rd party support to sell units. I would hope that it expands gaming, not just become a Microsoft waggle device.
I for one didn’t actually see the Wii motion plus this year, however since I do not own a Wii and already seen it last year it doesn’t impress me all that much. Project Natal on the other hand impressed me since it seems like it can have many uses, mostly non game related since not having a controller could be a problem, but it could be fun just to use to navigate, or even play mini games (Party game anyone?). The Sony wands also seemed very impressive hopefully they’ll look better when they hit store shelfs, but the precision and gaming applications of them seem pretty cool. I would probably pick up the Sony wands if they release either packaged with a great game, or at least have a game available at the launch time.
However since I don’t own a 360 I won’t be buying the camera, but if I were to buy one I would love to get my hands on it.
Even if all those new ways to control games seem fun and innovating I would hate to see gaming as a whole go in that direction, I mean obviously the PS3 and 360 won’t drop there basic controllers but what about the PS4 and the next xbox. I for one like the idea of them as an accessory and not as a new controller.
Also I have my doubts about the whole Milo demonstration, I think they’re letting on that they’re farther into development then they really are. But it could be cool if done right, however I don’t want to be bothered when I haven’t talked to my console for a while, or the jealousy he might have if I play to much PS3 lol.
Hey originally natal got me most excited but then after reading the articles that said milo was very misleading and there was no real voice recognition in the thing, everyone seems so sceptical of it to… Without the voice control its just an advanced eyetoy, not that that is a bad thing of course. Its hard to come to any concrete conclusion on either of them though because it will be the way games make use of such features and we don’t really know the ins and outs of the hardware. Coming away from it i believed natal to be far superior but the internet seems to have changed my mind.. I’d really like to hear your thoughts about the validity of such reports putting the hardware down =D
Cheers,
Tom
I don’t think there’s anything wrong by incorporating motion controls, obviously this is Microsoft’s and Sony’s way of playing catch up with the recent trend. what bothers me most is that the Wii seems like it was merely a prototype that managed to print money,(until motion plus) so realizing that there is a market for this technology, I don’t see why the other two companies should remain in the past. hopping on the gravy train isn’t going to hurt anyone.
It seems important to discuss this topic based on the two separate tracks of motion control-based gaming that have been developing concurrently.
The first is the use of motion control technology in our standard conception of controller-based gaming. You have what the Wii established with the Wii motion controller, and then the presentation of a more refined technology with Wii MotionPlus. Sony’s development of the “wand” motion controller seems like an even further evolution of this first track of motion control, attempting to achieve more ambitious levels of interaction in controller-based gaming.
The second track of motion control in gaming would include those technologies that reassign the user’s body as the controller. This would include not only the more advanced concepts presented by Microsoft’s development of Project Natal, but also the more basic experience offered by Sony’s EyeToy.
It may be important to separately consider these two tracks of motion control-based gaming before assessing the relative feasibility and overall enjoyment of these new products being offered by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
Of all the things shown, what most excites me are changes in the interface. I’ve wanted gesture and hand-based interfaces ever since Minority Report, and touch screens can only get you so far.
The concept behind Milo is amazing to me. Even if the “virtual boy” doesn’t deliver what it promised, they still have technologies never used in games before – facial recognition, voice recognition, and the ability to decipher such context-based things like vocalized emotion and body language. Imagine a game that coaches you based on your emotions…it pauses the game and says, “Calm down now, before you blow a gasket”.
I just get goosebumps of excitement thinking about the possibilities.
I think the tech they demoed with Milo will make more of an impact on gaming when it’s used as a bonus peripheral and not as the primary controller.
How awesome it would be to play through an Eternal Darkness or Silent Hill style game, where the game can really sense if I’m getting nervous, and take advantage by scaring the shit out of you when it detects you at your peak. Hell even using the player’s image (like the water reflection in the demo) would be enough to add a level of tension to a game like Doom, if you could see YOUR reflection in windows as you ran around. Or like someone else said above, using the voice commands in a game like Oblivion to actually speak to NPCs.
I don’t think motion controls will be replacing literal ‘controllers’ for quite some time. Most games require too much precision in timing, or just feel awkward when you’re bound by the fact that your TV is stationary, no matter how big the screen.
Kanamara. I can remember as a child, pretending to be “cops and robbers” with nothing more than our hands to use as guns and using sounds, and unfortunately spit from making machine gun sounds. I’d imagine that’s what Natal’s FPS controls will be like? Or patty-cake for rhythm puzzle game?
Since it’s early in the life of motion controls though there will probably be a lot more of shoe-horning of the motion controls into games rather than original games designed around focused motion of the body (insert “that’s what she said” joke here).
Seriously though, if talented designers create a game that uses the strengths of motion controls in a clever and thoughtful way, I’d play it. In the past designers were able to do a whole mess of games with just 4 directions on a D-pad and 4 buttons. Motion controls will get there inevitably.
Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus)
I think that the best by far was Project Natal. I know it would be a bit silly playing them active crappy games all the time but believe that the tech in there is more about engaging with the character more. For example, the creepy, slightly scary Lionhead thing. I believe that if that was incorporated into a story based game it would further enhance the game, make the player feel more emotionally involved and ultimately convey the story. I don’t believe that this could be used in any other form of game-play apart from the crappy Wii games (sorry Wii fans).
However, as much as I like Natal and think its bloody brilliant I can’t help but be intrigued by what Sony is doing. I don’t think we will be playing FPS’s on them because where all lazy, but love how accrete the tech is and think that its allot better than what the Wii is doing. But, this leads me to the point that I believe that this is just an improved version of the Wii-mote… nothing ultra new.
This year at E3 seems to have all gaming commentators extra jaded. There were those that didn’t even think Natal was possible despite a working Prototype being shown at CES earlier. Almost every podcast I listened to not only showed their disgust towards the idea of the product, but they also seemed to miss the whole point about the product not being aimed towards them. They easily forgot that the consoles can still be played with a controller and that Natal is not something that will be forced in every game.
My personal feeling is that any attempts to convert non-gamers to gamers is great especially with the sophistication that Sony and Microsoft displayed. While I may not know how it can be applied to games that I enjoy on my 360 I do see a lot of potential in it being introduced to games I don’t play.
I’d play NBA Jam and every time I did a cool dunk on my brother I’d motion the dunk along with the animation. So why not just have me physically do it anyway. This could bring back arcade games that were meant to be played by wasting quarters, but can now be converted to a brutal physical experience. Sure Ninja Turtles is no longer challenging with infinite lives, but having to act out every attack could be quite fun and exhausting. Although I have no clue how three other people could play with you at the same time.
Even a game like Left 4 Dead could benefit by having a more interactive mode where when something jumps out you can physically react with a melee. Which also brings on some points about the health benefits these games could have.
Physically having to act out Left 4 Dead will leave you pouring in sweat. I don’t enjoy sports games either, but an EA style all play mode could change my mind quickly. While I may not know who is in the play offs this year it won’t stop me from enjoying doing dunking motions in front of my tv to get that old NBA Jam feeling back. Or how about Mass Effect 3 where I can use body language to illustrate what I’m saying or message I want to get across to NPCs. Maybe playing dead in Modern Warfare 3 only to pop up and get a few shots off before I die. Strangely most haters on podcasts proudly proclaimed they are fat and lazy and don’t want to move as if it were a good thing to be fat and lazy.
I personally love playing Tennis, but no one I know likes playing Tennis and I’m not much for introducing myself to strangers. Now I can have the fun and physicality of Tennis without having to play with someone in real life. Or even better I can play with people who would play with me online. The best part about motion controls is that every idea that every podcaster, game journalist, and gamer has come up with is nothing compared to what great minds like Will Wright, Peter Molyneux, or Shawn Elliot can come up with.
Motion control only seems to do one thing for me: Make one arm have exercise while the other stays stationary (for the Wii anyway). This is only good since it means my non-wanking arm gets to be just as muscular as my wanking arm (and yes, I’m British).
Motion control is something that I’m fairly skeptical of in general, as it’s been more or less vapor-ware for the last two decades. The two biggest implementations of it for games, the Wii and Eyetoy, have essentially gone nowhere. For sure the Wii has been a commercial success at least, but as far as changing the way we interact with our games it’s been a total flop. At its best it’s a passable substitution for a mouse. At it’s worst (which is well over 90% of the time) we’re just substituting shaking the control for button presses.
A lot of people have complained that the Wii remote isn’t rubust enough (hence Wii motion plus). And hopefully, both Sony’s and Microsoft’s attempts will take the technology a step further. But there’s more to this than just the hardware, and part of me thinks that the bigger hurdle here is developers with enough imagination to create new gameplay that steps outside of the paradigms established over the last 30 years, as well as the technical ability to implement it in a way that doesn’t frustrate the user.
Creating the technology is just the first step. Even if Project Natal turns out to be everything Microsoft says it will, we still need developers with vision to turn it into an entertaining product that will expand the way we interact with our entertainment.
Before the showing of Natal on Late Night, I was pretty skeptical about support of the Natal(thinking it was going the way of Velocity Girl/other broken promises), but it seems like Microsoft is trying to push itself into supporting this platform, which may substantially help them later or backfire and fail. If Microsoft is going to fully support it(unlike the camera right now), I can see it being essential to every xbox experience.
I see Sony’s Wand being successful in the present future, with a couple games supporting it and maybe a full game using the wand, but I don’t think it will succeed in the far future. However the tech may be, I doubt mass markets will support it when Natal has voice tracking and is more casual supportive with the possibility with no controller whatsoever.
I haven’t seen any motion control set ups that interest me yet. Using Natal to manipulate the dashboard looks pretty cool but every time I think about using motion control to play a game versus playing with a plain old controller I still feel like a controller is better.
The only real motion control I’ve used in games is the stuff in some PS3 games, Rag Doll Kungfu, Killzone 2 and the like. It feels like a chore and I always find myself looking for an option to turn it off.
I think really good voice recognition would have more impact on gaming.
I feel I’m not really qualified to answer this question being not a big fan of the Wii and owning the opinion that Sixaxis is largely a gimmick, devised by Sony at the last moment for a tick on their product box like so many tacked on multi-player modes.
That said, I think gaming technology moving forward as a whole will inevitably involve more human motion and interaction as time goes on and as the industry demands increased innovation and creativity. Particularly in America where obesity and fatassedness is a pandemic. (no offense to Rebel FM’s corpulent listenership)
There’s my short and sweet assessment.
I guess you can call me a Sony Fanboy. I’ve owned all 4 of the Sony consoles and have never owned anything else. I was kinda disapointed when I saw it. I just seemed like a rip-off of the Nintendo Wii controler. I guess they could do some cool things with it but it just seems like lately Sony is just trying to hard to be like everyone else instead of being orginal.
Wes
P.S. If yall want some Mailman pants let me know.
Motion control = yawn.
Mind control = interesting.
Mound control = Bingo!
I dunno man. Mound control is pretty controversial. Why’d you have to go there?
The main downside of Natal is lack of physical feedback. Try moving your finger in a tapping motion in thin air vesus tapping against your desk – its way faster when you have something to tap against!
Immediately after watching Natal’s reveal, it was easy to see that this is the next step in video game control. Sadly, it looks too good to be true. Ricochet looks cool, but it looks like something Sony released years ago for EyeToy. I couldn’t see something like that being very deep. Also, I don’t think we’re quite to the point Mr. Molyneux thinks we are with AI technology. I really admire the man for being able to visualize something so innovative, but I’d rather him keep his great ideas to himself until they can actually be tested and proven. He’s creating hype for something that very likely can’t be done!
Sony’s motion controller demonstration did not impress me either. More than anything it seemed just like “me too”. Not very impressive. Frankly they didn’t really convince me that it can do anything the Wii Motion Plus can’t.
And that brings me to Wii Motion Plus. I picked up Tiger Woods 10 a couple of days ago. It isn’t obvious right off the degree of precision this new accessory adds to Nintendo’s Wiimote. But after playing a few sets of 18, I was fading shots around bunkers and behind trees without really thinking about it. Whether or not it will become the new standard in motion-detection is in the hands of developers. I certainly see potential, but I must admit that this isn’t anywhere near as ambitious as Natal.
First, I’m a happy PS360 owner, love both systems.
I thought Natal looked like a souped up eye toy. I think there appeared to be a huge amount of input lag. The BAM! F up was hilarious, but if you watch the Jimmy Fallon footage of Natal, you’ll see another BAM moment in the middle of the dodge ball demo. Can they work out all the kinks before launch? Maybe. Can they fix the input lag? Doubtfully. Does it look fun? Not really. I also think the paint demo was a joke. It showed exactly how imprecise Natal really is.
Sony’s magic want appeared to be lag free, pinpoint accurate, and self aware. Two of these, not tethered by a cord, break apart, with an analog stick on each, and full face buttons would be the ultimate controller experience. It looks lag free, unlike motion plus, it looks to be extremely accurate, more than motion plus, and it looks like a pair of these with analog sticks would be really fun if used right.
To me the Wiimote’s main problem is STILL that it lacks dual analog control. Losing camera control in most games that I like is a disaster for those games. It makes them a lot less fun, and IR aiming just isn’t accurate enough for me.
So I think Natal is the worst of the bunch, by FAR, and Sony has the only motion controller that appeals to me as a hardcore gamer. It could be the ultimate controller. I just hope they do a dual wand break apart controller. It looks silly now, but they can fix that.
Two things. First, controllers ain’t so bad. Second, I’m not into hand waving. There needs to be more. Specifically, tactile feedback… to feel different textures or feel the ball hit the racquet or a pistol’s kick back. This technology exists for manuvering robotic arms. I’ve felt the difference between tapping on foam or a steel plate. I think this would add another level of connection with the video game that is definitely missing in current motion sensor concepts.
As any five year old will tell you when playing make-believe its better to have a prop. Try taking that stick he’s waving around away and telling him “you ARE the lightsaber” and see what kind of reaction you get. Natals intangible nature may prove less of a draw than Microsoft think; there is a reason why plastic guitars sell.
First things first: Fuck motion controls. Controllers work very well.
Secondly, I can see a place for games designed around motion controls, but no one is really doing it. There’s a tendency to just wedge motion controls into conventional games. And that just doesn’t work. The games we play today are built upon decades of development that has been centered around a controller of some type. While technically impressive, using Natal to control a game like Burnout isn’t very interesting. It will take a novel game that could not possibly be played without motion controls to get the attention of the “hardcore” crowd.
Right now there is no indication that motion controls will not go the way of the FMV cut scenes or the CDi. There needs to be an instant classic that paves the way for future motion controlled games and endears the platform to consumers. There is not yet a motion control equivalent of Pong or Tetris or Mario 64. And I’m seriously skeptical that there ever will be. I certainly don’t see anyone trying to make one.
I really shouldn’t want to play with a little boy (or girl who we’ve yet to see) so damned much, but I do!
If it’s going to be motion control just to be motion control, then I don’t care. But if it’s used in a really creative and entertaining way, then I might be more interested.
Im not to big on moition controls to begian with but at least microsoft is doing something a little diffrent and in retrospect sony’s “wand” was neat but i have to wonder if we want such precise motion controls in action games
Project Natal really didn’t leave me that impressed. While being able gather z-data from the camera’s perspective is cool and adds another array of data points that allows more sophisticated computer vision, Microsoft’s demos really didn’t showcase it that well. Most of what I saw were demonstrations that could be done with existing—albeit with somewhat less precision—computer vision techniques on standard cameras (having worked on similar concepts using the EyeToy and PS Eye). Natal to me seems less of a “controller” and more of a software initiative as most of what was showcased were demonstrations of expanded and more creative use of software in a fixed-camera/console/TV paradigm. Much of it is just rehashing existing ideas taking advantage of better hardware to push the perspective and sample-rate constraint wall back a little further. Still, it will be interesting to see how Microsoft evolves and improves upon those ideas.
While Sony’s demonstration lacked the glitz and glamour of Microsoft’s presentation, it showed far more—and better—examples of integrating the controllers into the input mechanics of familiar game concepts. Whether or not developers choose to do anything with the remains in question; but it does demonstrate an effort appeal to developers to at least experiment with them (as some already have). With Sony being seemingly open to studios experimenting with high-concept games on the PSN, I think there’s more potential to see some developers actually doing something interesting.
I think the more obvious distinction though is the similarity to the Wii controllers. Where as many fanboys—and fangirls—may perceive this as a case of playing copycat; a simple trolling of Sony patents would reveal this to be a drop of ooze from the metaphorical petri dish that is a part of any large tech companies R&D, with Nintendo playing not the role of inspiration but that of the proverbial fire under the arse. Due to the similarity to the Wii’s controls, this also leads to the question of whether or not this will open the door to potential HD ports of Wii titles to the PS3. The PS3 may be a bastion of a more “hard-core”—yes I hate using that term, but can’t help it—gamer, there are still some Wii titles that would appeal to that crowd (Mad World, No More Heroes; I’m looking at you!). Obviously both Sony and Microsoft would love to get some of Nintendo’s casual sloppy seconds and the Playstation Motion Controller’s to me seem to be the easier translation.
As for the Motion Plus, what can I say? It’s WiiMote++. It’s basically going to be what everybody thought the Wii’s controls would be (but turned out to not quite be).
Motion controls though to me don’t seem like an evolution of the default game controller. The game pad as we know it, has several decades of evolution behind it as the best compromise to cover as many genres as possible. Motion controls like the WiiMote to me seem as more of a physical complement to a game pad. Like a plastic guitar, a wheel, or some contraption that you stand on, they’re great at what they excel at, but suck much harder when used outside of the optimal circumstances.
Natal was a very interesting show, especially the Milo bit. It has alot of promise, though most of the tech demonstrations were not very appealing, I could see the hands-off setup taking off. I found Sony’s demonstration the more “Me Too” of the schemes. Their fairy princess wand complete with glowing sparkle jewel seems like it’s imitating Nintendo too much, especially if you factor in the Wii Motion-Plus. It’s the kind of toy I imagine a leprechaun using. That said, I’ll be interested to see what comes out of both, but I think the sony device is behind the game, and not doing anything interesting or new.
I like the idea of Microsoft’s “Ghost powered” Natal. It will employ our unemployed ghosts and keep them from haunting our houses.
They will laugh at us when we do ridiculous motions to accomplish something on the screen.
The ghost will help clean up our living room by making plastic peripheral obsolete.
Natal with ghost power will open up new gaming experiences, but still preserve the old because you are still going to need your 360 controller to play most games.
This may sound very lazy, but I am horrified by the seeming unstoppable spreading of motion controllers. I work 12 plus hours at a time, on my feet, with little or no chance for a break. When I get home and want to unwind by blowing somethings face off in game, I don’t want to have to stand up and jump around like an idiot to do so.
I’ve never played a game on the Wii, but I do play a LOT of Rock Band on my xbox, so its clear that its all about having the right interface with the right game.
Project Natal would be the only way to do a home version of “The Hole”, aka “Human Tetris”, which would be a nice brainless party game.
I’m also excited about the prospect for hybrid controls, not just by adding waggle but integrating voice recognition, as End War did, in a broader range of games (casual gamers are not going to use a headset).
Finally, I can see myself using it for motion capture for custom fighting game character(esp. MMA and wrestling) moves and victory posses, which may seem minor, but anything that makes custom fighters more customizes will enhance my investment/immersion in the game.
I didn’t mean to say that fighting games should be played with motion control (hell no), just use it for the custom fighter editor.
As much as I like the possibility of new motion controls providing greater diversity in games, I can’t help from thinking that these diverging methods can only hurt consumers in the end. Completely different control schemes may eventually force game developers to decide on a single platform. Not only could this be bad for those of us who loves games, it also does not bode well for those of us who can’t stand listening to fanboys.
I just think the best chance these motion controls have of succeeding is if they are packaged along with a good game like Guitar Hero. Since music is like a universal unifier across all demographics, maybe a dance type game should be in order?
I feel that its a hamstrung idea in that each motion control is specific for one system. Freeing a game from the controller limits the platforms it can be on currently. Unless that’s the entire point, so each system can have an exclusive, money making IP?
my problem with motion control is that I live in a tiny apartment. I really cant be jumping and flailing around without destroying all my possesions.
The motion control between nintendo, microsoft, and sony can relate to how the super powers in inFamous are separated. Sony has the precision with their controls, like with the good powers, while microsoft has the destructive side, causing so much focus on your avatar on screen that people may break shit. Nintendo is the middle ground; not too precise, but still liable to slip and break a TV or two. In summary, motion controls is like the uncanny valley, no matter how 1:1 it gets, people will never be satisfied. Also can be applied to sex.
I’m worried that none of these motion controls will lead to any meaningful experiences on par with the likes of Shadow of the Colossus at least not in any of these iterations. I may be cynical but the technology is all still imperfect and most of the applications seem to be towards mainstream (not “hard-core”) games. Maybe in the future there will be deep serious games using motion controls of some type but I doubt that time is now or even within the next few years.
I really don’t see why motion control is the big thing now! Nintendo made its splash and made its money off it, yes even though it was in the billions. But they are still lacking in the games for the core audience. I can understand why Microsoft and Sony are wanting to get into the motion-control game, because they saw what Nintendo did – make a shit load of money. But in the end, it’s a gimmick. Just make good games and make customers happy; not everyone wants waggle or to dance in front of the TV. If everyone had their way, we’d be playing InFamous/Prototype with waggle. This is eventually going to be a bad thing for gaming (also see Tony Hawk Ride)
Motion Capture is not new, but because of the Wii’s popularity and the low cost of the technology everyone seems convinced that they can make money making games that use motion capture/tracking as a control scheme. That’s great and I’m sure I’ll have a lot of fun with some party games or some unique games with a motion gimmick, but what it comes down to, for me, is this: When I want to relax and play a videogame, I don’t want or need to dance around, I want to grab a controller and sit on my ass and play a videogame. I don’t need someone throwing buckets of water in my face when I watch “The Perfect Storm”, and I don’t want someone chewing on my leg when I read “World War Z”, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to be running and jumping and flailing around like I’m hopped up on goof balls when I sit down to play Super Mario Brothers 10. But maybe I just don’t know what I want, because it did look wicked cool.
Bit of interesting news I read today (off Jostiq). John Lee, the guy who did those wiimote IR hacks, is working on NATAL.
As for my personal thoughts on these devices, well, its a little early to make any decision whether it’ll change gaming. I’m gonna give it a year and see what games come out.
Motion control will never replace hard controlers. You can’t come up with anyone game on the Wii that comes even close to a emotionally powered game like ICO or the Metal Gear Solid series (for Metal Gear the emotion is WTF. Although the Natal will not replace controllers they can be used to add to mindless action games. What if you want order you squad around using Natal (maybe in the new Halo Reach…huh huh?). So maybe it will not replace controls…but it will be a good addiction to Halo.
Also I will NOT bring up Sony’s control because it looks like Shit.
I mean “any” instead of “anyone”
also i mean “action games” instead of “halo” at the end
I’m more excited about Natal somehow working with the traditional controller. I’ve had my fill of getting up and looking like a jackass, but if it it could track my head movement and move the screen.
Since my gaming PC is on the fritz I’ve been spending a bunch of time on my consoles. I think the voice and movement recognition would be amazing for navigating through movies on Netflix or launching arcade game strait from the console.
Well, in my opinion the wii and the Sony control is based on motion. But it is still tied down to a physical medium between player and experience on the screen.
What I am saying is that holy grail of gaming future has been virtual reality gaming. All in all, it may just suck penis or be a huge balls of success.
Sure motion capture isn’t new but it seems towards a step towards this virtual reality gaming in which really just plays on human psychology.
The more it plays on the “psyche” will be easily achieved without any physical sensations to the “real world” but complete immersion into the video game is the next step.
Sure, the wii and sony are probably more fun, more tangible to handle to current gaming standars, but Microsoft’s Natal seems towards a step of potentially greater techology.
I think these new motion controls are going to be about as successful as the eye toy and vision camera. that is to say, not very successful at all.
The tech is impressive but the problem is the consoles aren’t built around motion controls. It’s being added later, as opposed to the wii, where motion controls are the heart of the system.
And I doubt consumers are going to want to shell out more money for a peripheral that isn’t going to have any huge titles released for it. You won’t be seeing any halo or gears of war titles that require ‘natal’. So whats the selling going to convince people to get it.
p.s. I know i’m late on this, but I loved hearing ‘Heavens’ on the podcast a couple months ago. Great side project from Matt Skiba.
While I found Microsofts natal to be a little more impressive in terms of concept Sony’s wands seemed like a much more realistic solution to enticing non-gamers to purchase their machine, which lets be honest is what they’re both really trying to do.
My expectation is that these new controls will initially only be used by specific games and those games will mostly be like Wii’s shovelware; short, cheap, super easy and probably garbage.
Wasn’t really a fan of any of the motion control demos, although it seemed like Sony’s would have the most actual use for games, like an evolution of the Wii. However not coming pre-installed on every system is going to hurt both Natal and Sony’s offerings.
Really didn’t like the Minority Report comparisons for Natal’s menu flipping, because there’s a huge difference. In that instance, there was a very narrow distance between the user and the interface. With Natal, it seems like broad sweeping gestures will be necessary, and really, who is going to choose to do that over the much more natural remote for menu hopping. I have my doubts that the voice recognition will work from any kind of distance as well.
motion sensors are very useful when detecting burglars and wild animals in your property`”:
motion sensors are very useful when you want to detect stray animals or burglars on the move*~’