Developers are ramping up for the imminent release of the Kinect and Move systems, but even though motion controllers are the main agenda for the three major console manufacturers, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami believes a full decade is needed before the controllers become “mainstream” to the general user base.
Mikami, who is responsible for many a popular franchise, and is set to release his next game, Vanquish, believes that motion controllers need a while until they are popular. In fact, he is banking on the day when eye controlled gameplay becomes the norm.
"I don't think motion controls will be in the gaming mainstream in the next ten years," Mikami explained to PSM3 magazine (via CVG). "When the technology gets to the point where you can just flick your eyeballs around and the computer can pick it up, you won't need a controller anymore. Obviously it's going to take a while to get there."
The Kinect is due out in November, with the Move is prepping for release this month. The Nintendo Wii, however, has utilized motion controls since release back in 2006. Given the tremendous sales the console has generated, perhaps motion controls already appeal to the mainstream, but not so much the ‘core’ gaming audience.
4 Comments
September 2, 2010
Hasn’t anyone ever been to a dinner where everyone makes a speech? By the forth toast I am just pretending to clap. After I have worked all I day I don’t want to clap jump or bounce. The thing I don’t like is Microsoft’s campaign that seems to just write an obituary for the analogue controller. Why couldn’t the message be, we are adding something that is going to give you more choice. Real gamers wait outside before the store opens for a modern warfare. We aren’t soccer moms or kids who play cooking mama on the DSI. We have the wi and the grave yard of games that my sons have tired of. At e3 the golden eye beta was golden. Anyone who wanted to test it had to use a traditional controller. I know good food and just because McDonalds makes the most money doesn’t mean my favorite food has to become hamburger.
September 2, 2010
I think Sony's Move is the right approach, offering gameplay familiar to anyone who has played the Wii, but advanced enough to offer the precision demanded by the core gaming community for games like Killzone 3 and Socom 4, and a host of others as well. I would like to see more developers make games designed for both Wii MotionPlus and Move. Although the game engines will be drastically different and MotionPlus isn't as accurate as Move, it is close enough that with some smart programming the same game design will work wonderfully on both systems. Also, I hope Ubisoft gives Red Steel 2 another chance and upgrades it to PS3 Move in HD with bonus content. That franchise deserves another shot, given the huge leap in quality from the first one to the sequel.
September 2, 2010
Mitch,
Have you read any of the things that insiders are saying outside the hype machine of Sony and Xbox? They are saying accuracy is a problem. Are you a pr guy or something? You read all the comments and just said I think it’s precise. I might sound cynical but I don’t get on a band wagon so quick any more read below.
In the late seventies in the area fitness there was a huge controversy. What were better free weights or machines? It was almost impossible to find out the truth. You had bodybuilders and athletes that were paid by companies, said machines are much better. You had doctors that said you had more muscle recruitment with machines. After I spent a substantial amount of cash on pins and levers monstrosity I began to work out. After around six months of working out I had mediocre improvements. This was the new way dumbbells were the past. My dad had a rack of old dumbbells. After trying them I was so sore I knew this was better. I got in the best shape of my life. The dumbbells were practical small and effective. I hope you see the analogy here. If it seems like it can’t be the best solution for shooters on line it probably isn’t. I still have the dumbbells.
September 2, 2010
Looking at the game demos, the combat in Zelda: Skyward Sword seems much more precise than in Move's Gladiator game, and most of the reviewers seem to be catastrophically unimpressed with the launch titles so far.