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I get the feeling it may stay that way for another year. Several bandwagons seem to have developed over the past year as to what the "next big thing" in gaming is going to be, and to be honest, I'm sick of hearing about all of them. Not one of these "revolutionary" concepts hasn't been done before, in some cases more than once, and all of them have been abandoned every time before living up to any real potential.
2010 is going to be yet another parade of gimmicks, and if anything amazing does come to pass, it's not going to be due to any of these.
Motion Control
Sony is finally getting around to ripping off Nintendo's Wii remote, and all I can think is, "Why?" For starters, every time I see footage of the Gem, or whatever they're calling it, this comes immediately to mind:
Beyond that, how much decent use has waggle gotten on its home system in the first place? Certainly not enough to warrant duplication. Sure, it's great in several of Nintendo's first-party titles, but the bulk of those titles that do interesting things with the Wii's motion control capabilities break it down into quaint little mini-games, such as the Wii Sports games and WarioWare. Several games eliminate the appeal of what motion control they have by making it completely optional; for instance, Mario Kart Wii's steering wheel accessory is quickly tossed aside by veteran karters once they realize they can get more familiar and more accurate control by plugging in a GameCube controller.
Even in No More Heroes, a game in which you are running around and swinging a sword, which could have been tied into the waggle, opted to keep the attacks mapped to buttons rather than assigning them to controller movements. The only instances where motion control really comes into play involve jerking off your sword to recharge, flicking trash (or scorpions) into a can on your back, swinging at baseballs on a couple of missions, and using the (mostly unnecessary) wrestling moves on occasion. Nothing's been done to raise motion control beyond the status of gimmick.
You'd think Sony would've picked up on this already, seeing as how the most compelling use of the SixAxis' limited motion capability has involved jiggling a character's breasts onscreen.
It's not like this hasn't been tried before with equally disastrous results. The NES had the U-Force, which was supposed to translate hand motions into gameplay, in such a fashion that it did not work with anything, ever, and the Power Glove, which had all of two games released for it before people went back to not caring. Sega's Activator, an octagonal kick and punch sensing ring, fared just as poorly.
Video-based Control and Player Integration
On a similar note to motion control, Microsoft's trying to get everyone hard about Project Natal, their glorified Xbox Live Vision camera with some games that might have more effort put into them than TotemBall.
I can only see this lasting so long, and garnering a stack of similar games before Natal's two quarters in the spotlight are up, and Microsoft moves on to more practical things. Gesture recognition has just as heinous a record as motion control, when it comes to not going anywhere and losing the support of its creators.
The most extensive foray into camera-based controls I can recall, prior to Natal, was the EyeToy on the PlayStation 2, which graced the black beast with all manner of flailing-based minigame compilations. The PlayStation 3 take on this nonsense, the PlayStation Eye, has proven just as underimplemented. Beyond the ability to slap a picture of your face on a character in a handful of games, you can use the Eye to play a card game with your console and an obscene amount of setup, or subject yourself to interaction with the stuff of nightmares:
Until someone finds a way to tie player video into console gaming in a compelling fashion, console cameras are just going to be the fastest way to show off your testicles to people on your friends list.
Console Multitasking
It seems like all the rage to purport a system can do almost/just as much as a PC, and to continue walking down that path by adding more and more PC-esque bells and whistles to home consoles. But do we really need it, and does anyone really care?
I'll admit there are plenty of great ideas that have graced consoles this past year, and seem to be in the pipeline for 2010 as well. Enabling access to Netflix's instant queue feature for devices that are constantly plugged into televisions already was a no-brainer, and... okay, Netflix on consoles was pretty much the only good idea I've seen on this front. Not that I'm dissing PS3's Blu-ray capabilities or the ability to play DVDs on disc-based systems; those, however, come expected as part of the package (except on the Wii because Nintendo's been lapped by Modern Day several times over now) and therefore do not apply.
Most every other neat thing you can do on a console that was inspired by PC functionality comes so crippled, it's not worth the bother. Xbox's Last.fm setup is kind of neat, but its lack of integration with the custom soundtrack function gives little incentive for anyone to turn to their 360 for tunes when they could just fire up their PC's music player, or in many cases, stream music over their phone. Twitter's and Facebook's functionality are both horribly gimped in their forms on the 360 as well, and I can't imagine the latter being much better on the PS3, especially if you have to pay for it with Sony's forthcoming subscription plans.
And why is it that every console and its mother's dog has a web browser on it? Access to keyboard hardware has made this slightly more viable on home consoles than on handhelds, which are just begging for eyestrain, but the PS3 is the only one of the trinity with any real mouse support. The Wii remote tries, but isn't made for scrolling in any great fashion, and the Wii's lower graphic capabilities make browsing on an HDTV that much more pointless.
Side applications are cute, and fun to play with when they come out, but for the most part have little staying power on things people are buying primarily on which to play games.
Are things really that bleak?
Not necessarily, but the gaming realm really needs to step it up if any of these approaches are going to stop being as forgettable as they currently are. Any gimmick can become a staple if it's properly integrated and supported with what's already there. This is especially in the case of new control technologies, where things aren't going to go anywhere until they get some serious backing.
Give us compelling games that actually require using some of these new features, rather than just compiling tech demos. For example, while they basically turn the remote into a glorified lightguns, some great on-rails shooters have been released on the Wii, which wouldn't have been possible with a more standard control scheme. Natal has a chance to provide incredible immersive experiences where the player's movements translate into his or her exploration of a game's world, but it'll never happen (or be noticed if it does) should the concept be squandered on finding new and different ways for you to bounce balls around the screen. And have the stones, please, to stop giving people old options to fall back upon. When I can play Super Smash Bros Brawl with a Gamecube controller, why would I bother thinking of the Wii as anything more than a trumped-up Gamecube?
As for expanding a console's range of uses, more options are great so long as they aren't merely frivolous. I've already mentioned how Last.fm on 360 would be that much better if it could be used as an in-game soundtrack, perhaps with the control bar tucked in one of the system menus. Being able to post screencaps directly to Facebook or Twitter while playing a game, or even just posting some sort of update as to what I'm playing with minimal effort, would be a lot more interesting than just having my avatar stand next to my friends' posts.
Web browsing on a console may be silly, but given the access to keyboards on all the consoles, why not scale things back, and perhaps make direct access available, respectively, to each system's official forums? Not only would it give gamers a more direct way to share in a dialogue someplace they know they'd find others with similar interest, it would actually give those poor no-man's-lands some traffic.
I guess what it comes down to is that I see the future, at least 2010, bringing little to nothing of interest if the industry doesn't sit down and actually think about what some of these crazy ideas can do for their games, rather than thinking about what they can pass off as new and zany for a quick buck.
I did read this and it's a good blog! I also agree with it. I don't think that the controller can be replaced by standing up and jumping around either with camera controls or a wand.
I can see games for those applications... games like the Eyetoy games. Some might become popular and spawn a new genre like the music genre with it's peripherals or the active genre like Wii games... but they won't replace the core aspect of sitting on our butts with a controller in our hands to get the submersive elements and better control features of the old fashioned controller.
Motion controls, love 'em or hate 'em there's an entire generation of kids that are more accustomed to a wii-remote and nunchuk than they are to dual analog sticks.
In that respect I think it would be stupid for MS and Sony to not get on the bandwagon because the kids playing wii now will be doe eyed devs in another 10 years having used motion controls their whole lives.
At this point I think it's pretty clear that the wii has changed the game forever, now I just hope they can change it for the better.
@KwikPwn: 3 years of Wii isn't close to a generation and videogames are so common and there are so many damn game specific peripherals that being able to adapt to various control schemes will be far more common among kids than the kids that grew up only playing wii motion specific games.
This is just getting out of hand. First I though it was just the motion control fad, but when you pointed out how consoles try to add more and more features, it just hit me. I don't know about most people but i'm perfectly fine getting up to use the internet.
Everything but Netflix on the 360 is a piece of garbage. The apps, I mean. I just look, and I'm like "whats the point?" Is it really that hard to stream music OUTSIDE of that application? now Game Room or whatever they are calling it looks to be promising, even if it is gimmicky and nostalgia. Mostly I'm excited because they say its going to be for PC. PC!??!?
Considering that retailers are now refusing to stock Wii shovelware and that quality 3rd party Wii games aren't selling, it seems weird that Sony and Microsoft are still moving full steam ahead on the "Mii Too" express.
The bubble is already starting to pop, but as usual blind faith in milking the success of others doesn't seem to be stopping them from piling onto it just as Nintendo is looking for ways to do something new.
I agree with your points about the Wii. It is still a great system as long as you come to terms with the fact that less than 5 of its games that fully embrace motion controls are good and the rest use the standard control stick and button setup. Although you forgot to point out the "amazing" motionplus which, with its inclusion to Zelda Wii's control scheme, has support for a whopping 2 games.
As long as game developers can still remember how to make great controller-operated games, fads like the ones you outlined will be mere ploys to suck in wads of cash from from gamers open to new experiences and people who don't know any better, and once the money has been made, the developers will silently abandon their new doohickey and continue on making games as they've always done.
Indeed, Nintendo just didn't push the motion enough. Just look at Motion Plus, Nintendo fails to push it with oresome software. I doubt the Zelda team will even make M+ worth it.
Nintendo has made as many mistakes as they have successes this gen, they are only now getting back on track with NSMB and finally getting some brains.
You forgot to mention 3D.... did everyone already forget about the 3D craze that comes about every 8-10 years, and every time until now, always requires the use of some dorky, heavy, and independentrly powered googles??
I'm thirty-something and I have already played, in 4 different tech fairs over the years, 3D-optimized versions of Doom, Descent, World of Warcraft and Gears of War. It has always been hyped as the next big thing, and it has always dissapeared from the public's mind before the year ended. The only difference is that the equipment no longer wheights 4 pounds and has a tiny screen, but it's still bulky and makes you look stupid, there are still some wieird glitches on the image and noticeable slowdown on the rendering, and the flickering on the lenses to achieve the 3D effect can induce severe headaches on some sensitive folk (me included).
And flying cars. Where the hell is my flying car????
From your fingers to executives eyes...uh, and no I didn't mean gouge out the eyeballs of the corporations doing all these gimmicks.
I just wish they read this blog. There's really nothing to counter or argue. I feel you're right on all your points and said it well. Nice job.
Ah, yes, motion control hate. We get it; you don't like it. Neither does most of destructoid. I didn't like 3d polygon games when they were new, either.
Re4Wii showed how to use motion control as did Wii Control Pikmin and make them feel better than a traditional controller. I will say that NMH also used the motion control for deathblows, and I think that was the best thing about the game. I've never really been as animated with combat in a brawler as much as I was there.
I think that the future is bright here for the wand stuff. And frankly, the game industry is starting to kill itself under its own HD development budgets so it's nice to see the Wii firmly in first place. I'd prefer for the console industry to still be able to offer risky full-length titles, and that gets really hard when the dev budget is that big.
The multitasking stuff, yeah, I agree with you there.
Wow, I'm surprised this one managed to get frontpaged; I felt it was pretty clumsy by the time I posted it.
@m_earendil: I do like motion control; RE4 Wii was great, and heck, I liked Excitetruck for its motion control component, and that was first-gen and moderately wonky. I just feel like no one's got the stones to really push it as the next step in gaming evolution, even Nintendo. They've got a handful of good games that make great use of the waggle, but for the most part, it's still just an accessory to the action rather than essential. If they'd just man up and say, "Hey, you need to use this," in more of their games rather than letting you plug in old controllers, especially when the old controllers give you a more accurate and more enjoyable experience. Really, I'm just waiting for someone to be serious about it. Or to remake/sequel Stretch Panic with motion controls, because that would make so much sense.
Companies managed to do fine by adding extra buttons and making them essential components of gameplay; why can't this happen with motion controls?
@everyonewhomentionedfolklore: I don't have a PS3 (yet) but I did play a demo of that ages ago, and I forgot how sweet that was.
@m_earendil: I didn't forget 3D so much as leave it out, because I couldn't think of much more than Rad Racer, 3D World Runner, and lolvirtualboy. I thought the Virtual Boy was rad as hell, though.
Another thing I left out was touch control a la the DS, but that, I actually did forget I had anything to say about. In the end, I've a similar stance to motion control on that one, i.e. stop trying to force it on game styles and franchises that aren't suited to it and start doing more new, exciting, and touch-essential things. Get creative or no one will care.
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Contest:
8:00 PM on 01.12.2010 | 
i just wanted to say that no back to the future hoverboards this year will make it just as un-eventfull as every since i saw back to the future.
I can see games for those applications... games like the Eyetoy games. Some might become popular and spawn a new genre like the music genre with it's peripherals or the active genre like Wii games... but they won't replace the core aspect of sitting on our butts with a controller in our hands to get the submersive elements and better control features of the old fashioned controller.
Everybody shuts up.
In that respect I think it would be stupid for MS and Sony to not get on the bandwagon because the kids playing wii now will be doe eyed devs in another 10 years having used motion controls their whole lives.
At this point I think it's pretty clear that the wii has changed the game forever, now I just hope they can change it for the better.
The bubble is already starting to pop, but as usual blind faith in milking the success of others doesn't seem to be stopping them from piling onto it just as Nintendo is looking for ways to do something new.
As long as game developers can still remember how to make great controller-operated games, fads like the ones you outlined will be mere ploys to suck in wads of cash from from gamers open to new experiences and people who don't know any better, and once the money has been made, the developers will silently abandon their new doohickey and continue on making games as they've always done.
Nintendo has made as many mistakes as they have successes this gen, they are only now getting back on track with NSMB and finally getting some brains.
I'm thirty-something and I have already played, in 4 different tech fairs over the years, 3D-optimized versions of Doom, Descent, World of Warcraft and Gears of War. It has always been hyped as the next big thing, and it has always dissapeared from the public's mind before the year ended. The only difference is that the equipment no longer wheights 4 pounds and has a tiny screen, but it's still bulky and makes you look stupid, there are still some wieird glitches on the image and noticeable slowdown on the rendering, and the flickering on the lenses to achieve the 3D effect can induce severe headaches on some sensitive folk (me included).
And flying cars. Where the hell is my flying car????
I just wish they read this blog. There's really nothing to counter or argue. I feel you're right on all your points and said it well. Nice job.
Re4Wii showed how to use motion control as did Wii Control Pikmin and make them feel better than a traditional controller. I will say that NMH also used the motion control for deathblows, and I think that was the best thing about the game. I've never really been as animated with combat in a brawler as much as I was there.
I think that the future is bright here for the wand stuff. And frankly, the game industry is starting to kill itself under its own HD development budgets so it's nice to see the Wii firmly in first place. I'd prefer for the console industry to still be able to offer risky full-length titles, and that gets really hard when the dev budget is that big.
The multitasking stuff, yeah, I agree with you there.
@m_earendil: I do like motion control; RE4 Wii was great, and heck, I liked Excitetruck for its motion control component, and that was first-gen and moderately wonky. I just feel like no one's got the stones to really push it as the next step in gaming evolution, even Nintendo. They've got a handful of good games that make great use of the waggle, but for the most part, it's still just an accessory to the action rather than essential. If they'd just man up and say, "Hey, you need to use this," in more of their games rather than letting you plug in old controllers, especially when the old controllers give you a more accurate and more enjoyable experience. Really, I'm just waiting for someone to be serious about it. Or to remake/sequel Stretch Panic with motion controls, because that would make so much sense.
Companies managed to do fine by adding extra buttons and making them essential components of gameplay; why can't this happen with motion controls?
@everyonewhomentionedfolklore: I don't have a PS3 (yet) but I did play a demo of that ages ago, and I forgot how sweet that was.
@m_earendil: I didn't forget 3D so much as leave it out, because I couldn't think of much more than Rad Racer, 3D World Runner, and lolvirtualboy. I thought the Virtual Boy was rad as hell, though.
Another thing I left out was touch control a la the DS, but that, I actually did forget I had anything to say about. In the end, I've a similar stance to motion control on that one, i.e. stop trying to force it on game styles and franchises that aren't suited to it and start doing more new, exciting, and touch-essential things. Get creative or no one will care.