If you somehow overlooked this article by our resident machine-gun poster (can this dude crank out great articles like an assembly line, or what?) Dale North, then you missed out on Logitech’s announcement that they think they can improve upon the Wiimote’s design. However, if you’d also like to take a peek back in time and learn about some concepts that didn’t make the cut, Gizmodo has that part covered.
In an exclusive interview with Matt Presta at Bridge Design (who handled the original concept back in 2001), Gizmodo gets an interesting account of what the whole experience was like. Besides the nice sketchbook drawings you can view, left-handed gamers (such as myself) get the much-needed nod that we are not totally forgotten in the game making process:
Based on a requirement to roughly preserve the existing Game Cube button layout we created usability concepts that would work for one-or two-handed gaming. We experimented with different configurations through sketches, models and interviewing various hardcore gamers… BTW, for the record most of us designers support you lefties out there. Unfortunately the business world often decides that ambidextrous attributes aren’t worth the effort.
Looking at the sketches, it becomes obvious that the designs were greatly influenced by the PlayStation controller — and It’s not all that hard to imagine why at that point in time. After all, the masses were quite content with Sony’s design, and few people that I know of ever praised Nintendo’s GameCube controller for its brilliance. My, my, my — isn’t it funny how time changes all things?
