The general crapness of Kinect games coupled with Nintendo’s multiple iterations of “classic” Wii/Wii U controllers, indicate that videogames and buttons are here to stay. In fact, the motion fad seems to have died down a ton from a few years ago. Not for Jade Raymond, however. She thinks we need to ditch the physical input in order to go mainstream.
“I still think one of the huge barriers is the controller, and even people who played games when it used to be just one big red button and a D-pad can’t play games now,” the Ubisoft producer patronizingly told OXM. “You have to master face buttons, triggers and they all do different things. So obviously we’re never going to get to that really mass-market place where we’re touching a really broad audience with our messages with controllers, so Kinect and other more natural ways to interact with games are incredibly important. I think we can go further.
“As more of a hardcore gamer I want to see that stuff integrated into hardcore games in a way that makes them better because as fun as all those games are. I don’t really play exercise games — I can’t picture myself doing that. I’d love to be able to lean and look round the corner and just integrate more natural motions. The tech for those things isn’t quite there, but I hope it will soon.”
What an inane suggestion. Buttons scare people? Has she seen a television remote? Or a keyboard? I think this assertion that controllers — still pretty damn humble in the button department compared to some gadgets out there — are alienating is incredibly presumptuous and inane. Never mind how alienating a total lack of buttons can be — try playing Steel Battalion … nothing has ever felt so unintuitive or oppressive.
Oh, and you don’t get much more mainstream than Madden, FIFA, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto … none of which use shitty Kinect.
