Both Microsoft and Sony have announced that they too will be releasing motion sensitive controllers in the near future. With that, every major console will have such a control scheme available. What does this mean for gamers? Mr. Nash ponders the question in this editorial.

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Put Our Hands In the Air, and Wave 'Em Like We Just Don't Care?

This past E3 we saw Sony and Microsoft officially hop on the motion sensor bandwagon. We all saw this coming after both companies were caught with their pants down by the Wii, and they saw Nintendo’s console consistently out sell their own since its release. Now that everyone has jumped into the pool, and are offering motion sensor experiences, it does bring up a lot of questions as to the direction of the industry going forward.

One of the things gamers seem to worry about with this technology is that it will force the industry to switch over to it entirely, abandoning traditional control schemes all together. It’s hard to imagine this happening, as developers would have to wait for enough people to adopt the technology before switching over completely. What I wonder is if games that utilize motion sensing devices will also support traditional control schemes.

Sometimes after a long day at work, or right after finishing a bunch of exams at school, a person is just bagged and wants to unwind by playing some games. In these situations, it seems unlikely that they are going to want to exert themselves all that much by waving their arms about, lunging their bodies, or do any other motions while playing a game. It’s far more likely that they’ll want to sit on the couch and just tap on a few buttons on a controller instead. Up to this point players have had a choice in how they play their games. If they want to go the motion sensor route, they could fire up their Wii. If they want play in a more traditional manner, that’s what the 360 and PS3 are for. Now that Microsoft and Sony are shooting for motion sensitivity, will this new style of play become inescapable?

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There are a couple of ways that I can see developers going as they put out games with motion sensitivity build into them. They can give players the choice in the options menu between using traditional controls or motion controls while playing, or simply force players to use motion controls. The problem with giving players a choice of control

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schemes in-game is that it could potentially lead to less people adopting the devices that allow for motion control in the first place. Someone could look at hot game XYZ and think to themselves, “I really want that game, but I’m not sure if I want to plunk down the extra cash for the motion controller to go with it.”

It can be tough to get people to adopt new peripherals when they are sold separately from a console. Just look at the adoption rate of other devices to come out over the year that were not packed in with a console. With the exception of perhaps racing wheels most devices just haven’t caught on. Gamers will need a very good reason to go out and get Sony or Microsoft’s motion devices, and it could very well be by making games that only use motion sensitivity. Of course, the another option could be to simply release a new console that focuses on motion controls (1Up recently mentioned a rumor that they caught wind of saying that Microsoft was considering this). However, it still seems a little early to be releasing new consoles, especially given how expensive this generation has been for both developers and consumers thus far, and that most of the world is still battling through a fairly hefty recession. The time just doesn’t seem right to be putting out a new console in the foreseeable future.

Another concern regarding motion controls becoming more wide-spread is that I’m not convinced that the quality of games will get much better. Looking at what has come out for the Wii so far, first party titles have generally been very good. However, looking at the third party offerings thus far, releases have been extremely hit and miss. There is a lot of shovelware getting put out on the Wii. If I see one more party game released on the system, I may just snap. It would be a shame if this pattern spread to Microsoft and Sony’s consoles. These new motion games will need the Kojimas, Levines, Pitchfords, and Itagakis of the world to really push the possibilities as to what motion control can be in a game.

Unfortunately, this brings us back to my previous point. Will games by such heavyweights force players to use motion control, or give them a choice? I like coming home after a long day, popping a Metal Gear Solid game in my console, and just laying down on the couch, quietly tapping buttons on my controller as I play. If a new Metal Gear makes me wave my arms about while playing, I don’t know if I’d want to play it in when I’m tired. Forcing players to use motion controls may be useful to Microsoft and Sony, as it would get people to run out and buy the companies’ new devices, especially if big name series like Metal Gear Solid, Gears of War, or Final Fantasy were to shift toward motion controls. From a marketing perspective, it seems plausible. Conversely, this could drive people away from the systems, as they don’t want to be forced to use these controls all the time. So to accommodate them developers could give players the option of traditional or motion controls, but this could result in less people adopting the new motion controllers, negating Sony and Microsoft’s efforts to get into this sort of gaming. It’s a potential of a catch 22.

There is no denying that motion control has a place in gaming. It’s not the future, but part of it. I’m just not sure how it is going to be implemented or adopted.

Mr. Nash
June 15, 2009

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