Which console has the coolest new motion concept?

[LethalWolfe]

Natal. I don't get it (yet).

Unless you are specifically looking for ways it won't work I don't see you can't acknowledge how it could work. Take a boxing game, for example, where pretty much every thing you are doing w/the gamepad is designed to try and mimic a human being throwing a punch. Or a golf game w/all the meters and stuff when all you are trying to do is mimic a human being swinging a golf club. Or a tennis game. Or any number of party games that inherently have very basic controls. And the nice part w/the casual games is you wouldn't have to buy multiple controllers for people who don't game that much.


Lethal

 

[0098386]

Oh I can see it working very well for first person fighting games, that karate demo was very ace and I'd buy any boxing game for it without second thought. It's just for everything else I'd prefer to be holding a controller of some sort. Much like the iPod game market now - it runs specially designed (and limited) software very well but give it Monster Hunter Freedom or a Castlevania game and it's buggered.

I just don't see it as the second coming of gaming as others are. Unfortunately we're heading into a future that's going to be ladened with controllers, cameras and balance boards if you want to play a wide selection of games .

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

What if you are holding a gamepad in your hands and you reach for your drink? What if you are holding a PS3 'wand' in each hand and reach for a drink? What if you are holding a Wii remote in your hands and reach for a drink? If Natal can tell the difference between "I need a cool drink of tea" and "I need to shift" it's got a one up over the competition. If it can't it's no worse than everyone else.

If i have a controller in my hand and i reach for a drink nothing has happened on screen because i havent pressed any buttons, this may or may not be true depending on how Natal interprets my movements.
If i have my wiimote in my hand i reach for my tea i can still keep driving in MarioKart because i can turn/accelerate with one hand and the wii isnt mistaking my other hand gesture for anything.

Natal is an all-or-nothing scenario. If it thinks im grabbing tea then its a win. If it doesnt its a fail. There really isnt a middle ground.

 

[LethalWolfe]

I just don't see it as the second coming of gaming as others are. Unfortunately we're heading into a future that's going to be ladened with controllers, cameras and balance boards if you want to play a wide selection of games .

I don't think it's the second coming, but I can see how it would be a better interface for some games and for generally interfacing w/the Dashboard. No kidding about all the peripherals though. All the Guitar Hero/Rock Band stuff, DJ Hero, all the Wii stuff, Tony Hawk's Ride (which uses a skateboard peripheral)... ugh. If Natal ends up working like it's supposed to it will actually help cut down on controller clutter which is another reason I like the concept. I mean, how nice would it be to play casual games (Wii Sports, trivia, party games, etc.,) and not have to have a draw full of controllers to do so?

If i have a controller in my hand and i reach for a drink nothing has happened on screen because i havent pressed any buttons, this may or may not be true depending on how Natal interprets my movements.
If i have my wiimote in my hand i reach for my tea i can still keep driving in MarioKart because i can turn/accelerate with one hand and the wii isnt mistaking my other hand gesture for anything.

If you are playing a racing game and you take a hand off the gamepad you'll lose the ability to completely control the car and, being right handed, I didn't think about grabbing something w/yer left hand while playing Mario Kart.


Lethal

 

[.Andy]

Looking forward to them all. I have a Wii and am really looking forward to motion plus. Also have a PS3 so looking forward to their wand. My bro has a 360 so will get to natal it. Win-win-win.

Things are very different this year from when the Wii first introduced their motion control . About time the other companies got in on it.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Sony's demonstration and technology was complete crap. It was true Sony "me too" style, just like they're six axis controller, which was barely functioning when they first showed it off (they did it just because the of Nintendo's Wii).

Microsoft's technology looks crazy sweet and is definitely a show stopping piece of work, especially if it turns out to be functional (which I fully expect). The only issue I can see with it: it looks like you will have to play in a well let area, especially for facial recognition, and most gamers play in a dark room.

I don't get what's new about Nintendo's Wii. Anyone care to explain to me what makes it different from the Wii's current set up?

 

[dukebound85]

is it just me who does NOT want motion controls?

i hate the gimmicky wii. i love my standard controller usage

enough with the novelty cheesy ideas

 

[.Andy]

I don't get what's new about Nintendo's Wii. Anyone care to explain to me what makes it different from the Wii's current set up?

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/...-the-motionplus-possible-killer-app-video.ars

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

is it just me who does NOT want motion controls?

i hate the gimmicky wii. i love my standard controller usage

enough with the novelty cheesy ideas

A gimmick takes away from an experience over all and is a hindrance. Since the Wii has proven, many times over, to make a more enjoyable experience for the vast majority of people it cannot be defined as a gimmick.

Standard controllers aren't going anywhere, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are just trying to appeal to a bigger audience. Microsoft in true carbon copy fashion (they're even advertising it as fun for the whole family), Nintendo in a truly innovative way, and Sony in a classic, poor, slipshod way.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/06/tiger-woods-with-the-motionplus-possible-killer-app-video.ars

I'm sure that there is something new there, but I don't play Wii (or really any games besides Ocarina of Time) very often, so I don't see much difference in how it works now. That accessory will probably be a tough sell to the general public since it doesn't look like much new.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

If you are playing a racing game and you take a hand off the gamepad you'll lose the ability to completely control the car and, being right handed, I didn't think about grabbing something w/yer left hand while playing Mario Kart.


Lethal

If im playing a racing game i would wait for a straight section to take my left hand off the control. If im on a strait section and Natal thinks im downshifting instead of grabbing a glass then i jest lost the race.

 

[LethalWolfe]

If im playing a racing game i would wait for a straight section to take my left hand off the control. If im on a strait section and Natal thinks im downshifting instead of grabbing a glass then i jest lost the race.

Obviously all you'd have to do is wait until you are far enough ahead of everyone else so that a momentary downshift wouldn't cost you the race.


Lethal

 

[dukebound85]

A gimmick takes away from an experience over all and is a hindrance. Since the Wii has proven, many times over, to make a more enjoyable experience for the vast majority of people it cannot be defined as a gimmick.

sorry, all i need to do is look at the wii's game lineup. 80%+ of the titles are gimmicky imo with the exceptions being largely first party platform games

after having a wii, 360, and ps3, my least favorite by a landslide is the wii

proven? hardly to me. developers tend to add motion contols for the sake of motion controls and more often than not, it is such a bad implementation it make the game suck.

of course this is my opinion just as its your opinion you dont think the wii is gimmicky lol

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

sorry, all i need to do is look at the wii's game lineup. 80%+ of the titles are gimmicky imo with the exceptions being largely first party platform games

after having a wii, 360, and ps3, my least favorite by a landslide is the wii

proven? hardly to me. developers tend to add motion contols for the sake of motion controls and more often than not, it is such a bad implementation it make the game suck.

of course this is my opinion just as its your opinion you dont think the wii is gimmicky lol

The controls themselves arent gimmicky, its just the developers that use them in a gimmicky way. Wii Sports is one of the most fun games i have ever played and its all due to the controls. There are tons of other games that just tack the motion controls on at the end of the game development and screw it all up though. It all boils down to how good the game developer is, and Nintendo has a few good ones and a ton of bad ones. MS, on the other hand, only has a few but they are pretty good, but Sony has a ton of great developers, so i have faith in their ability to make motion control work correctly.

 

[0098386]

is it just me who does NOT want motion controls?

i hate the gimmicky wii. i love my standard controller usage

enough with the novelty cheesy ideas

I like motion controls but there are times where standard controls are required. I'm glad the Wii and PS3 has both though. Some of the most fun I've had with a games console in recent years was on WarioWare and Wii Sports.

sorry, all i need to do is look at the wii's game lineup. 80%+ of the titles are gimmicky imo with the exceptions being largely first party platform games

Oh that's very clever. Judging a system by the (admittedly poor) bulk of the software. Most Hollywood films are crap, should I give up on them altogether? Regardless of the bulk of the games (just like the PSP, or PS2, 360, PS3, PC...) Brawl, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Resident Evil 4, Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3/Trilogy, Wii Sports, Mad World, World of Goo, Paper Mario and Boom Blox are all very good and enjoyable games. And then there's a new Zelda, 2 new Mario games, new Metroid, Monster Hunter 3 that will all do the high score rounds too.

 

[dukebound85]

Oh that's very clever. Judging a system by the (admittedly poor) bulk of the software.

why yes, i judge a system by the software availiable for it

 

[Oneness]

We need another poll that asks how many people think that MS can actually pull off the NATAL thing. I say it comes to market half realized and buggy. MS will market hard for a couple of years with a few big game releases to go along with it. They will eventually slash the price and stop any further development of the concept. Someone else will take this tech to the next level.

 

[rev316]

Too much media crap to figure out what actually works.

al la.. I'm holding my opinion 'till I see it hit the reviewer's hands.

 

[0098386]

why yes, i judge a system by the software availiable for it

You went and missed my point entirely.

We need another poll that asks how many people think that MS can actually pull off the NATAL thing. I say it comes to market half realized and buggy. MS will market hard for a couple of years with a few big game releases to go along with it. They will eventually slash the price and stop any further development of the concept. Someone else will take this tech to the next level.

Microsoft release something buggy and half realised, you're joking right?
But what could be interesting is if they mixed both Natal and their 'wand', so we get games that you can hide behind the couch, crawl out and shoot some bad guys (like in the original Wii video). If just for kicks.

 

[viperguy]

Microsoft looks really good to me.
And Nintendo is dead... the competitors now have better hardware AND better controls than the Wii.
I'm so pissed off lol

 

[zap2]

Microsoft looks really good to me.
And Nintendo is dead... the competitors now have better hardware AND better controls than the Wii.
I'm so pissed off lol

Do you really believe that?

First off Sony and MS don't have anything on market yet....and they still need good software to using the technology. Plus MS/Sony have to convince people to buy the add on(Nintendo does to, at least for motion plus, but for a console already based off motion sense, a small add on is a smaller jump). And lastly Nintendo is swimming in money, they could afford to take a lose...or push out new hardware.

 

[0098386]

And Nintendo is dead...

Lol.

 

[NoSmokingBandit]

And Nintendo is dead...

As long as Nintendo has Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Pokemon, SSB, and Mario Kart they will never die.

 

[echeck]

As for motion plus. I just keep wanting to scream at nintendo... Just sod adding another peripheral. Release a god damn Motion Plus Wii Remote. Full stop.....

Of course if they released a new Wiimote with Motion Plus you would be going on about having to buy a new Wiimote.

I like the idea of just adding it on.

Motion Plus is the most practical I think. Sony's is ridiculous and Microsoft is synonymous with crash, so it just won't happen.

Motion controls are great when implemented correctly. Obviously there is a TON of crap out there on the Wii, but there are also some awesome games with the integrated motion controls. The first one that comes to my mind is Excite Truck. Extremely simple, yet so much fun with motion! I would love to play an F-Zero with motion controls, but alas, Nintendo and Sega seem to have forgotten about the franchise.

So Motion Plus for me, hands down. It's proven, and it's not over-the-top.

 

[Chone]

As long as Nintendo has Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mario, Pokemon, SSB, and Mario Kart they will never die.

They'll eventually need new IPs, they already ruined Mario Kart and the Pokemon formula is starting to get a little stale.

But I agree, it's ridiculous to say Nintendo is dead.

 

[echeck]

They'll eventually need new IPs, they already ruined Mario Kart...

I still think Mario Kart is awesome. I still play it multiple times a week, and I'm just doing circuit races over and over, so for me it obviously still has pretty incredible replay value. Plus it's my son's favorite game.

But I agree. Nintendo is getting to the point where they're not going to be able to live off of their classic IP's. I will admit that when I bought my 'Cube I bought it for the sole reason to play Mario Kart, Mario and Zelda. That's it. My wife and I very nearly bought a Playstation, but settled on the 'Cube because of Nintendo's IP.

When the Wii came out it was a no-brainer for me, but I would say 70% of that decision was based on price. There was no way I was spending $300 or more on a video game console.

But for me personally, unless Nintendo doesn't get something new and fresh going, rather than constant re-hashes (many have been quality, but rehashed nonetheless) they're not going to survive the next round.