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Those of you have a TV might have seen the latest Wii Remote advert. Restaurants lie deserted as a bunch of well-dressed (not-at-all-photoshopped) women scream with delight at home playing the latest sensational Wii game. As much as I wish that ladies of this calibre of beauty played video games, the fact is that motion control gaming, though being heralded as the Big New Thing, is ultimately a passing fad that will go the way of the Nokia N-Gage (anyone remember that?) onto the technological scrapheap.
Although the technology has been lucrative for Nintendo, firmly placing it on the top rung in the software battle against Microsoft and Sony, its target audience is much more casual compared to the more traditional gamers that flood the latter two. Although Wii Fit and Wii Sports and the umpteen other titles with Wii in them (which if you say enough the jokes get tiresome) have been popular, the likelihood of these gamers becoming loyal fans to the Nintendo franchise is remote. Instead it’s more likely that they will go to the next shiny toy that captures their eye – to Sony and Microsoft versions of motion capture technology. The fact that Nintendo has brought out a new Metroid game and is planning new Zelda and Pokémon games shows that the new technology has been less than successful – otherwise they wouldn’t be relying on old, worn-out brands.
Perhaps the most pressing problem with motion-sensitive technology is that it loses the most important aspect: immersion. Moving your own, less-than-superhuman body to help the chiselled pixelated Adonis on screen, the obvious disparity is jarring. And besides, most people don’t want to do more stuff playing a video game; it’s a medium that works best when you’re slumped on the couch drinking industrial units of Dr. Pepper (incidentally the best way to sample all culture).
Four years ago, there was only one thing on my mind: the Wii. All I could think of was how many days left there were until December 8th. Being a sensible person, I'd pre-ordered mine sometime in September, and hence was able to pick it up on launch day; others weren’t as lucky, waiting another two years for the sales rush to die down. While it could be simply a novelty, there's much more to it than that.
From a purely conceptual standpoint, it's clear that Sony and Microsoft are of the opinion that motion controls are the future. They've waited four years before jumping into Nintendo's Blue Ocean, and are now betting their “ten year console lifespans” on its success. Clearly there must be SOMETHING in it. The presence of traditional games doesn’t indicate lack of success; it simply shows that there's still a commitment to “classic” sit-down gameplay. And if some of these “new” gamers turn towards the classic stuff, then so much the better. Just because a company explores new waters doesn't mean it’s neglecting the old ones. Examples such as Zelda Twilight Princess show a commitment to classic-style games married with “modern” twists.
As for “immersion”, when done correctly, motion controls can increase it. It's still immensely satisfying swinging that controller and seeing your screen character hit a ball. In controlling the “pixelated Adonis” you BECOME the pixelated Adonis. Though I'd hardly call Mario an Adonis. Of course, all this only really comes together if the games work. Certainly throughout 2007-8, companies were seeing motion controls as a quick fix, but perhaps now we have bigger companies behind it too, we could see an upsurge in quality.
And incidentally, drinking MTN Dew gives far greater energy for performing star jumps in Wii Sports!
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