Comments on: Is motion-sensitive gaming a gimmick?

Don Reisinger thinks the future of gaming isn't in motion-sensing, but in something else entirely. Is he right?

[davidm15228]

I think this is a very short-sighted, nieve outlook.

First, motion sensing controls for the consumer market are still in their infancy. Who knows what might be coming down the line? Imagine a biometric-like glove that can sense the movement of each finger. How about gyroscopic head gear with a built in screen that allow syou to swivle your head and change perspective? Can you really tell me that these things, and who knows what else, are not possible?

Also, Wii Sports was a gimmick, but games like The Bigs, or Madden, of Tiger Woods PGA on the Wii are anything but. Are they the real thing, no... but I don't think I don't think any of the FPS games are 'real' either. Will they get better, I can't imagine them not. As a young boy growing up with an Apple IIC in the early 80's I remember dreaming of video games like what we're starting to see now. I can't wait to see what's coming down the line!

[thomusvoo]

no wonder they are selling like hot cakes...

[CptGreedle]

I agree that motion sensing is gimmicky... but I disagree with you on a lot of other points. Motion sensing is currently best suited for simple games, but the PS3 already has motion sensing built into the controllers, and these motion sensing abilities are used in a variety of different ways for very complex games. The Wii is really taking off BECAUSE it is a simple concept. it is cheap and easy to use. People can jump into it and figure out what to do with ease. This is not a next gen console, it is a console that found a brand new audience, one that was never there before, the average non-gamer. Grandmas, little kids, parents, everyone plays Wii games. But gamers, hardcore and casual, do not play it as much. This is where you come in. You are a gamer and assume that a gimmicky device can not take off. Well it has, and it does. The PS3 has nothing to loose by trying to appeal to a wider audience. They already have the gamers behind them, the home theater nuts, and if they can get non-gamers to join, they would gain some ground on the Wii.
I feel the non-gamers love the Wii, because it is gimmicky and cheap. But that does not limit it to non-gamers, and gamers too can enjoy motion sensing when combined with other input devices. Zelda was an excellent Wii title that appeals to the casual gamers and non-gamers alike. More titles like this one that would explore the abilities of the motion sensing would bring people into the game, and into gaming.

Innovation is the gaming of the future. Everything has been done before! But being innovative and creative and thinking of doing the same thing in a new way will be the future of gaming, and motion sensing very much has a place there, combined with the traditional elements.

[sonymaster101]

yet no one seems to realize what the games tha work with the controls well are.. you must not have realized that 2 out of the 3 games u mentioined are first party. if you take a much broader look, it becomes obvious that almost all the games that are "good" and use the controls "well" are developed and marketed by nintendo. this has bee the case for about, well, ever since the 64

a list of the most popular games on wii:

-mario kart wii
-wii fit
-metroid
-Brawl
-super mario galaxy
-Zelda twilight princess
-and of course the infamous wii sports.

virtually all (good) and popular games are developed by nintendo b/c all other developers never want to take time to develop a game that works well on a nintendo system.

[Smeagol88]

Using the word "gimmick" is a gimmick to get people to read your poorly formed opinions and arguments. I'm tired morons calling everything they see a gimmick.

[Deerock71]

The word 'gimmick' pops up four times in this relatively short blog. I wonder how he really feels? Clearly, this blogger has never played a round of 32 player Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 online yet, because then he would realize the futility of trying to explain how those controls aren't the future of FPSes on consoles. Merely functional controls that can trace their roots back to Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the N64 (yes, I'm looking at all the Perfect Darks, Halos, and Resistances of the world) pale in comparison to MoH's glorious, immersive, and REVOLUTIONARY controls. Controls offered with the Wiimote/nunchuck combo are just what console FPSes have been waiting for for the last decade.

[benjamin straight]

It may take time for the kinks to be ironed out.

[lepomp]

The Wii is geared towards non hardcore gamers. And you know what that's not a "niche", that's actually mainstream. Nintendo decided to go after the people that don't want to memorize 50 combinations of buttons to press. Once the developers stop trying to make old games fit the Wii and develop games around the Wii, then you will see the innovation. Don't call it a gimmick, and bash it for it simplicity. I mean you own a Wii an must enjoy it to still be playing more than a year after its release.