[Jay]

So I've noticed Sony and MS jumping on the Wii bandwagon in the hope that they take some marketshare from them.

I personally think it looks ridiculous, and very shallow. I'd rather have a wii and I really think Sony and MS should have stuck to what they do best rather than trying to be a jack of all trades master of none.

Or infact I think they should have maybe tried ripping off Nintendo completely rather than trying to half rip them off, the thought of an fps with good graphics using the wii controller would excite me more than what they're trying to do.

And this (long) article really hits the nail on the head

LINK

[DpM]

Ill read the link later.
I have a Wii and a 360 and if the Natal works as well as they claim it will then it will be the next step on from the Wii mote as it tracks the whole body not just the part of it holding the Wii mote/nunchuck. It also adds voice recognition and object scanning, I dont see it as so much of a rip off more as taking the idea further. If that is the case then Nintendo ripped off Atari when they bought out the NES as it was cartridge based like the 2600.
Personally not holding anything for some games might mean I play for longer as after a few hours on a FPS hand cramps start to set in, this could be a good way around that issue for me (I sound like a right old git!).

Just my take on it though.

I have not looked at the PS3 offering as yet, not had a chance.

[Noggleboggleman]

I think that project Natal has the potential to be absolutely incredible and it is the next step in motion control gaming.

Sony's offering also looked good - far more potential than the Wii offers at the moment. It seems more of a direct rip off of the Wii than Microsofts.

The potential for both is great as long as it all works as promised and we get some creative games companies putting some time and effort into software for them both. Otherwise we'll just end up with mini-game overload like on the Wii and it would be a waste of great hardware development.

I was gobsmacked whilst watching Microsofts presentation. Even my other half muted the tv and came to watch.

666th post. Mwah hah hah hah.

[CAS FAN]

Games are evolving, it's just the way. The joypad is really still locked in the 1980's and we still interact with games and what is on the screen in the same way that we did on our Spectums, C64s & NESs.

I thought that Natal looked amazing (and is the most interesting for me personally) and that the Sony offering was a good advancement of eyetoy along with combining the wiimote ideas. Both the Sony motion controller and the new wiimote motion plus look to work well in a very accurate fashion .

Game control finally seems to be evolving again, which is great IMO. It's a subject I keep a pretty close eye on because I did a load of design work in this area in both my A Levels and my degree course.

I don't see anyone as jumping on the bandwaggon to be fair. Sony first brought us Eye Toy and I remember first seeing that on Big Brother and thinking it was amazing. Tilt and motion controllers have been around for a while and Nintendo developed them further and added a camera to the controller to use as a pointer. It's all a constant development process really I guess.

[addyb]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

Games are evolving, it's just the way. The joypad is really still locked in the 1980's and we still interact with games and what is on the screen in the same way that we did on our Spectums, C64s & NESs.

I thought that Natal looked amazing (and is the most interesting for me personally) and that the Sony offering was a good advancement of eyetoy along with combining the wiimote ideas. Both the Sony motion controller and the new wiimote motion plus look to work well in a very accurate fashion .

Game control finally seems to be evolving again, which is great IMO. It's a subject I keep a pretty close eye on because I did a load of design work in this area in both my A Levels and my degree course.

I don't see anyone as jumping on the bandwaggon to be fair. Sony first brought us Eye Toy and I remember first seeing that on Big Brother and thinking it was amazing. Tilt and motion controllers have been around for a while and Nintendo developed them further and added a camera to the controller to use as a pointer. It's all a constant development process really I guess.

Yeah i agree, i mean ive been using job pads for nearly 25 years so its about time it all changed. The future is looking rosy indeed. Games need to be more immersive. Hi def gfx etc is not the way forward imo. I mean the wii in general gets slated by many hardcore gamers but at least Nintendo have tried something new, otherwise we are all doomed to be playing the same old games year in year out only with better visuals, audio etc.

Be very interesting to see what happens when the next batch of consoles come out. Will MS and Sony go all out with motion controls like Nintendo did with the wii? If they do what will Nintendo have up there sleeves? Im a huge fan of all consoles as they all have games i want to play.

[GMC79]

Originally Posted by Indecisive Jay

So I've noticed Sony and MS jumping on the Wii bandwagon in the hope that they take some marketshare from them.

I personally think it looks ridiculous, and very shallow. I'd rather have a wii and I really think Sony and MS should have stuck to what they do best rather than trying to be a jack of all trades master of none.

Or infact I think they should have maybe tried ripping off Nintendo completely rather than trying to half rip them off, the thought of an fps with good graphics using the wii controller would excite me more than what they're trying to do.

And this (long) article really hits the nail on the head

LINK

well said it's ridiculous and i think it's just a test for the future MS and Sony consoles.
If we want weird gaming we buy a wii. lol
Not intrested in it at all.
at least others trying to copy nintendo, been sony copying MS for last few years, or trying.

[The Snake]

They'll never replace the Joy pad.

Its just marketing cobblers, the Joy pad works in a home environment, for a vast array of games.

Nintendo have done a good job with the Wii thingy remotes, but even that is a bit gimmicky, with the right type of games the Wii thingy remote is good, but the Joy pad is the choice for the vast majority of other stuff.

Microsoft will never get Natal up and running in the life of the XBOX360. The PS3 is a hopeless case i'm afraid, the Wii sells because its a well priced games machine with a novelty twist aimed at the family, the PS3 doesn't because its an overpriced soon to be jack of all trades (soon to be glorified DVD player).

[Fe_man2000]

fps with good graphics using the wii controller would excite me more than what they're trying to do.

theres the first problem - the gamecube1.5..erm I mean Wii is never going to look that good - it just doesnt have the hardware for it. Its maxed out at the moment.

Also this is the usual flurry of overreaction to a press conference, what will hopefully come out of it will be game that use Both a controller and the motion sensor

e.g a FPS using the controller but you throw grenades with your arm rather than a button - thats a nice thought, wave you arms to direct your men SAS style maybe, hot wire cars with your hands . These are the things this will bring to the more advance games + a load of simple football/tennis etc etc stuff as on the wii.

I dont want to get over excited by this there is a reason why games are controlled the way they are and its not due for a update, its a slow evolution.

NOTE - MS will get this up and running and you have the reason in your post - theres £££ in family gaming and this will make it happen on the other consoles - a lot of dad's just need an excuse to get either a 360 or BluRay player under the guise of "its for the kids" or have one already and have kids. They have shown it, journalists have played on it - it will come out. Might be crap (never stopped the wii making megabucks) of course but I think it looks hopeful - not revolutionary, but interesting.

[CAS FAN]

There's nothing wrong with certain types of 'traditional' games that perhaps use some type of joypad controller, but on the other hand it is good to see that developers and manufacturers are pushing the boundaries of digital entertainment as well. For example, a large portion of the enjoyment of a racing sim comes from the wheel etc. that I use. Playing using a joypad is just boring compared. We've also had other great experiences like Guitar Hero, Rock Band etc. which really aren't the same using a joypad.

I also find fighting games and tennis games pretty dull using a pad these days and much prefer to be doing the actions in games like that.

I know that in these cases the majority will always go with the status quo and all through history that has always been the case. Most people thought that the Earth was flat and that the idea of it being round would never catch on . Motion control doesn't just have to be what we've seen on the Wii. Until Motion Plus comes out the Wiimote is no where near accurate enough to really start pushing the boundaries and folk shouldn't base their opionions of Natal or the Sony Motion Controller on Nintendo's effort to date.

[Usama]

If the Natal is as good as they make it seem it will be awesome.

[CAS FAN]

The main restriction as I see it with new control methods is the screen itself. Once we have decent headsets that go hand in hand then video gaming will really take off!

Just think that you could turn your home or your street into a real warzone! The real scenery would be overlayed with visuals from a warzone with enemies that operate within the actual scenery that is there (i.e. taking cover behind a garden wall etc.). You would then run around your house, garden, street, park etc. with your imaginery guns shooting both your mates (who would be networked into the same game wirelessly) and AI enemy. You could even co-op with your mates in the virtual world.

Playing games on a stationary, flat screen is just so restrictive, compared to what good headsets could offer!

[kav]

Originally Posted by CAS FAN

The main restriction as I see it with new control methods is the screen itself. Once we have decent headsets that go hand in hand then video gaming will really take off!

Just think that you could turn your home or your street into a real warzone! The real scenery would be overlayed with visuals from a warzone with enemies that operate within the actual scenery that is there (i.e. taking cover behind a garden wall etc.). You would then run around your house, garden, street, park etc. with your imaginery guns shooting both your mates (who would be networked into the same game wirelessly) and AI enemy. You could even co-op with your mates in the virtual world.

Playing games on a stationary, flat screen is just so restrictive, compared to what good headsets could offer!

And while running around in your headset, in real life you run out in front of a car and get killed.

[mattrixdesign2]

I have looked at the Sony demo and it looks good, I like the idea of the remote/eye toy combination. It looked very accurate.

What is so special about the MS/Xbox thing, I have not seen much on it, is it basically a camera that tracks movement in 3D, can someone explain to me what is so revolutionary about it (I can not link to most gaming sites here at work)? Any decent demos?

As for them "jumping on the Wii bandwagon" its an obvious thing to do, the Wii has been such a success (although I am not impressed with the Wii control myself, only Wii bowling seemed to replicate exact movement). These business (like any other) will "borrow" ideas, as long as they develop and add to the the technology I am happy. Don't forget that Sony gave us the Eyetoy, MS made online a big thing, etc etc.

[Jay]

Loads of interesting replies, the majority don't see them jumping on the bandwagon as a bad thing, and infact a good thing.

Just because they are taking the same route doesn't guarantee sucess.

Yes they're targeting the casuals, but it'll take more than a few cheesy adverts and some crap minigames to catch the wii.

While the wii has cheesy adverts and crap minigames, it does have something solid beneath all the crap, and neither Sony or Ms will come close to replicating it.

I don't like the route Nintendo have gone down this gen, but I'm excited at what they'll bring to the table next gen and Nintendo to me are the Daddy of gaming.

[Miyazaki]

Sonys efforts looks more like an apeing of the wii control system.

Project Natal looks more like a revolution or evolution.

The wii remote looks positively archaic next to it.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Miyazaki

Project Natal looks more like a revolution or evolution.

I think ms are aiming too high and I'll bet my life on it that it won't be as good in real time use.

Yes they may have a few live demos and videos showing it but it won't be all smooth sailing with it.

[Miyazaki]

Originally Posted by Indecisive Jay

I think ms are aiming too high and I'll bet my life on it that it won't be as good in real time use.

Yes they may have a few live demos and videos showing it but it won't be all smooth sailing with it.

Yeah, maybe but at least it is ambitious and they've looked beyond what Nintendo have done, unlike Sony.

If Natal is like a block-busting sci-fi movie, the wii remote is more like a 50p magic wand.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by Miyazaki

Yeah, maybe but at least it is ambitious and they've looked beyond what Nintendo have done, unlike Sony.

True they have tried to evolve it, while Sony have taken the wiimote and put a spin on it.

[CAS FAN]

Originally Posted by kavanf1

And while running around in your headset, in real life you run out in front of a car and get killed.

The real world objects would still be there, just overlayed with visuals in some cases.

That said, it would probably be wise to play in safer areas. I remember when I was younger we used to play army all the time in the park etc. It would be great to be able to play that in a semi digital world as well where when you actually shoot someone they are hit in the virtual world and that takes them out of the game.