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Nintendo Revolution controller takes me by surprise
When I first saw the Nintendo Revolution controller (a good review at IGN, I thought it was a bad idea and a dumb gimmick. I’ve since read a lot more reviews, heard more opinions, and have softened my stance. But I am still extremely skeptical.
My old buddy Andrew Vestal calls the controller major innovation. I agree that it’s extremely innovative. I agree that the gaming industry is always in need of innovation (and any industry, for that matter).
My point of contention comes in that I don’t agree that the controller needed this level of radical change at this point. It’s a huge paradigm shift, which can scare off developers. More than that, it reeks of gimmicky. I worry that games will be made to take advantage of the controller, rather than making a game on its own merits and using the controller as an asset, but not a centerpiece, of the gameplay.
Nintendo has released the radical peripheral before. It’s a list of clever ideas that went nowhere — even if people did buy them. Remember ROB the robot? The light gun? The Power Pad? The Power Glove? All great ideas, if you ask me. But in the end, the great games had nothing to do with any of the wacky peripherals. It all came down to companies making great games. Zelda didn’t need a robot to play. Mario didn’t use a Power Glove. They had addictive gameplay, and that was enough.
I feel that addictive gameplay will still win you battles today — not new controllers. There are some interesting applications of the new controller system, but also some drawbacks. Nintendo talks about an add-on for this, an add-on for that. I don’t want a new controller add-on with every game, unless it comes with the game for no extra cost. And what are the odds of that?
Distance from the system makes a difference in gameplay? I’m hyper-fidgety in all walks of life — including gaming. If I’m fidgeting around as I play, will that affect the game?
And I realize that the games made are just demos to demonstrate gameplay. But they got me thinking… fishing mini-games that simulate the motion of fishing. Air hockey that simulates the hand motions of air hockey. There comes a point where you have to ask… why not just go fishing? Virtual reality is great, but why emulate it too closely?
Part of me wonders if this is a desperation move by Nintendo. They realize Sony and Microsoft are starting to pull ahead, and are putting in a last-ditch effort. I’ve read the articles on hardcore gamer vs. casual gamer, etc. etc. I’m extremely skeptical, and would like to see an article that cites numbers rather than theories. I don’t think it really is, but I do wonder.
I’d love to see the Revolution succeed, along with its crazy new controller. I just have my doubts that if it does, that the controller will be the driving force.
Wed September 21st, 2005 11:39 pm
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Why not go fishing? Because there is no where to go where i live. Because i do not want to harm any animal
Sar, thanks for coming by! I suggest you take a road trip and find a fishing spot one day, then. Everyone should go fishing at some point. Some people love it, some people hate it, but we all have to revisit our hunting and gathering roots sometime, right?
You can do it without hurting the fish. Just catch and throw it back in.
Give me a good old Atari one-button joystick any day!
And Andy, you don’t think that having a fish hook jammed through your mouth from the outside in hurts?
OK, I need more than one button. I still think the pinnacle of controllers was the NES Max from the 80s.
And yes, it probably hurts, but people do it to themselves all the time! Just go down to Deep Ellum and check all the pierced people… they have all manners of things jammed through their mouth from the outside.